Gen II Sport Seats - Stability Problem

[roots57]

I noticed when I take corners hard, my drivers seat shifts slightly from side to side, like it has some play, or is just loose and it is annoying as hell! The seats are already not bolstered enough to keep me in the seat all the way in a high speed turn. This issue is really a result of the H&R springs improving the handling so much that it unveiled this problem. I haven't tried to look into fixing it yet. I'm wondering if I should try to fix it myself, or just take it back to the dealer. Anyone else's Sport seats doing this, especially those with H&R springs?

[enigma-2]

When you stand (squat) outside the car, can you forcefully shake the seat bottom and make it shift?

[roots57]

When you stand (squat) outside the car, can you forcefully shake the seat bottom and make it shift?

 

I'll try that today...I'll compare it to the feel of the passenger seat too.

[GenEDGE]

I noticed my driver's seat also shifting a little bit upon hard braking and turning.

 

Hopefully this is something that will be honored under warranty if bolts need to be adjusted or unfortunately a seat replacement.

 

I'm dropping off my Edge at the dealership for the second time now to have the passenger side rear door realigned due to wind noise and clear bulging visible from the exterior. (First time was for steering wheel replacement due to adaptive steering fault)

 

I'll do the same and see if it moves when you forcibly try to shake the seat from a parked position or if it only shifts when you have more momentum going during driving.

 

Let us know what you find out.

Edited October 26, 2017 by GenEDGE

[roots57]

I noticed my driver's seat also shifting a little bit upon hard braking and turning.

 

Hopefully this is something that will be honored under warranty if bolts need to be adjusted or unfortunately a seat replacement.

 

I'm dropping off my Edge at the dealership for the second time now to have the passenger side rear door realigned due to wind noise and clear bulging visible from the exterior. (First time was for steering wheel replacement due to adaptive steering fault)

 

I'll do the same and see if it moves when you forcibly try to shake the seat from a parked position or if it only shifts when you have more momentum going during driving.

 

Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks for the reply. Let me know what the dealership says about the seat if you ask them to look into it. I'm hoping that its not just a design flaw with these power seats. Technically the seats themselves are not mounted directly to the car, only the base is and seats just travel on rails and a lead screw that relies on brake effect friction to remain in a static position. But there seems to be way too much lateral play imo. I weigh a little over 200 lbs so I'm by no means overloading it.

Edited October 26, 2017 by roots57

[GenEDGE]

Ok so unfortunately I overslept this morning but just called and they said to drop it off. Heading there now. I work nights so it's hard to get up in the mornings sometimes.

 

I did just grab the driver's seat by the seat cusion sides and move it at least an 1/8 of an inch side to side. The passengers side seat does not. You can't really tell by thepics but I'll post them anyways. Wish I had someone to take a video of it.

Edited October 26, 2017 by GenEDGE

[roots57]

Ok so unfortunately I overslept this morning but just called and they said to drop it off. Heading there now. I work nights so it's hard to get up in the mornings sometimes.

I did just grab the driver's seat by the seat cusion sides and move it at least an 1/8 of an inch side to side. The passengers side seat does not. You can't really tell by thepics but I'll post them anyways. Wish I had someone to take a video of it.

So I tested both front seats by grabbing and forcing it side to side and I got the same result as you. Passenger seat is fine but the driver seat has about 1/8th of an inch of lateral play. The pics that you took don't show where the actual problem is though, there's a lateral bar up underneath that rotates within two pillow blocks, this is where the play is. I thought it was at the lead screw initially too. I had to remove the front plastic molding to figure it out and then fix it. I couldn't find a way to adjust it (without taking it off and apart), but I was able to make a few split shims out of .030" shim stock and placed them in the void. Worked out great, I'll take a couple of pics and post them tomorrow in case you want to do the same. Took me about 45 minutes, including the time spent making the shims. I can give you the dimensions for the shims too, save you the time of measuring it yourself. No more lateral play whatsoever.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

DIY Fix

[roots57]

Ok here is a decent picture of the shims I installed. You have to remove the plastic trim from the front of the seat in order to see/reach up there. The orange shims are placed at one end of the shaft that operates the front portion of the seat up and down. It will all make sense when you take off the trim piece and look underneath while pushing/pulling the seat side to side. You will be able to see exactly where the play is. It might be tough to decipher exactly what you are looking at in the photo below. I put the shims towards the door side of the seat, but I think there is room to put them on either side. It was a little tough getting all three shims in, mainly because its such a tight space. But once I did, the side to side play was eliminated. I am hoping they stay in place and don't deform, otherwise I may just try to have the dealership replace the seat. I'm not going to be able to do a better job of fixing it without taking the whole seat apart, and while still under warranty I'm not putting in that much effort yet. We'll see how it lasts I guess.

 

Edited October 30, 2017 by roots57

[GenEDGE]

They ended up taking apart the seat and inspecting it and putting it back together. Unsure of what they actually did to fix it but it worked.

 

Will have to take a picture of the paperwork and upload the notes the dealer wrote down.

 

So far so good no movement upon hard braking or turning. (Fingers crossed it doesn't reoccur)

 

Thanks for updating with what you found. Pics will be a help when I look at it.

 

Sitting at the dealer right now because the the passenger rear door realignment wasn't a 100% fix.

Edited October 31, 2017 by GenEDGE