2007 Owners....Have You Swapped Recaro Seats???
 

Has anyone swapped the SS/SC RECARO seats into their 2007 yet???

I know that some of the early '07 SS/SC's w/G85 had Recaros, but did/do they have the Airbag light on the dash & the sensor in the seat cushion????

I swapped a set of 2004 RL Recaros ($300 for the set from a "recycler") in my '07 RL, but BASICALLY I had to keep the stock seat's bottom cushion & attach it to the Recaro seat frame to keep the airbag sensor/light working properly.

Unplugged the passenger seat wiring, removed the seat, and it only takes 4 x 10mm bolts (on each seat) to swap the cushions. Put the seat back in & plug it in. And everything else literally bolted right in.

BUT I also had to swap the seatbelt buckle (from a different seat) that had wiring over because the stock seat frame was different from the Recaro seat frame. On the Ions, the passenger seat can fold flat. Well if your guys (Cobalts/G5s) seats don't do that, then you won't have to worry about that step. Here's what my stock seat did:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_265_full.jpg


So before you ask.....
I tried tried everything to make it work with the Recaro bottom cushion, but it wasn't going to happen.

I tried swapping the sensor over to the Recaro seat, but the foam would've needed to be trimmed (which would've ruined the seat for when I sell these next year).
Also the sensor would've covered the Velco strip for the seat skin to attach to the seat foam which wouldn't of worked either.
And on top of that......the airbag computer prevent the Recaro seat skin from attaching to under the seat pan (if you look in the pics below you'll see that the front part of the Recaro seat skin is really long attaches to the center of the seat pan and then if you look at the stock seat pic you don't see the seat skin on the bottom of the seat).

Just wondering if anyone figured out a way to bypass it ????
OR
I'm just posting to show you guys that it can somewhat be done

SO yeah....that's it....any questions...post away!

Recaro seat:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_285_full.jpg

Stock (leather) passenger seat:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_284_full.jpg

Here's the sensor under the seat cover:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_258_full.jpg

The sensor, computer, & wiring:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_259_full.jpg

Before:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_261_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_264_full.jpg

After:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_296_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_294_full.jpg

That sucks!
You should try to put the Recaro cover on the stock cushion!

It won't fit....I already tried.

And like I said before, there isn't a way to attach the skin to the seat anyways.
BECAUSE the front part of the Recaro skin is longer & won't go over the airbag sensor computer.
Also, the Velcro won't line up to hold the seat skin on either.

And besides that, the seat skin is different because the seat pan for the Recaro has extra rails welded on (for the thigh bolstering) and also the seat foam is different.....so it'd be really loose & floppy on the stock seat cushion

you diddht by chance take the skin off the recaros did ya? i want to recover mine because of owner damage but cant see how these ones work. nice work on making a one off'r on them seats

I did this same thing with my 07 SS/SC I got the G85 but they stopped with the Recaro's so I got my hands on 2 RL Recaro's w/o that damn Sensor. I"D LOOOVVVEEEEE A FIX FOR THIS. I'm Sooo sick of that seatbelt warning thing and my Air bag warning thing also. (I have side air bags)

There is no way to swap the entire seat? the 4 bolts on the bottom don't match up between the Recaro and the regular seat, at least from Ion to Ion?

There has to be a better way, I wouldn't leave my car like that, with only half of one seat not matching.

OH WOW, I just noticed from your post that he left the front pass bottom of the seat there!?!?!?!? thats nuts. Crap, the bottom part of the seat might be the best part of the Recaro's + It look weird with 2 diff bottoms.

Yeah I took the bottom cushion seat skin off......it's REALLY REALLY easy.

There are just 4 plastic clips on the bottom of the seat pan that hold it on. Pull on the fabric to loosen the tension on the clip & then pull the clip off (it hooks on).
Then just peel the seat skin off....there's velcro strips that hold it on (one side is attached to the seat skin & the other side is attached to the seat cushion foam)

I didn't mess with the top part of the seat though

The seats bolted right in. The seat frame & rails are the same.

The driver's seat I just swapped with the stock seat & then it went right it.....no problems or modifying at all.

On the passenger seat though.....there is a sensor built into the stock seat that senses how much weight is in the seat & then that turns the air bag on or off. If it's more than 30lbs the air bag goes on (and the light on the 2007 dash lights up "ON"). If it's less than 30 lbs the air bag goes off (and the light on the 2007 dash lights up "OFF").

Without the harness plugged in underneath the seat (which only the 2007's have), then you get a airbag light on the cluster show up, and also then the airbag might not be working at all.

So for SAFETY, I swapped the cushion over & kept it so that it would all work properly.

It's not like the cushion doesn't match at all. The bottom leather cushion still matches the black leather on the Recaros.
I just didn't wanna drive around with the airbag light on & then with a passenger compromise their safety.....u know???

But I still got my Recaro seat for me....the driver :)



This is why I posted this up.....to see if anyone over here has done this swap or come up with a solution. I was the first one & only one on the RL Forums to attempt this....now just seeing if anyone with a Cobalt has had any luck

Damn. I didn't wanna have to go threw all this to get these damn seats to have the Airbag and seatbelt sensor working. I'm just gunna buy the New HHR SS Seats when they come out.

So you're just driving around with the dash lights on & ignoring it???

Do you ride passengers?? I'd be a little concerned without that airbag not working


And I tried a swap with all black leather as the bottom cushions and it looked okay, but I wanted the Recaro bottom cushion for me (the driver)

It really doesn't look that bad......I wasn't gonna screw up the airbag system just for a bottom cushion though & risks someone's life

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_295_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_293_full.jpg

Thanks a ton for making this thread. Answers alot of questions I had about swapping the recaros into my 07. :twothumbs

good pont. Actually I have been thinking about this for the past few weeks. I had thought that the air bags would just come out anyway? I guess not. Looks like I might be selling these seats soon. I want the car to just work like it did when I bought it and not deal with these stupid warnings! HHR SS seats here I come. I think they'll have the Seatbelt thing + Air bag sensor

maybe ground the sensor, its gotta touch two wires together somewhere right?

Russo if you sell I call dibs. Wouldnt even have to ship!

Lol, You got it man. I'll let you know either the end of this week, or next week. Cuz if I can't get this damn Airbag thing to work with these in here, I can't let anyone drive in my car for fear of something happening. I'll let you know.

Update, there for sale in my sig. I'll PM u a price B 4 I out it up

What about going to an upholstery shop and asking them how much it would cost to duplicate the regular seat skin but match the colors to the Recaro seat? That way you can keep the stock seat bottom, but still have it match what the Recaros look like so it doesn't look funny.

Thanks man......I just didn't wanna see someone be like "oh well, it's just an airbag" and not hook it up correctly.

When I first posted my idea on the RL Forums.....people asked me about the air bag sensor situation and I told them that I wasn't gonna half ass it & put someone else's safety in my hands....u know?? I wanted it done right and I think I accomplished that.
Everything works like it did before the swap.

I wanted the seats REALLY bad & I think I accomplished what I wanted pretty much. It's a HUGE upgrade over the stock seats!!!

So some of you guys think it might look funny, but it's really not that big of a deal.....the leather still matches. It's 10000 times better than the stock seats I had & I'm happy

Yeah I COULD do that.....I know a local upholstery shop that can get the blue fabric insert (since it's OEM fabric) and I could have them stitch in that blue center section into the bottom cushion of the passenger seat stock leather skin

OR I could have them duplicate the stock skin (to go over the airbag sensor) with the Recaro leather/cloth, but I think that might be a little pricey.....guess I could investigate it though for shits & giggles

This car is a lease and I only have it one more year, but I'll look into it now that you mention it....just not that many upholstery shops around here in Michigan though :(

Then maybe someone with an '07 RL or Cobalt could buy my seats when I'm done...lol

Definately let me know man.

Here's more pics....

Stock seat vs. the Recaro seat:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_331_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_332_full.jpg

Recaro seat pan vs. the stock seat pan.....the same except for the metal welded rods on for the extra bolstering (I removed that round bar off the stock one on the right & put the center section on too after the pic)
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_330_full.jpg

Concerning the seatbelts.......on the 2007's......both the passenger & driver seats have wiring for the seatbelt buckle (to know if it's clicked in).
In previous years, they only had one on the driver's seat.
So I swapped my seatbelt buckle from the stock '07 driver's seat to the Recaro seat.....BECAUSE the Recaro seat's wiring to the buckle was cut & missing the harness (recycling place cut it).

And then the problem like I said earlier with the passenger seat buckle is that the stock '07 seat frame had the threading it in for the seatbelt buckle & wiring for the dash light. Whereas the the Recaro's buckle didn't have wiring and had a nut welded onto itself to hold it to the frame with a bolt.
Stock '07 buckle vs. Recaro buckle:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_282_full.jpg

And then another pic except Recaro buckle vs. Stock '07 buckle:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_283_full.jpg

So I took the Recaro driver's seat buckle (that had the cut harness) & flipped the buckle around (to go on the passenger seat) and then cut my '07 stock passenger harness for the wiring clip & then spliced them together:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_335_full.jpg

*****IF the Recaro buckle from the driver's seat hadn't been cut/missing the harness clip, I would've been able to use that buckle directly to the passenger seat & wouldn't have had to cut/splice any wiring*****

And lastly, a picture of the harness that the airbag sensor/seat wiring plugs into:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_338_full.jpg

Seatbelt buckle harness plugs into the harness that plugs into the connector under the seat (in the car):
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_336_full.jpg


Any other questions post up or PM me!

Just went & priced it out at one shop (I'm gonna try and get a couple different quotes though), but it's $176.50 for the OEM cloth insert put on/in THAT skin/cushion

Or it was like $350 to get a replica of that seat skin with the insert W/LEATHER.....or $275 for a replica of that seat skin W/VINYL

He said $100 to put the stock leather insert back in, in the future, if need be (when I turn the car in) & then sell the Recaros like I bought them

I swapped my stock LS seats for a set of the ION Recaros. All the air bag hardware swapped out easily to the Recaro pass seat. Maybe the leather seats have different dimensions?

https://www.cobaltss.net/gallery/fil.../IMG000011.JPG

just keep the sensor and shit plugged in and just put it btwn the seat and floor

You have a 2006, that's why!......only the 2007 year for the Cobalt & Ion (maybe the G5 too?) had the airbag sensors in the passenger seat

Hence why they didn't come with Recaros from the factory....GM didn't wanna spend the money to retrofit the required airbag sensor to the Recaro seats. So the RL's & SS/SC's only came with black leather seating (some of the early '07 SS/SC's came with Recaros but those are very rare)


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...8_259_full.jpg
Well a couple problems with that.....

1. Is that the sensor is pretty long & about 3/4" thick and wouldn't look right under the seat, and it would block the heat duct on the floor

2. The airbag wouldn't work at all if you did it that way. It goes by weight, so if you have the sensor under the seat but someone sitting in the seat the airbag sensor won't register the weight (because it's not being used) and then it will shut the airbag off....meaning if something happens, their life is in your hands.....not worth it

3. And even if you could just put the sensor under the seat....the computer mounts to the front underside of the seat pan (the seat pans are identical), but the Recaro seat skin blocks the mounting point of the sensor's computer. So you wouldn't be able to attach it & it would be really loose


Like I said, I think I'm just gonna have the blue insert put in & then it'll all match and be working like it should be

My 2006 does have the passenger seat air bag sensor. But, the bladder looks different than the pic you posted. I know if you get the air bag hardware from a 2006 seat, it will work.

So you have the light on the dash that goes "ON" when someone is sitting in the seat & "OFF" when someone isn't sitting in the seat??

And also, if someone is in it and you're driving, a red light on that same panel for them to connect the seat belt???


Or are you talking about that you have side air bags (in the seat) or side curtain air bags (in the a-pillar) or something like that???


Do you have any pics of your sensor??

Or does the harness plug (in the pics above) look the same??
Is there a computer that attaches to the seat pan too???

Are you talking about this:

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/parts-66/air-bag-weight-sensor-65228/


If so, that's just like the one I had in my 2005 Ford Focus actually....old pics of that one:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...7_117_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...7_118_full.jpg


But the '07 is a totally different setup/sensor though.


So what years & models of the Cobalt did that airbag sensor come in????


Can you get a pic of the end of the harness for me (that plugs into the car)??????