How To Turn Tesla Model 3 Seats into Office Chairs!

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Check out the Tesla Model S Seat Office Chair video out here: • How to Turn Tesla Seat...
Link to tech sheet for metal support bars and seat connector pinout here: drive.google.c...
Links for parts:
Roller Blade Wheels: www.amazon.com...
Seat base and Seat mount combo: www.ebay.com/i...
Short cylinder: www.amazon.com...
Hardware:
2 - 5/16” x 2.5” hex bolts
6 - 5/16” x 1.5” hex bolts
16 - 5/16” flat washers
8 - 5/16” nylon hex nuts
4 - M10 x 1.00 (fine thread) hex nuts
Metal Brackets/cross tubes:
1.5” x 1/8” Angle Iron
3/4” square tubing
Music:
Intro - Scary Island by Verified Picasso
Seat disassembly - All That Jazz by Blue Wednesday bluewednesday....
Wire Cutting Music - Space Was the Place by Audio Hertz
Seat Assembly Music - Sayonara by Blue Wednesday bluewednesday....
Outro - Mission to Mars - Audio Hertz
Outtakes - Desire by Blue Wednesday bluewednesday....

[@Shoeboxcat7]

I mow the grass at a Tesla dealership. Occasionally I see these in the dumpster in almost perfect condition. Today I managed to pull one and bring it home. The idea I had in mind is exactly what you've done here, and for you to document your process and share it is unbelievably helpful. I will be swinging by the hardware store soon!

[@T3m0ur]

Where you located 😂

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

They throw away a bunch of stuff, were even caught illegally throwing away defective MCUs.

[@ow_crew]

Had to replace the passenger side seat from my PM3 so I told Tesla Service I wanted Ti keep the old seat with the thought of turning it into an office chair. That’s how I found your channel. 🥳 Now I have a super sweet office chair. My mistake was having my Wife try it out. Now she wants one for her office. I told her the next time a fault in the seat that can’t be fixed comes up… she’ll get one too. 😅 Charge On Peeps 🤓🤘⚡️🏎️💨

[@ow_crew]

Forgot to mention. I’m thinking of adding power to it using a 12v cordless tool battery. Did you already deem that as not possible or not worth it and that’s why it isn’t in the video?

[@backshopelectric]

The switch pack needs to be replaced. Another viewer made a custom switch pack so it is possible to require the seat, but I don’t have the ability to do that yet.

[@Geremology]

Definitely a cool project! I was able to use the Model 3 seat and a broken Steelcase Leap base to make the office chair, while retaining full functionality of the motors. I wired a 12v rechargeable battery, and third party switches, but it's one of my favorite seats to sit in

[@backshopelectric]

Awesome! Do you have a link to the switches?

[@Geremology]

@@backshopelectric I went with generic Momentary Polarity Reverse Switches from Amazon and 3d printed a trim panel to make it look more polished, since the original switches would require the car in order to function correctly

[@android04]

I acquired a discarded passenger seat from a Model 3 for the purpose of making it a computer chair. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, so looked up others that had since the same thing and can't across this video and the file with measurements. Very helpful.

[@jamesbernad2353]

You should take off the airbag and seatbelt pretensioner just to be safe

[@backshopelectric]

The pretensioner is removed with the bottom rail. Future video (at some point) will be air bag removal.

[@uksucksme]

Have a Model 3 seat to make a gaming chair. Thanks for the help on this project! Can't wait to get started on it.

[@backshopelectric]

Send pics to [e-mail]! I’ll post them on my website :)

[@SikDigitz]

how did it come

[@Lukazade244]

How’d it go

[@GerminusJason]

you are poised to have a million subs in no time. keep this up! :D

[@backshopelectric]

Thank you!

[@hernantcortes]

I figured out you can recline the seat using a 9V battery, so I have hooked up a battery case with a switch to the yellow and black wires to adjust the recline. Currently I need to swap the wires for up or down, but it works, a 9V is sufficiently powerful

[@backshopelectric]

Awesome info! Thanks!

[@hernantcortes]

@@backshopelectric Now if I can somehow mount a reversing switch in where the recline adjustment is on the side of the chair, that would be neat. If I figure it out I'll post details.

[@backshopelectric]

@@hernantcortes I have plans drawn up for one somewhere but I won’t be able to post them for a handful of days.

[@kwatoggurutv109]

Are u talking about the 9v battery the small one? Thanks

[@hernantcortes]

@@kwatoggurutv109 The rectangular battery with the posts on the same side. A car uses 12v so a 9v works here just 1/4 slower

[@SubrosaRose]

You should get Model S 2024 front seat and get some cooling :D

[@OmikseQ]

High Steve, great video. I have been wanting to do this for over a year now when I got to sit in one and thought it would make a very comfortable gaming chair. Thanks to my job and making friends with one of the parts guys at Tesla, I was recently able to get my hands on one they were getting rid of and saw my opportunity to make it happen. Just a couple of days ago I came across your video and how you went about it. I must say, you did a way better job than I was planning. And thanks to the reply you gave to Ant RodZ, I used the address you provided to him to ask the same question. Either way, thanks to your video because now I can make this happen.

[@backshopelectric]

Happy to help! If you are interested, send pics of your finished project to [e-mail] and I’ll post your pics to my FB and Instagram. Best of luck to you!

[@OmikseQ]

@@backshopelectric I was hoping you would respond to my email with the question I had

[@backshopelectric]

@@OmikseQ I’m so sorry I didn’t get the notification that I had a message. I just looked and saw I had missed your message and a few others. I will respond shortly.

[@MrWidows]

W chair! I only need $900 for this.....

[@PaulOblomov]

OMG! Just amazing!

[@aussietesladriverinla9387]

Oh man... need to do an update in heated/cooled office chairs using Tesla X Seats...!

[@VictorRubenAndrade]

Yea he got the orientation right this time!

[@backshopelectric]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@majorgreenz2811]

what a great idea ! thanks for the video and idea great job

[@sebomaniac05]

Very nice and instructive video, thanks!

[@backshopelectric]

Thanks bud!

[@butchergameruk1062]

2:38 “deez nuts” lol 😂😂😂

[@backshopelectric]

🤣😂

[@hjschmidt3752]

Great info presented in a very clear info, THANKS! Have a Cybertruck on order, so we'll see how those seats compare. p.s. I preferred your videos without the background music -- your voice alone "says it all'.

[@backshopelectric]

Thanks for watching! Trying to make helpful content :)

[@hjschmidt3752]

@@backshopelectric .... and you absolutely *are* providing helpful content! I've subscribed (not something I do frequently). As a matter of fact, I really wish this help was available several decades ago when I did my first car seat to office chair conversion -- a driver's side '57 Karmann Ghia seat. The comment about the background music was just a 'personal vote' -- maybe it's my advanced age which makes me more sensitive to such little things. I'm looking forward to your future posts!

[@hernantcortes]

I added arm rests

[@hernantcortes]

Having trouble linking from Amazon, but it was these OFM Core Collection Adjustable Arms For Model 118-2, 105, & 119 Task Chairs, Black

[@everythingtesla8833]

YES! Thank you!!!

[@backshopelectric]

Make sure you watch the outtakes! :D

[@everythingtesla8833]

@@backshopelectric love it 😂 do you have a new link for another short cylinder?

[@backshopelectric]

@@everythingtesla8833 the link in the description was from my order on Amazon. It was unavailable for a little bit but came back recently. I bought two and haven’t checked back. Hopefully they come back soon!

[@backshopelectric]

I put a question into the seller to see when it would be available again. I’ll post if I get a reply. They do come back so it might just be a glitch... maybe?

[@everythingtesla8833]

@@backshopelectric thanks!

[@markusstuiber]

Man I would Pay for such an awesome seat😍

[@chris.s867]

What size star bit do you need to remove the rail Thanks :)

[@galax64]

Now all 4 motor wires figured out ! Thin cables from seat motors are just position sensor cables? What are those gray (4 wires)& green (2 wires) connectors under seat ?

[@valdemar7986]

two questions: why not to invest a little bit more and have your chair warmed and adjusted when needed by having it plugged in? secondly, how hard will it be to defuse the airbag you keep sitting on and waiting for it to be triggered?

[@backshopelectric]

These are good questions. There is a viewer that is working on the side switches for adjustment. I do not have the technical data for control of the heat strips and am not certain what amperage load that would be required to not burn batteries up, or where I could store a battery of any substantial size without making the chair super clunky. In reference to the air bag, the firing mechanism requires too much voltage to fire by accident. I felt comfortable enough to leave it in the video with the caution in the unlikely event the viewer did not follow all of the directions or attempted to put power on a part of the seat at some point prior to working on it.

[@FranciscoMartinez-ou9sw]

I’m jut need to know how you did with the switch control. Please tell me

[@backshopelectric]

You will have to refer to the wiring diagrams for the model/year of the seats to make sure you got it right. Or you can trace the two larger diameter wires off each motor to connect power to each motor individually

[@canadahq6926]

Where can i buy car seats?

[@backshopelectric]

The best place to looks are either Tesla forums, eBay or FB marketplace.

[@unlogical2188]

how did you remove the seats from a model 3? can you make a tutorial/guide?

[@backshopelectric]

These seats were removed when I got them. I may be able to make a tutorial about seat removal in a future video for sure. But it will be a while as I don’t have a model 3 readily available.

[@taipoxin]

@@backshopelectric Yes please! That would be very helpful. Or if it's not too complicated, you could explain it here?

[@GiotheChe]

Hi! Really cool video. Thanks for the idea. I'm currently doing the same project and almost finished. I'm just in the point of choosing bolts for the fixation of the seat to the lower structure. You used 4 screws, what size did you use?(min 10:00) I'm a little bit worried for the weight to be hold by the screws. Also, I was thinking of using rivet nuts in the bars. What is your thougt on it? Again, thanks for the inspiration for the project. Regards Gio

[@backshopelectric]

I used 5/16” (~8mm) diameter bolts. Which has a tensile strength of ~3000 lbs (~1360 kg) each. Which is plenty for an office chair

[@brad4241]

Do you sale these? I’d love to have a black model 3/Y seat.

[@umesh082]

Can you sell me one of these power car seat office chair ?

[@backshopelectric]

@@umesh082 I’m sorry, this is just a how to video.

[@pippogt5]

Hi Steve, bumped into your video while searching for how to power a power seat out of the car. I have a Model 3 seat that I want to attach to my simulation rig. I want to retain all of its electric adjustments to keep it "compatible" with the family. I want to use the original controls of the seat to make adjustments. Do I have to power all the motors individually? How can I connect the ah H-bridge connector to the actual controls? Thank you

[@nathansloan8532]

Great video, well made. I’m about to take delivery of one of the new model 3’s that doesn’t have passenger lumbar support. You’ve been all in these chairs, do you think it would be hard to find parts and add back in?

[@backshopelectric]

Awesome! I am excited for you. And thanks for the positive comment about my video! Unfortunately, I have not taken the seat backs apart. My gut tells me that the lumbar will need the body controller (which controls the seat movement) to work properly, which at minimum would require some degree of reprogramming. The seat adjustment switch panel is actually a low voltage circuit card that sends signals to the body controller to move the different motors on the seat. Although I can’t say for certain whether it is possible or not, from what I know about these seats it would probably not be worth trying to fit it as it would be a serious pain to make it work right in my opinion. If you find that I’m wrong, post another comment or email me because I’d love to hear what you learn!

[@uksucksme]

It is only missing in the passenger seat. Have your passenger(s) try it out, if you need lumbar support, just buy an aftermarket solution that sits in the seat.

[@galax64]

Cool, I have now idea: I will install tesla 3 seat to my 2003 New Beetle convertible. Do you have wiring diagram for tesla seat?

[@backshopelectric]

Sadly, it’s not a direct wire for wire installation. The switch panel on the side has a circuit board in it that converts the signal for the adjustment motor control. Do you want to incorporate for adjustment control will all have to be manually wired to the switches you would need to install

[@backshopelectric]

Would look pretty sick if you can get them to work in the beetle though :-)

[@galax64]

@@backshopelectric Holy moly, Then it is quite hard to do, but do able.

[@galax64]

@@backshopelectric Highly possible :O)

[@gwaponobby]

Did I hear correctly? The air bag explosives are still in the seat when you are chopping through wiring looms?

[@backshopelectric]

To be clear, air bags do not contain explosives, they are charged with compressed nitrogen gas which is an inert gas. The safety restraint system (air bags system) requires 12V DC to be applied to the specific circuit to deploy the air bags. The caution I gave in the video was in an abundance of caution knowing that there could be any number of people that could be building these chairs and that a simple precaution of cutting one wire at a time would be a simple way to cover all but the most extreme situations. I hope this helps!

[@Macade_Olson]

Currently working on this project right now and I have a few questions. Is there a way to get power all the time? And is it possible to get the heated seat to work? Thanks!

[@backshopelectric]

I did not look into those options. If you are able to mount a 12VDC battery and switching mechanism, you should be able to adjust the seat pretty easily. However, the seat heater controller needs the MCU to control it. I haven’t looked into what it would take to emulate it.

[@Macade_Olson]

@@backshopelectric what power source did you connect it to to be able to move it?

[@backshopelectric]

@@Macade_Olson A 12VDC lawn mower battery

[@hrodgers64]

Wish someone would sell me one. Unable to build one myself.

[@antrodz1071]

hello Steve, first and foremost i wanna thank you for the great content and creativity for being able make these awesome office chairs. great ingenuity. i wanted to know if its possible to purchase the already cut and made brackets you used, maybe like some sort of kit from you. i can obtain most of this but dont really have a means of cutting or drilling metals. i was able to obtain 2 chairs from a family members model y and model 3.

[@backshopelectric]

Hit me up at [e-mail]

[@alexjames8188]

2:37 "deez nuts" confirmed

[@backshopelectric]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@alexjames8188]

But in all seriousness, I just came across a M3 passenger chair that I want to do this with. One of the parts from this video are no longer available, so I'm trying to find a substitute. Good stuff!

[@backshopelectric]

@@alexjames8188 is it the super short cylinder piece? That one seems to come and go on Amazon. I’m sure if you keep searching every couple of days it’ll come back. It’s happened twice to me.

[@alexjames8188]

@@backshopelectric yup that's the one! I'll keep checking, thanks for the swift responses.

[@alexjames8188]

I found the part at last. Another question, have you ever considered armrests? I would interested to see a solution for that.

[@loayabuqaoud]

I'm done,, how to send you pics of the result?😬

[@backshopelectric]

If you send them to [e-mail] I can repost on FB and Instagram :)

[@loayabuqaoud]

@@backshopelectric done,,, hope you like it😬

[@ethancooper7762]

Is this done with a passenger or driver seat? Does it matter which one you do it with?

[@backshopelectric]

It works with either side. Thanks for watching!

[@ethancooper7762]

Could you just bolt a piece of plywood to the entire seat including the fore/aft adjutant rails and bolt that directly to the chair base?

[@backshopelectric]

@@ethancooper7762 I don’t recommend doing that. The center of gravity will be very high and it will be very unstable. The person sitting in the chair will likely fall over backward and get hurt.

[@StevenBaughman]

Looking to due the same with Model X passenger seat. Any idea where I can find the info for the wiring colors to move the motors in that seat?

[@backshopelectric]

If you look under the seat, most of the wires are visible on the motors. You can visit www.fixyourtesla.com for wiring diagrams. I’m sorry I don’t have the diagrams for the Model X

[@StevenBaughman]

@@backshopelectric I have looked there already...not as helpful as I had hoped...great videos!

[@Yologod]

Can I buy one from you?

[@backshopelectric]

I’m sorry but I’m not selling these

[@EasyFusionRain]

Any chance you're selling one?

[@andrewlane9842]

My driver's seat back and seat cushion rocks/pivots back and forth on my model 3. Do you know how to fix this?

[@backshopelectric]

Unfortunately I have not heard of a fix for this. The seats in my Model S did this as well, however it was not very noticeable in my case. If it is very evident, I would recommend having your service center take a look at it and see if it requires replacement. How much would you say it rocks back and forth?

[@andrewlane9842]

@@backshopelectric Not much, but enough that I do notice it at times when accelerating from a stop or braking to a stop.

[@andrewlane9842]

@@backshopelectric Does your model 3 office chair conversion wiggle around or is it pretty solid?

[@backshopelectric]

@@andrewlane9842 I don’t have the seats in the BackShop anymore, but I sort of recall some side to side motion, but not front to back as you are describing. It is possible the drive motor gear could have some play in it for the vertical adjustment. I haven’t researched if that is a serviceable part though, meaning I don’t know if you can buy only the motor from Tesla. I don’t think it would be the tilt motor as that only raises the front of the seat cushion. There isn’t much play in the bushings of the seat so it’s surprising you are feeling it to such a degree.

[@hernantcortes]

The lumbar on mine is fully inflated, do you know which wires control that pump?

[@backshopelectric]

I found the wires but was unable to actuate the pump. I think it is controlled but a LIN wire and won’t work until it gets the proper signal.

[@hernantcortes]

@@backshopelectric So a needle :)

[@backshopelectric]

That would probably do it.

[@vlbrian]

Did you remove the seat airbag?

[@backshopelectric]

No sir

[@gloworm4u]

What kind of metal did u use for the tubes? Aluminum? Steel?

[@backshopelectric]

Steel

[@imranmehmood1086]

What is the length of the square tube and angle iron

[@kwatoggurutv109]

Will this work 12V 9AH SLA AGM Battery to this seat

[@backshopelectric]

I haven’t tried it, but it is a 12V system. If you try it, let us know how it works!

[@kwatoggurutv109]

@@backshopelectric i see some 12v dc that is connect direct to the outlet will it work to? Trying best option if i go 12v battery or 12v dc direct to the outlet?thank you

[@backshopelectric]

@@kwatoggurutv109 I would recommend that you use a battery

[@kwatoggurutv109]

@@backshopelectric the back cover of my seat is off looks like i have to adjust the head rest or need to raise it in order for me to put it back the back cover what wire is the head rest? Thank you for your help really appreciate sir….

[@backshopelectric]

@@kwatoggurutv109 if you are working on a Model S or Model X third Gen seat, there are four wires that go to the adjustment motors, the two smaller wires are usually the sensing signal (so the motor knows where the plunger is in its stroke) and two larger diameter wires for moving the motor/plunger. You can adjust the motor by applying power to the larger diameter wires, reversing polarity to change direction. I hope this helps!

[@everythingtesla8833]

What size of angle iron?

[@backshopelectric]

1.5” x 1.5” 1/8” thick. I linked the wrong doc in the video description. Will upload tonight.

[@backshopelectric]

New link added for tech data

[@lucbarrot44]

Do you sell it ?

[@backshopelectric]

I had thought about it but ended up making a video so people could make their own. :)

[@IntheEndAhNevermind]

How much do you want for one?

[@backshopelectric]

Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I do not sell these, I only made a video to show how it’s done. Thanks for watching!

[@IntheEndAhNevermind]

@@backshopelectric You should consider it. I saw a website that is selling them for $1,200.

[@backshopelectric]

@@IntheEndAhNevermind I appreciate the info. I thought about it but Model 3 seats are fairly scarce in rural NC