Scheel Mann seat install in my 2021 LX570

[culturedredneck]

I'm in the beginning stages of installing Scheel Mann seats in my 2021 Lexus LX570. When the project gets fully underway, I will start an official build thread and post all the photos I can. The project is being done by the team at Tolerance Stack, with the aim being to retain all airbag functionality (with the exception of the seat airbag as SM doesn't have a build in airbag), and possibly adapt the seats to the LX570's powered base. This includes all of the pressure sensors and proximity sensors working as well. If it can be done safely and successfully, they would ideally produce a kit for others to do the same.

While they are working on that, I am looking for anyone on the forum who has installed these seats into an LX570 or LC200 using the fixed brackets. The issue I'm having is just finding the right position for these seats to be comfortable. It seems I'm the only person on the entire internet who cant get comfortable in these seats, and now that my original seats have been donated for R&D purposes, I really need these seats to work. Without on-the-fly controls, every change in adjustment comes with adding spacers to change height and seat rake, so the process has been pretty laborious so far. If anyone has installed these seats in these vehicles, and found them to be comfortable, I'd love to pick your brain.

Also, happy to answer any questions about the process so far.

 

[RandyDaytona]

When you say “fixed brackets,” are you talking about the ones from Planted Technologies that are made to mate with the SM seats and fit different vehicles? Or are you referring to the stock Toyota brackets (or Lexus, in your case)?

I had Scheel-Mann seats installed in my 2014 LC in October 2004. I ask because initially, Planted Technologies sent me the wrong brackets. They sent the “high” brackets that are normally used when installing SM seats in camper vans. They were nearly double the size of the ones that are meant for the Land Cruiser.

I did not do the install myself, so my technological know-how in this department is probably lagging way behind yours. Anyone who has read some of the dumb questions I ask can test this. Lol. Suffice it to say that I went to three different places to get the seats fully installed.

I went to my local shop first, who had been more than able to figure out how to install any previous mod that I wanted, both on my 4th gen 4Runner and my LC.. They were great. And while they could get the seats bolted in, they couldn’t hook them up properly to get rid of the airbag issue (meaning the airbag light was on, showing that it would not work in the event of an accident). SM said there was a resistor that was needed and sent me one, but the shop couldn’t even figure out where it was supposed to go.

Since I drive across the country frequently, I went to two different SM “dealers.” One back east and one out west. Great folks at both places, but neither could figure out how to get the airbag issue sorted, which is apparently specific to land cruisers. As dealers, what they were basically doing was installing brand new SM seats in brand new camper vans which did not happen to have that airbag issue. Troubleshooting different kinds of trucks wasn’t really their specialty.

I really like SM as a company and their customer service folks here in the US are top-notch. That said, it didn’t help that there were no actual directions for installing the seats. All I received was a link to a site where somebody had installed them in a Toyota tundra. None of the guys in the three shops I visited could make heads or tails out of that either, as there were maybe four photos total.

It turned out that my issue was the fact that I needed certain parts from the old Toyota seats. Since there hadn’t been any directions, I had no idea Again, I apologize profusely for my lack of technical knowledge, but I believe it was a wiring harness.

I only discovered this when I was recommended by SM to a third “dealer,” (which I hope is OK to mention here): FIGS Engineering in Denver. Mike Figaro is “THE man” . Not only does he install SM seats, but he rebuilds old land cruisers and installs them in those vehicles, so the mystery of the wiring harness and the resistor were NOT a mystery to him.

I walked in the door at 6 o’clock in the morning, having driven through the night. He said I could rack out on the couch in the back room, and it seemed like I had no more than laid down than he was shaking me awake and telling me my truck was done. I looked at my watch. He literally had my airbag light gone within 30 minutes. On top of that, I had removed my second row when I first got the truck and had an airbag light from that, too. He fixed that as well. When I told him he didn’t have to do that, he said “none of my customers leave here with a flashing warning light if I can help it.” Top notch.

I had not been sure exactly what he needed from the old seats, even though he had tried to explain it to me very patiently. Being the dumb jarhead that I am, I simply brought both of my old seats with me. He took what he needed and disposed of the rest for me.

I do still have an issue with the Klima ventilation on my seat (it doesn’t work), but I’m thinking that may be because I was one of the first to get them and they hadn’t sorted the bugs out. It could also be that the stock Toyota cooling that it is supposed to run off of has an issue, because I can hear the motors running in the SM seat, but they don’t blow any cold air. But that’s neither here or there.

I’m sure the folks doing your install are competent, and if you live in a populated area like SoCal, they’ve probably done this before with land cruisers and LX’s. For me, at the time that I had this work done, I was still living in Duluth, Minnesota, up on the shore of Lake Superior. Not a whole ton of land cruisers. They’re even ‘foreign’ vehicles to most of the Toyota dealers. So after my local shop and the two SM dealers I visited (both in not so populated areas) I decided to quit screwing around and go to an SM dealer in what is basically the Offroad capital of the country.

That said, if your installers get stuck, give Mike a call. Guy is just awesome.

 

[RandyDaytona]

I almost forgot, I had always wished Toyota seats were a bit lower. With the correct LC brackets from planted technologies, your butt does sit about an inch and a half lower in the SM seats.

 

[Leelanau]

I almost forgot, I had always wished Toyota seats were a bit lower. With the correct LC brackets from planted technologies, your butt does sit about an inch and a half lower in the SM seats.

Got any pics of your SM seat install? Those sound awesome. I must say I don’t love my 200 seats compared to other trucks I have owned. I’m 6’2” with a history of bulged discs and low back pain. The 200 seats get my back hurting far quicker than my Ram pickup seats.
D awesom

 

[MTKID]

If you use the same resistor for the front seats as the middle row, this is it. It gets folded over so the two prongs are both pointing the same direction, cut the excess length of the prongs off and then inserted where the seat sensor would plug in…

Then I just place electrical tape around the end of the plug and resistor and tuck it into the carpet.
Again, this is what I’ve used with success on the second row to eliminate any airbag lights. Not certain about the front two seats.

 

[sdnative]

or these

Airbag Emulator for Toyota & Lexus (Airbag Simulator / Bypass)

These dongles emulate the presence of a 2.2Ω airbag or seatbelt pretensioner when plugged into a Toyota/Lexus/Scion. Eliminate false SRS errors when removing seats.

bradshacks.com

 

[MTKID]

or these

Airbag Emulator for Toyota & Lexus (Airbag Simulator / Bypass)

These dongles emulate the presence of a 2.2Ω airbag or seatbelt pretensioner when plugged into a Toyota/Lexus/Scion. Eliminate false SRS errors when removing seats.

bradshacks.com

Never knew those existed! That’s the best solution Thanks for sharing, @sdnative

 

[culturedredneck]

When you say “fixed brackets,” are you talking about the ones from Planted Technologies that are made to mate with the SM seats and fit different vehicles? Or are you referring to the stock Toyota brackets (or Lexus, in your case)?

I had Scheel-Mann seats installed in my 2014 LC in October 2004. I ask because initially, Planted Technologies sent me the wrong brackets. They sent the “high” brackets that are normally used when installing SM seats in camper vans. They were nearly double the size of the ones that are meant for the Land Cruiser.

I did not do the install myself, so my technological know-how in this department is probably lagging way behind yours. Anyone who has read some of the dumb questions I ask can test this. Lol. Suffice it to say that I went to three different places to get the seats fully installed.

I went to my local shop first, who had been more than able to figure out how to install any previous mod that I wanted, both on my 4th gen 4Runner and my LC.. They were great. And while they could get the seats bolted in, they couldn’t hook them up properly to get rid of the airbag issue (meaning the airbag light was on, showing that it would not work in the event of an accident). SM said there was a resistor that was needed and sent me one, but the shop couldn’t even figure out where it was supposed to go.

Since I drive across the country frequently, I went to two different SM “dealers.” One back east and one out west. Great folks at both places, but neither could figure out how to get the airbag issue sorted, which is apparently specific to land cruisers. As dealers, what they were basically doing was installing brand new SM seats in brand new camper vans which did not happen to have that airbag issue. Troubleshooting different kinds of trucks wasn’t really their specialty.

I really like SM as a company and their customer service folks here in the US are top-notch. That said, it didn’t help that there were no actual directions for installing the seats. All I received was a link to a site where somebody had installed them in a Toyota tundra. None of the guys in the three shops I visited could make heads or tails out of that either, as there were maybe four photos total.

It turned out that my issue was the fact that I needed certain parts from the old Toyota seats. Since there hadn’t been any directions, I had no idea Again, I apologize profusely for my lack of technical knowledge, but I believe it was a wiring harness.

I only discovered this when I was recommended by SM to a third “dealer,” (which I hope is OK to mention here): FIGS Engineering in Denver. Mike Figaro is “THE man” . Not only does he install SM seats, but he rebuilds old land cruisers and installs them in those vehicles, so the mystery of the wiring harness and the resistor were NOT a mystery to him.

I walked in the door at 6 o’clock in the morning, having driven through the night. He said I could rack out on the couch in the back room, and it seemed like I had no more than laid down than he was shaking me awake and telling me my truck was done. I looked at my watch. He literally had my airbag light gone within 30 minutes. On top of that, I had removed my second row when I first got the truck and had an airbag light from that, too. He fixed that as well. When I told him he didn’t have to do that, he said “none of my customers leave here with a flashing warning light if I can help it.” Top notch.

I had not been sure exactly what he needed from the old seats, even though he had tried to explain it to me very patiently. Being the dumb jarhead that I am, I simply brought both of my old seats with me. He took what he needed and disposed of the rest for me.

I do still have an issue with the Klima ventilation on my seat (it doesn’t work), but I’m thinking that may be because I was one of the first to get them and they hadn’t sorted the bugs out. It could also be that the stock Toyota cooling that it is supposed to run off of has an issue, because I can hear the motors running in the SM seat, but they don’t blow any cold air. But that’s neither here or there.

I’m sure the folks doing your install are competent, and if you live in a populated area like SoCal, they’ve probably done this before with land cruisers and LX’s. For me, at the time that I had this work done, I was still living in Duluth, Minnesota, up on the shore of Lake Superior. Not a whole ton of land cruisers. They’re even ‘foreign’ vehicles to most of the Toyota dealers. So after my local shop and the two SM dealers I visited (both in not so populated areas) I decided to quit screwing around and go to an SM dealer in what is basically the Offroad capital of the country.

That said, if your installers get stuck, give Mike a call. Guy is just awesome.

That great you were able to find someone to get you sorted. I'm in a similar situation, no shops anywhere near me to do things in person. I shipped my old seats to Tolerance stack so they are going through them and building an adapter kit that they will ship back to me.

I'm working with the same fixed bracket from Planted, the short version. Biggest issue is getting the seat rake set correctly for even pressure on my legs. I found the rake on the planted bracket was too aggressive for me and was digging into my thighs. I raised the rear of the seat, but ended up needing a significant amount of spacers, so instead I just cut the front mounts down by 3/4 of an inch. I'm still figuring out the proper setting to get comfortable though.

 

[RandyDaytona]

Got any pics of your SM seat install? Those sound awesome. I must say I don’t love my 200 seats compared to other trucks I have owned. I’m 6’2” with a history of bulged discs and low back pain. The 200 seats get my back hurting far quicker than my Ram pickup seats.
D awesom

Here’s a few pics that I just hopped out and took.

I am also 6’2” and have a similar history of bulging discs. I can sit in these seats forever with no issues. I did recently have an issue with the outside bolster on the drivers seat. It appears that the foam inside the bolster somehow “came loose” (?), causing it to rise a bit and start wearing on the part that sticks up. I have reached out to SM USA, who are contacting the factory in Germany about this. I think it’s a freak issue, as I’ve never heard of it before.

 

[RandyDaytona]

That great you were able to find someone to get you sorted. I'm in a similar situation, no shops anywhere near me to do things in person. I shipped my old seats to Tolerance stack so they are going through them and building an adapter kit that they will ship back to me.

I'm working with the same fixed bracket from Planted, the short version. Biggest issue is getting the seat rake set correctly for even pressure on my legs. I found the rake on the planted bracket was too aggressive for me and was digging into my thighs. I raised the rear of the seat, but ended up needing a significant amount of spacers, so instead I just cut the front mounts down by 3/4 of an inch. I'm still figuring out the proper setting to get comfortable though.

Have you tried the seat jackers? Maybe those would help. I actually bought a set last summer, but could not make them fit with the Planted brackets. You may have different results with the LX.

Sounds like you have a shop that knows what they’re doing and has experience with these seats. That’s gonna make all the difference in the world.

The irony for me of having the seats installed with no airbag connection for nearly 6 months: I hit a deer about two months after I had the seats put in. Because the airbag wasn’t hooked up, it never went off, obviously. That was actually the difference between USAA wanting to total my truck and the fact that they decided to go ahead and fix it. If the airbag had been hooked up and had gone off, the price to fix it would’ve gone over their threshold. As it was, it was just over $20,000 in damage.

 

[culturedredneck]

Have you tried the seat jackers? Maybe those would help. I actually bought a set last summer, but could not make them fit with the Planted brackets. You may have different results with the LX.

Sounds like you have a shop that knows what they’re doing and has experience with these seats. That’s gonna make all the difference in the world.

The irony for me of having the seats installed with no airbag connection for nearly 6 months: I hit a deer about two months after I had the seats put in. Because the airbag wasn’t hooked up, it never went off, obviously. That was actually the difference between USAA wanting to total my truck and the fact that they decided to go ahead and fix it. If the airbag had been hooked up and had gone off, the price to fix it would’ve gone over their threshold. As it was, it was just over $20,000 in damage.

I tried some seat jackers, and had the same experience. Then I called Scheel Mann and found out they actually sells both risers and spacers to adjust the rake and height of the seat. Instead of putting them between the seat bracket and the floor, they go between the seat and the brackets. You can also just use washers to get the same effect, but their brackets look a little better than just stacking washers. Probably safer too.

I had that same thought on the airbags, glad you can conform through real life testing!

If you want to get your airbags sorted and functional, I believe the guys at Tolerance Stack have a solution for your 200. Their innovations for adopting these scheel mann seats are insane.

 

[paulunm]

Are you using the thick black washer things that they sent you?

I have a set of these in my G500. I think the fact they sit lower made them less comfortable. I used spacers to raise the front of the seat which helped. But I think the whole seat needs to come up about an inch or two.

 

[RandyDaytona]

Are you using the thick black washer things that they sent you?

I have a set of these in my G500. I think the fact they sit lower made them less comfortable. I used spacers to raise the front of the seat which helped. But I think the whole seat needs to come up about an inch or two.

Yeah, I may end up lifting the front just slightly. I love that Long bolster that you can extend outward, and it’s good right now, but would be even better if it was just a little bit higher.

 

[paulunm]

I'd like to find a set of really thick spacers, I know a guy who cut up a rifle barrel to use as spacers.

 

[Bunga]

Are these more like flatter race car seats? The fluffy lx570 seats are like couches with only minimal support.