2007 XC70 front seat replacement

digitalnomad · Post by **digitalnomad** » 29 May 2016, 19:00

I have owned a 2003 XC70 since 2013 and love the front seats. They are so thick and comfortable. I just bought a 2007 XC70 and am giving the 2003 to my daughter. To my surprise, the front seats in the 2007 are so uncomfortable compared to the 2003. The front seats in the 2007 seem to have less padding. i'm not sure if the padding is softer, but it is certainly not as thick.

I thought I would just swap the front seats between them until I discovered the wiring connectors underneath the seats are different from 2003 to 2007. I don't really want to mess the wiring up by attempting to modify both year's seats myself so i guess, for now, I'm just not going to swap them.

I'm mostly concerned about getting a driver's seat with the 2003 quality into the 2007. My questions:

1) If I can find a 2003 XC70 driver's seat in a scrapyard or used online, can it be rewired to fit the wiring harness coming up out of the floorboard of the 2007? I found a wiring diagram for 2007 XC70's, but can't find one for 2003 XC70's. (NOTE: By finding another 2003 driver's seat I would be able to leave my daughter's 2003 as is, without me screwing up her 2003 seat or having to also rewire the 2007 seat to fit a 2003 wiring harness.)

2 Are there other Volvo years and models that have the exact same seat as a 2003 XC70?

3) What retailers do you know of that sell 2003 quality seats that fit a 2007 XC70? This could even be seats that aren't OEM, but custom upgraded quality seats.

Post by **oragex** » 30 May 2016, 05:01

For me, I always read about Volvo having the beast seats in the industry. Mines are definitely not only not comfortable, but rather uncomfortable. Even the passenger seat which has never been used, I don't feel comfortable seating on it. My guess is, Volvo has changed the padding more than once during the years. Scrapyard seats may have the padding crushed and the springs stretched if there was a heavy driver. If you like your 2003 seats, I'd bring it to a reputable upholster shop repair, and have them swap the passenger seat padding and springs into the 2007.

Post by **abscate** » 03 Jun 2016, 04:00

You are deeply into the CANBUS era in 2097 so I would worry about the new seat SRS module not talking to the SRS system on this swap. You will need VIDA or dealer to sort that out.

Post by **doublebug** » 03 Jun 2016, 05:04

As for SRS the only issue are sockets. -2004 and 2005- are completely different under the seat. Plus mount points. They are also a bit different so new seat does not fit an old car as is and vice versa.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 04 Jun 2016, 08:17

Add padding! Forget the seat swap!

digitalnomad · Post by **digitalnomad** » 04 Jun 2016, 16:30

Yes, I was a little suspect about the SRS even still working if I had decided to try to rewire it. Also, I never did remove the 2003 seats and like you say, I may have found out the base doesn't fit in the 2007.

I have a quote from the local dealer in Omaha:

$302.55 Part# 31291973 Front seat pad (not sure if this is just the seat or a set that includes the backrest, it needs both!)
$155.48 Part# 30749345 Heater element (I'll have to ask why this needs to be changed, but must have something to do with the new padding.)
$260.59 Labor
---------
$718.62 before tax

Post by **doublebug** » 05 Jun 2016, 02:18

as for heater that is heat control module. It looks the same but internals are different.
old does not work with new and vice versa.