Express van - seat retrofit question - airbag/seatbelt wiring

[sclark900]

I'm swapping out my stock seats for some RV swivel base leather seats (6 way adjustable, electric, passenger side w/ Sienna-esque footrest). I'm in the process of fabricating some mounts to accommodate the 9x9" bolt pattern. Wondering what to do about the OEM electronics integrated into stock seats - airbag and seatbelt. When unplugged, the airbags produce trigger a 'service' error on the OBDII. I can pretty easily switch out the female seatbelt receptacle and transfer over the wiring, but the airbag feature (pressure sensitive seat pan) - not so much. Curious to know what others have done when swapping out seats. I haven't found much through searches of this site and Google. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TeleSteve]

When adding seat heaters to my stock seats I noticed the pressure sensitive pad would be fairly easy to remove from the factory seats.

 

[sclark900]

When adding seat heaters to my stock seats I noticed the pressure sensitive pad would be fairly easy to remove from the factory seats.

Good to know. I'd like to keep the stock seats intact if possible. I didn't see an easy way to get the abs pressure pad out. Any chance you could elaborate on how to access it? Thanks.

 

[TeleSteve]

The pressure pad appeared to just be a pad added on top of the bottom cushion foam. It looked like it could be removed from the foam and the seat would still be functional. Removing the seat cover is not that difficult and you could see what your up against.