Multi Contour seat help please

[jp12]

Hi, I just got F16 with multi contour seat. I was driving F10 with standard seat. I searched this question but was not able to have a solution.

My problem is I do not know how to adjust the seat. I start to feel pain in my leg (right leg) even after 5 to 10 minute driving. I am kinda okay in terms of back (pain). Mostly LEG. My right leg really tingles, which means my seat position is not right.

I tried to adjust every way and followed instructions on the seat adjustment articles or videos but haven't been able to find a 'no pain' position. By the way, I am 5'8'' tall.

I felt very comfortable in the previous car but get very stressed in this one.
Also I feel like the brake pedal position is a little higher than the gas pedal which makes me hard to move my foot between those two. Is this normal? Or is it just my seat position problem?

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Please help me.

[Mohamed-Kwt]

I used to face the exact problem as you do now, in addition I'm as tall as you are, the trick here is to ensure that your thigh weight is supported by the seat not on your thigh muscle, for example if your seat position is not perfectly adjusted you will end up while driving in lifting your thigh a bit where it makes you feel numb or cramp after a period of time.

Here are few tips of how I have adjusted my seating position:

-adjust the seat to a certain degree where it's inclined ( the front end of the seat is high & the back end of it is down).
-lift the seat so it will carry the full weight of your thighs, this step might make you uncomfortable a bit but you have to compromise your head space where it almost touches the roof.
- extend the thigh support to the maximum limit.

I hope the above tips will make you more comfortable while driving the car.

[Diper]

Do not give up just yet. It took me months to figure out my seating position. Actually I have two now.
As I start the driving I tend or want to drive with less recline than 15 minutes later when I start relaxing a bit more .
But with regards to the thigh support:

- first of all your correct seating position will also be affected by the shoes you ware. I recline the seat so that it will support my legs. BUT when this level is reached I decrease the recline a bit otherwise I will get cramps. I do this with the thigh support partly extended, As this works best for my size (1mtr80)

- my seating position is quite aft, due to the distance I prefer to the brake and gaspedal. Therefore the steeringwheel is fully extended outwards AND downwards (as I do not need to sit on the car bit in it) and I'm able to rest my arms (elbows) on the middle console and door armrest.

- the top of the back is (I do not know if the wording is correct) cambered in such a way that it follows my back and I'm able to rest my head on the cushion.

This is the way I prefer it, and I can drive for many hours without getting pains. In fact it is the best seat I ever had. BUT it took me months to figure out.

Take your time

[flexfusion]

that tingling is the symptoms of hamstring pain. this is exactly why I didn't order these seats....been there before on an E60 and never could get comfortable driving the car.....great car but the seat didn't fit my legs. good luck and I hope you don't experience that I did.

[BXdriver]

I personally wished that the multi contour seats could be tilted even more up in the front. For me, just about 2 cm more would have made me sit wonderfully good.
I have the seat at maximum up/height now. (Meaning I must really bend down the head when entering, but that's OK).
Now, I live very OK with a position I have found, but I do experience some of the exact same pain-issues from time to time as you do.

One tip - at least in my experience and what surprises me - is actually to NOT extend the thigh support all the way out.
It simply supports the thicker part of your thighs better when not all the way out, meaning the rest of the leg also relaxes more.

I have been thinking about various things, from loosening the seat from the floor and building up the front part with some nuts, steel plates or similar
(but probably not a very welcome solution for the bi-annually technical Euro-inspections we have over here)
- to fooling the motors that adjusts the seat to run longer (encoders?, mechanical stops?).
I have seen there are more threads on the motorized screws, so driving the seat even more up should be possible in some way).

Last solution - a pillow. (I did that in a X1 I owned for a few Months many years ago, but it still killed my back).
But that's really, really a bad and poor solution to the X5's best available $$ seats.

Best
Bent

[P1]

Just like I get fitted for my bicycles, it would be nice if BMW would offer a "fitting" for your car also.

[Almaretto]

I am 6'2" and I drop the seat down as low as it will allow; for me, this offers both maximum visibility and head room. I have seat pushed forward so steering wheel meets wrists of extended arms. I have back relatively vertical. I do not extend the thigh support. I use the side bolsters to hug lower and upper back without compressing. I use the lower back support to push out forward into the natural curve of the spine without pressing into it.

If you are getting pain or tingling in your thighs or calf muscles, that is because your seat is positioned too high and legs are hanging below. The same thing will happen on a toilet seat.

[tntp]

Originally Posted by jp12

Hi, I just got F16 with multi contour seat. I was driving F10 with standard seat. I searched this question but was not able to have a solution.

My problem is I do not know how to adjust the seat. I start to feel pain in my leg (right leg) even after 5 to 10 minute driving. I am kinda okay in terms of back (pain). Mostly LEG. My right leg really tingles, which means my seat position is not right.

I tried to adjust every way and followed instructions on the seat adjustment articles or videos but haven't been able to find a 'no pain' position. By the way, I am 5'8'' tall.

I felt very comfortable in the previous car but get very stressed in this one.
Also I feel like the brake pedal position is a little higher than the gas pedal which makes me hard to move my foot between those two. Is this normal? Or is it just my seat position problem?

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Please help me.

I guess moving from F10 to F16 may take a little bit time for your body to adjust to a different/higher seating position. It took me about 6 months moving from E90 to F15. Try to extent the thigh booster just a little bit and lower the front edge of the seat all the way down (flatten the seat) while setting the seat height at medium/or lower level. I made a mistake adjust the seat all the way high up for better visibility (I'm 5'8" too) but my legs suffered the discomfort. It took me a while to find a perfect combination. Good luck.

[Alex S.]

Hey guys, struggling with the seat position (6 months). Lately i'm having quite annoying blower back pain - not sharp, but lower back feels at times paralyzed. Will try readjusting the seat as recommended. Anybody with the lower back pain here?

My current position is fully up with leg support fully extended and I adjust the recline of the seat on the go. I'm 1 m 80 cm in height, aprox. 5.8 ft.

[mnx5er]

Originally Posted by Alex S.

Hey guys, struggling with the seat position (6 months). Lately i'm having quite annoying blower back pain - not sharp, but lower back feels at times paralyzed. Will try readjusting the seat as recommended. Anybody with the lower back pain here?

My current position is fully up with leg support fully extended and I adjust the recline of the seat on the go. I'm 1 m 80 cm in height, aprox. 5.8 ft.

I really battles the lumbar support initially with the comfort seats and it initially bothered my back. I finally pumped it up as high as it would go and then deflated it - it went back further that way.

I'm very tall and have had back issues. The lumbar supports rarely help me and I prefer not to have them (even with adjusting them up or down). For some reason if I didn't fill it all the way up, it wouldn't shrink all the way back down. Hope that makes sense.

[Almaretto]

I study kinesiology and actually understand ergonomics. I am amazed the way I sometimes see people adjust their seats and sit in chairs. Even a heavy backpack can result in rounded shoulders with head pushed anterior which can translate musculoskeletal dysfunction of postural changes into lower back pain.

Another tip in addition to lowering the seat is to use the Auto-H function to relieve tension and pressure off thighs. The constant pressure, combined with foot movements can easily translate back to pain anywhere in legs or back.

[coolidge]

My dealer had adjusted the seats as high as they would go, initially this gave me a birds eye view which I liked but getting in/out I was whacking my skull on the door jam. I currently have the seats lowered to the floor, I like the view higher up but its more comfortable. That lumbar inflation gadget is a bit tricky, too much or too little is an irritation. I don't have the shoulders and head rest adjust correctly yet.

But I have multiple issues with my lower back, arthritis, discs out of alignment, spurs pinching nerves, a couple of stress fractures, plus bad hips that need replacing and so far I'm a lot more comfortable in the X5's multi contour seats vs the stiff foam seats in my Ram 1500. The seat foam is a real improvement.