[Toothless]

Hi everyone! New to these forums, not new to BMW. I purchased a 2022 X3 m40i two weeks ago and love the car. I owned a 1998 318ti in the past, and my wife drives a 2020 330i (her first BMW) and loves it. In the spring we did a 1500-mile road trip her car and I was amazed at the comfort of the driver's seat, even after consecutive 400-mile days.

Strangely, after a couple of 100-mile days in my X3 m40i, I am finding the drivers seat fairly uncomfortable. The only way I can describe it is that the seat bottom feels tilted towards the passenger side. I've spent a lot of time adjusting the seatback angle, lumbar support, bolsters, and seat base angle, but still can't get it to feel normal.

Anyone else experience anything like this?

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Toothless

... Strangely, after a couple of 100-mile days in my X3 m40i, I am finding the drivers seat fairly uncomfortable...

Welcome to the club... There is quite a few threads about this.

Took me 6 months of trials to get it "painless".

Try to lower the seat as low as you can and tilt forward until you think it feel right. Once you find the correct tilt (after a few hundreds miles), you can try to move the seat up.

[mclark2112]

I've driven mine about 5000 miles now, it still feels strange and uneven (like my right cheek is in a hole). I've tried a bunch of stuff to fix it and nothing. I'm more used to it, but pretty much counting the days until it's gone. Other than the seat, I love everything else about the car. Never had a problem with my two 335s.

I figure in 2 years I'll be going electric...

[BMW335icoupe]

Do you have ventilated seats? Most complaints come from ventilated seat owners. Haven’t noticed it being tilted toward the passenger side. My only complaint is seat firmness. I have non ventilated vernasca. G20 and G01 non ventilated seats are identical.

[sbt007]

I don't see this either. It is on the firmer side maybe but I have some decently long trips with no issues. I don't have the ventilated seats though.

[TX3M]

The driver's seat is not centered with the steering wheel, that's why it feels "off". The center of the seat is about 1 inch to the right of the center of the steering wheel. When I sit directly behind the wheel, I feel my left thigh pressing against the thigh rest. I have to consciously slide my butt over to the right side to be sitting in the center of the seat, and then the steering wheel is 1 inch to the left. It's very annoying and definitely affects comfort.

Apparently, this is a BMW "thing" and is not exclusive to the X3. The BMW engineers in their wisdom don't think the driver's seat should be centered with the steering wheel. Go figure.

[mclark2112]

Originally Posted by TX3M

The driver's seat is not centered with the steering wheel, that's why it feels "off". The center of the seat is about 1 inch to the right of the center of the steering wheel. When I sit directly behind the wheel, I feel my left thigh pressing against the thigh rest. I have to consciously slide my butt over to the right side to be sitting in the center of the seat, and then the steering wheel is 1 inch to the left. It's very annoying and definitely affects comfort.

Apparently, this is a BMW "thing" and is not exclusive to the X3. The BMW engineers in their wisdom don't think the driver's seat should be centered with the steering wheel. Go figure.

This is very true, I find when i slide over to the right a bit, it is better. Didn't have this in either of my 335s though.

[08-335xi]

Our 2019 30i has the same seat offset described above. It artificially makes your leg biased toward the center and makes you feel off especially on long drives. I do not remember other BMWs having this much offset, but maybe it was not as noticeable because the other seats were more comfortable. I am hoping the 2022 we have on order will be slightly more comfortable (new sensatec is supposed to be slightly softer), but am expecting it to feel pretty much the same. I really wish the M Sport seats were available as an option in the US as in my opinion they are more comfortable and look much nicer. I will live with it to get the performance of the new M40i regardless.

[Toothless]

Originally Posted by BMW335icoupe

Do you have ventilated seats? Most complaints come from ventilated seat owners. Haven't noticed it being tilted toward the passenger side. My only complaint is seat firmness. I have non ventilated vernasca. G20 and G01 non ventilated seats are identical.

Originally Posted by BMW335icoupe

Do you have ventilated seats? Most complaints come from ventilated seat owners. Haven't noticed it being tilted toward the passenger side. My only complaint is seat firmness. I have non ventilated vernasca. G20 and G01 non ventilated seats are identical.

I don't have the ventilated seats, just the regular Vernasca leather. They are comfortable in every way except for the tilt to the side - which is only on the driver's side, the passenger seat is perfect.

I'm going to mention the issue to the dealer and see what they can do.

[Toothless]

Originally Posted by 08-335xi

Our 2019 30i has the same seat offset described above. It artificially makes your leg biased toward the center and makes you feel off especially on long drives. I do not remember other BMWs having this much offset, but maybe it was not as noticeable because the other seats were more comfortable. I am hoping the 2022 we have on order will be slightly more comfortable (new sensatec is supposed to be slightly softer), but am expecting it to feel pretty much the same. I really wish the M Sport seats were available as an option in the US as in my opinion they are more comfortable and look much nicer. I will live with it to get the performance of the new M40i regardless.

Originally Posted by 08-335xi

Our 2019 30i has the same seat offset described above. It artificially makes your leg biased toward the center and makes you feel off especially on long drives. I do not remember other BMWs having this much offset, but maybe it was not as noticeable because the other seats were more comfortable. I am hoping the 2022 we have on order will be slightly more comfortable (new sensatec is supposed to be slightly softer), but am expecting it to feel pretty much the same. I really wish the M Sport seats were available as an option in the US as in my opinion they are more comfortable and look much nicer. I will live with it to get the performance of the new M40i regardless.

Seems like they haven't solved the issue. I test drove an X3 M competition and the seats were firm but supportive; I also tested drove an X3 m40i in SensaTec and didn't like the material as much as the leather, but didn't notice any tilt in the seat either. I only took a very short test drive in my car before purchase, and didn't notice the seat issue until after the first 100 miles or so.

I guess the upside is that I'm locked into the seat on hard right turns LOL. Just wish I didn't feel like I was going to bump shoulders with my passenger on hard lefts.