Dear Motor Medics,
I’m addicted to my seat heaters. Every car I have ever purchased has had them and it has even been a deal breaker for me when shopping for a car if it did not have them. I use my heaters year-round unless it is too warm out. My driver side seat heater just failed on my Cadillac and or course it is 2 months out of factory warranty. They would love to replace it for me at a charge of $800.00 and that’s just not going to happen. I am not ready to purchase a new car, but I want my seat heater to work. Is there anything I can do to get it going again?
Joe in Detroit Lakes Minnesota
Dear Joe,

I too enjoy my heated seats and when they fail, I would never think of spending $800 just to keep my rear end warm. Good thing that there are alternatives out there. You could check with your local recycled parts place, AKA Salvage Yard, and they may have an entire working seat for you that will match your interior, or you could look into an aftermarket heater. Seat heaters are a great accessory for anyone who has a seat to sit on. Cars, trucks, tractors, they all can be equipped with heaters usually at a much lower price than a replacement factory unit. Check your local car stereo shops or accessory installation dealer to see if they offer them.
Take care, the Motor Medics.

Dear Motor Medics,
I had the air conditioning system fail on my Land cruiser two years ago due to a large leak in the rear refrigerant lines that run under the vehicle. Where the lines run, they are susceptible to damage from road debris and those concrete stops they put at the front of parking spaces. You know, the ones with the metal stakes holding them that my teenage daughter thinks is ok to drive over instead of backing up. So, after the cloud of refrigerant smoke cleared, I took it to both the dealer and an independent shop for a repair quote. Both places were over $1000.00 to replace the lines. They said the lines come as a set and take many hours to replace. Is there anything I can do that won’t cost me so much money?
Thanks, Rich in Attica Indiana

Dear Rich,
Ouch! You have a few choices. You can do without air conditioning, you can spend the money for new lines, you could block off the rear lines and just use the front a/c, or you can repair the lines you have. There are a/c line repair kits out in the market that not all shops have but the ones that do will be able to cut out the damaged section and splice in a new one. You can also have a rear delete kit installed. Either one will be a large savings over having the entire line set replaced.
Take care, the Motor Medics