Wierd the part for the switch went up, but what ever thats the hard part to find anyway on ebay. Ours was a june build im sure youll have the wiring!
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Successful retrofit of passenger lumbar on 2021 Model Y
- Thread starter osunick
- Start date
Agree, that part is not easy to find on ebay or anywhere online. I'm glad, I could get it. Price is higher than yours but maybe it's because I'm in the Bay Area and everything costs more here. That or because it's probably harder to get these parts because of the material or shipping delays we see with everything these days. Anyone thinking of doing this should order the parts sooner rather than later.
Starting to do some CANBus stuff and the lumbar interactions (though not actual status of the cushion) are captured on CAN:
SG_ VCRIGHT_frontSeatLumbarUp : 18|2@1+ (1,0) [0|3] "" Receiver
So tesla can definitely see how often people are interacting with the switch, just not what lumbar settings people prefer as it's an open loop system with no sensors.
| SG_ VCRIGHT_frontSeatLumbarDown : 16|2@1+ (1,0) [0|3] "" Receiver |
| SG_ VCRIGHT_frontSeatLumbarIn : 20|2@1+ (1,0) [0|3] "" Receiver |
| SG_ VCRIGHT_frontSeatLumbarOut : 22|2@1+ (1,0) [0|3] "" Receiver |
So tesla can definitely see how often people are interacting with the switch, just not what lumbar settings people prefer as it's an open loop system with no sensors.
Awesome. I have an SC appointment next week and I have to ask them how parts can be ordered. On my donor seat the fabric covered part wasn't attached to anything and was just hanging in the space behind the right bolster. Others have reported that it clips to the metal seat frame.
It goes on the right side bolster. You'll see in the metal seat frame 2 holes where the clips from the fabric bag clip into. It's a pretty tight squeeze but I was able to clip mine in by touch and feel.
Did you buy a new seat switch too? You'll need that too as the current switch doesn't have the physical switch for lumbar.
Yes, I bought the control switch too. Posted photos of it a few posts above. Thanks for the tip on where to clip it into.
I just walked up to the SA and gave them the list of part numbers and they looked them up. Whatever they have available, they will fetch and everything else they will order. They won't send a text or email to notify you when it arrives but you can set up a service appointment as a reminder, which is what I did. Then show up 5 days earlier and find the part waiting.
Here's my write up of my install to supplement Osunick's (OP).
The one thing I learned is that Tesla keeps optimizing their builds, so be aware that the install will vary depending on your car's build date. Mine is July 2021.
I ordered all my parts directly from the service center as noted in my previous posts. No issues and no problems ordering and picking up the parts. Price did increase and probably due to the delivery delays and material shortages. Total costs to me was $115.76 for each part- the control switch and the lumbar support.
Use the tools stated in OP's first post and read through his instructions. These are just a supplement with photos.
Head rest removal. You need to gently pull or push down the vegan leather until you expose a gray/ galvanized metal wire clip that slots into the black plastic bracket/holder the headrest metal posts sit in. Use a trim tool or flat head screw driver and press the metal wire to the left and away from the plastic bracket. Pull up on the metal post and it will slide up a little. Do not let it slide back or the metal wire clip will lock it back in place. Do the exact same thing to the right hand metal post. The wire clip is set up in the exact same position on the left.
Your head rest should now look like the pic above. Just pull up a couple inches more and you are good. You do not need to remove the headrest completely but I did for my install to just get it out of the way.
The two metal posts of the head rest holds the rear plastic liner of the seat in place. Use both your hand and gently but firmly pull along the top edge evenly until you hear a pop sound. Once it release you can pull the back liner all the way down. It sort of hinges with two plastic hooks near the bottom. You can see the two slots in the metal frame at the bottom of the photo.
You can now see the existing yellow lumbar frame. At the bottom of the frame you can see the 10mm bolt and the black elastic fabric with thin plastic retainer/ clip that is holding the bottom of the yellow frame in place on the metal frame. You need to remove the bolt and unhook the fabric plastic retainer to release the bottom of the yellow frame.
Before you remove the yellow frame you need to remove the wiring harness. On the bottom left you'll see the connector which has a release tab just above where you see the wires attach. Press on the release tab and gently pull the connector up. Try not to pull using the wires because you can damage the connector.
I decided to remove the yellow frame first. You do this by unhooking the bottom of the yellow frame from the metal support at the bottom. Then push up the entire yellow frame with it's two metal posts at the top. You'll see that the metal posts sit in a metal receiver at the top. Just push the entire assembly up until the bottom clears the metal rail support and then pull the bottom away and down. Once the metal post clear the housing above, you are golden.
Next is to remove the wiring harness from the yellow frame. The original post says to twist the connectors clockwise and/ or anti clockwise. I found I could not get them to release, so I turned the yellow harness around and pressed on the narrow ends of the connectors to release them through the opening in the frame.
Press the ends indicated by the red arrows.
I can only attach 10 photos max to a post and will continue in the next post.
The one thing I learned is that Tesla keeps optimizing their builds, so be aware that the install will vary depending on your car's build date. Mine is July 2021.
I ordered all my parts directly from the service center as noted in my previous posts. No issues and no problems ordering and picking up the parts. Price did increase and probably due to the delivery delays and material shortages. Total costs to me was $115.76 for each part- the control switch and the lumbar support.
Use the tools stated in OP's first post and read through his instructions. These are just a supplement with photos.
Head rest removal. You need to gently pull or push down the vegan leather until you expose a gray/ galvanized metal wire clip that slots into the black plastic bracket/holder the headrest metal posts sit in. Use a trim tool or flat head screw driver and press the metal wire to the left and away from the plastic bracket. Pull up on the metal post and it will slide up a little. Do not let it slide back or the metal wire clip will lock it back in place. Do the exact same thing to the right hand metal post. The wire clip is set up in the exact same position on the left.
Your head rest should now look like the pic above. Just pull up a couple inches more and you are good. You do not need to remove the headrest completely but I did for my install to just get it out of the way.
The two metal posts of the head rest holds the rear plastic liner of the seat in place. Use both your hand and gently but firmly pull along the top edge evenly until you hear a pop sound. Once it release you can pull the back liner all the way down. It sort of hinges with two plastic hooks near the bottom. You can see the two slots in the metal frame at the bottom of the photo.
You can now see the existing yellow lumbar frame. At the bottom of the frame you can see the 10mm bolt and the black elastic fabric with thin plastic retainer/ clip that is holding the bottom of the yellow frame in place on the metal frame. You need to remove the bolt and unhook the fabric plastic retainer to release the bottom of the yellow frame.
Before you remove the yellow frame you need to remove the wiring harness. On the bottom left you'll see the connector which has a release tab just above where you see the wires attach. Press on the release tab and gently pull the connector up. Try not to pull using the wires because you can damage the connector.
I decided to remove the yellow frame first. You do this by unhooking the bottom of the yellow frame from the metal support at the bottom. Then push up the entire yellow frame with it's two metal posts at the top. You'll see that the metal posts sit in a metal receiver at the top. Just push the entire assembly up until the bottom clears the metal rail support and then pull the bottom away and down. Once the metal post clear the housing above, you are golden.
Next is to remove the wiring harness from the yellow frame. The original post says to twist the connectors clockwise and/ or anti clockwise. I found I could not get them to release, so I turned the yellow harness around and pressed on the narrow ends of the connectors to release them through the opening in the frame.
Press the ends indicated by the red arrows.
I can only attach 10 photos max to a post and will continue in the next post.
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Part 2.
The seat back should now look like this. Note the empty slot on the right hand side. This is where you will place the fabric covered pump. Note the two holes in the side of the frame. Those are for the plastic clips on the fabric cover.
Install the new lumbar frame with the air bags facing towards the seat. The pump and the red, green and blue tubes should be facing out and to the right. Carefully slot the fabric covered pump into the space on the right. You install this by reversing how you took out the original frame. Push the metal post up into the receptacles at the top and then lower the yellow frame and hook it into the bottom metal rail support. You'll understand how when you see the slot in the yellow frame slide into the metal frame.
You need to carefully slide your hand in that really tight space and push the plastic retainer clips into the two holes in the metal frame in the earlier photo in my earlier post. You might need help if your hands are too big. If you can't clip the bag in, it's not the end of the world. It's a tight enough space that the pump will stay in place.
You do need to clip the wiring harness back into the original connection on the bottom left. Then insert the white colored wider connector into the left hand side of the black plastic housing in the left photo above. The remaining wired connector clicks into the connector on the fabric bag. See the photo above.
Don't hook up the wire harness clips back into the yellow frame just yet. You need to know that it's all working first. You now need to switch your attention to the controls on the right hand side of the seat.
You need to move the seat forward until you can see the bottom retainer arm of the seat side liner. On some cars it will have a toryx head bolt but in mine it had a white plastic expansion clip like you see in the photo above. You need to push the clip out from above. Once it pops out, it's not reusable, so make sure you pick up a couple of spares from the service center. Like the ones in the photo below.
You now need to carefully use the trim removal tool to pry the switches from the seat. You will reuse these switches.
The seat back should now look like this. Note the empty slot on the right hand side. This is where you will place the fabric covered pump. Note the two holes in the side of the frame. Those are for the plastic clips on the fabric cover.
Install the new lumbar frame with the air bags facing towards the seat. The pump and the red, green and blue tubes should be facing out and to the right. Carefully slot the fabric covered pump into the space on the right. You install this by reversing how you took out the original frame. Push the metal post up into the receptacles at the top and then lower the yellow frame and hook it into the bottom metal rail support. You'll understand how when you see the slot in the yellow frame slide into the metal frame.
You need to carefully slide your hand in that really tight space and push the plastic retainer clips into the two holes in the metal frame in the earlier photo in my earlier post. You might need help if your hands are too big. If you can't clip the bag in, it's not the end of the world. It's a tight enough space that the pump will stay in place.
You do need to clip the wiring harness back into the original connection on the bottom left. Then insert the white colored wider connector into the left hand side of the black plastic housing in the left photo above. The remaining wired connector clicks into the connector on the fabric bag. See the photo above.
Don't hook up the wire harness clips back into the yellow frame just yet. You need to know that it's all working first. You now need to switch your attention to the controls on the right hand side of the seat.
You need to move the seat forward until you can see the bottom retainer arm of the seat side liner. On some cars it will have a toryx head bolt but in mine it had a white plastic expansion clip like you see in the photo above. You need to push the clip out from above. Once it pops out, it's not reusable, so make sure you pick up a couple of spares from the service center. Like the ones in the photo below.
You now need to carefully use the trim removal tool to pry the switches from the seat. You will reuse these switches.
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Part 3.
In the center of the seat trim, is another retainer clip. It's fairly big. You need to get your hands under your seat and use a flat head screw driver to press on the release tab and slowly work it through the metal frame. Once it's out, it's easier to remove the existing controller. The controller is attached with three toryx head bolts. Remove them with a T 15 toryx head driver and keep the bolts safe.
Remove the wiring harness connector. There's no retainer clip. You just slowly and gently work it side to side until it comes out. The seat liner/ trim should now look like the pic on the right.
Just install the new switch controller in reverse order or your removal. And connect back the wiring harness to the controller. Test the switches out to see if you can hear the pumps working. The seat should be able to recline and slide back and forth.
Reinstall the switches/ buttons. By the way don't freak out when you remove the vertical switch and it comes away with the plastic post. As you can see, there's a hole where it fits in the seat trim. I freaked out when I first took it out and saw the post sticking out of the switch. I thought I broke it.
If everything works, then attach the wiring harness by inserting the clips back into the yellow frame. Then attach the elastic black fabric retainer and 10mm bolt. Reattach the plastic back liner.
Reinstall all the switches and you are good to go.
In the center of the seat trim, is another retainer clip. It's fairly big. You need to get your hands under your seat and use a flat head screw driver to press on the release tab and slowly work it through the metal frame. Once it's out, it's easier to remove the existing controller. The controller is attached with three toryx head bolts. Remove them with a T 15 toryx head driver and keep the bolts safe.
Remove the wiring harness connector. There's no retainer clip. You just slowly and gently work it side to side until it comes out. The seat liner/ trim should now look like the pic on the right.
Just install the new switch controller in reverse order or your removal. And connect back the wiring harness to the controller. Test the switches out to see if you can hear the pumps working. The seat should be able to recline and slide back and forth.
Reinstall the switches/ buttons. By the way don't freak out when you remove the vertical switch and it comes away with the plastic post. As you can see, there's a hole where it fits in the seat trim. I freaked out when I first took it out and saw the post sticking out of the switch. I thought I broke it.
If everything works, then attach the wiring harness by inserting the clips back into the yellow frame. Then attach the elastic black fabric retainer and 10mm bolt. Reattach the plastic back liner.
Reinstall all the switches and you are good to go.
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One more post. I wore gloves but with some of the small parts, it's hard to handle with gloves, so I did a MJ with a left glove and non on my right hand. The exposed sheet metal parts are sharp and you will likely nick or cut yourself. I have lots of small nicks all over my hands. No bleeding and not very visible until you have to use hand sanitizer and then you realize where all the invisible nicks and cuts are. Be careful when you do the installation. At least when you get this done successfully, you'll feel fairly satisfied. Again, I'm grateful to the OP (osunick) and the others (zikornix & sjsharks33) who posted their experience with their installation. Without their posts, I would have had a devil of a time trying to do this by myself. I hope this thread gets stickied for others to use as a guide.
I wish Tesla had not removed these lumbar supports but if you want your passengers to be comfortable, installing these two parts is worth it, especially on a car whose price keeps climbing. Good luck with your installation.
I wish Tesla had not removed these lumbar supports but if you want your passengers to be comfortable, installing these two parts is worth it, especially on a car whose price keeps climbing. Good luck with your installation.
Grandpa Gebis
Member
I just want to give a shout out to the walk throughs and pictures on here. Super simple job with the extra guidance! In the event you want the matching graphite trim around the button, here is part number you’ll need - 1551855-01-A
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Thanks @osunick and @gleearch for the info you guys were extremely helpful. I've attached a full schematic of the switch and how everything comes off, another to show how you get access to the seat side switches (my 2022 Y came with a single screw that secured the side rail to the seat), and finally a good tool to have for easier access the side screws. Otherwise, it's hard to get to those screws holding the switch to the seat.
I'm not sure I like the look of the wood trim on the doors. I like the way my MY looks right now without the wood trim. The headlights would have been nice but the ones I have are bright enough and since I don't know what I'm missing, it's not a big deal.Should we let the M3 owners know this is possible? They already have their fancy wood trim and headlights.
I appreciate the additional documentation- I was so excited to see if I could make this work at all that I didn’t pause to take decent pictures.
Sure, point them here but they need to make adjustments for their particular build.
I know what you mean. I nearly decided to just do the whole thing at one go but realized that maybe having some photos would help others. Your instructions were clear but as I went along, I realized that some things were different because they keep changing how they put these cars together as they optimize things.
What I'm looking for is for Tesla to start including a Tesla OEM power frunk opener. I keep reading about user issues with Hansshow and EVOfer is way too expensive even with the current Black Friday deal, with no guarantee that it is reliable. At least with a Tesla part, if there's an issue, I can go back to them. So I keep watching to see if CN made MYs start having a power frunk. I saw that they now have a rear trunk cargo cover.
I’m ok without the frunk opener, but an external release would be nice. On my Porsche there’s a proximity sensor in the bumper just in front of the hood. If you have your key on you, you just hold your hand for a couple seconds over the bumper (you don’t even have to touch it, which is slick) and it pops open.
danaleighton
Member
What are the potential effects on warranty for this retrofit? As I read the warranty, they can exclude:
I suppose the only exposure we might have is if there were any electrical issues caused by the parts... Seems unlikely, especially if using new Tesla parts...
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