On US Vanagons apparentlty VW never offered this, but on Canada (and
presumably European) driver seat heaters were an option.

It is still possible to get the steering column shroud that has a
place for the switch.

Of course the VW switch is about $100. You might score (as I did) on
the whole shebang (minus the heating pads) from someone in Europe. But
there are other alternatives.

<http://www.autowarm.com/products.php>

This is the place I ordered from. One of their products has a multi-
dial switch, much like the OEM VW switch. Similar, but not identical.
Those similarities are annoying. Physically, it is about the same
size, but the spring clips on the side, are tiny and not like the OEM
switch, so if you put it into the shroud, it will be loose.

Also the multidial switch they send is designed to be vertically
oriented, whereas the OEM VW switch is designed to be horizontal.

I may yet try to use the OEM switch in place of that supplied with the
kit.