Heated Seat Project Question

I recently purchased a 1999 Toyota Avalon XLS Platinum Edition with the knowledge that the heated seats were not working. However, I am aware that it is an expensive venture ($500 minimum at a Toyota dealer) to fix it with professional help.

This leads me here. I was wondering if there was anything that I could do myself to attempt to fix the problem. Here is what I have done so far...

1) Checked the fuses (None are blown)

As you can see, not an impressive list, but it is mainly because I do not know how to execute on the knowledge I have. My questions are as follows...

1) How do I check to see if electricity is getting the heating element? I mainly am looking for a guide or schematic on how to see if the actual element is broken or if it is a relay to the element. (If the element is not broken, I assume it would be an easy fix)

2) Are there any guides on removing the seat or can I do anything without removing the seat?

3) Does the Avalon have a separate bottom and back heating element with different connectors? I have read a few guides for other cars and something just the heating element for the butt goes out, but if you re-wire the connections one can have it so just the lumbar (back) heating goes on.


Thanks for the help. I am not 100% set on actual making the repairs, but I want to troubleshoot everything so I can at least pinpoint the failure in the system.

Here is link to the maintenance manual for the '00 to '04 Avalon. Download it and refer to page BE-122 and further. See if it is helpful. If it is useful, but you don't understand it, get back to us.

http://www.4shared.com/zip/q9bWqgGt/2000-2004_Avalon_Manual.html?refurl=d1url