Sport seat owners: Is your butt getting that sinking feeling?

[2012_135i]

I took delivery of a new 2012 135i with M-Sport and Premium packages and the power leather sport seats (Black Boston) that go with that less than two months ago. To be frank, I'm not impressed with the quality of the leather or the workmanship. The leather has some creases and ripples in it already. But what's worse is that over the past few weeks I've notice my butt sinking into the seat. It's like the portion of the seat right under my butt isn't supporting me properly. I don't know if that's just the way these seats are or if I got a bad driver's seat. The passenger seat doesn't feel like this, or at least it's not as pronounced, but since no one sits in the passenger seat I don't know if it would have worn like my drivers seat has in such a short time or not. The car only has 600 miles on it. I don't know if this is something I should complain about to the dealership or not so I sure would like some feedback about others' experiences. What say you fellow sport seat owners? How have your sport seats worn and how do they support your butt? Is something wrong with my seats or am I just being overly critical? It just seems like when you pay $45 grand for a car you shouldn't have issues with the way the driver's seat feels. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

[KingOfJericho]

The seat will "settle" a bit over the first few hours of seat time. Wrinkles are a natural occurrence with leather but after the first few, they definitely subside. BMWs leather ages VERY well compared to most other manufacturers.

[DriveHard]

I have the same seats, and i know the feeling that you speak of. Its all about seating position and adjustment in that seat to get it feeling just right.

Although mine is manual it still took me a while to get all the adjustments just right.. The thigh bolster and tilt ( not the recline ) of the seat i think are the 2 most important adjustments to make. after that the other adjustments: height, recline, foward-backward are secondary.

give it a try ..

p.s.. These are in fact some of the best seats ever....and ive sat in a lot of cars... espically BMW's

[BFD99]

Yeah I've sat in a non-sport 128 and Non sport 135 and was sorely disappointed compared to my sport seated 135. These seats are amazing. I love mine, and mine are 4 years old.

[RoundelM3]

M-Sport seats in my 2011 128i Cabrio continue to be problem-free and look as good as the day it was delivered, nearly a year ago.

[KeithLM]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

The seat will "settle" a bit over the first few hours of seat time. Wrinkles are a natural occurrence with leather but after the first few, they definitely subside. BMWs leather ages VERY well compared to most other manufacturers.

I don't know about the leather quality in BMWs. The side bolsters on these cars, at least the earlier ones, are known to wear quite heavily. I'm not satisfied with mine at all. I can't figure out a way to enter and exit the car without putting pressure on them, so I'm just dealing with it.

With my '08 I find that the seat cushion is holding up fine, although I've always found the lumbar to be uncomfortable. I feel a pressure point back there, kind of a sharp spot, and no adjusting of the lumbar (which seems to only offer the most minor of adjustments) helps.

[JefryHorizon]

I didn't think much of my seats when I first got the car, mostly because I bought the car to ease my performance craving. Anyways, the more I spend time in the car on long distance drives the more I appreciated the seats. I only recently discovered the side lumbar support after having the car for several months.. I'm actually considering racing bucket seats for weight but can't get myself to let go of all the luxuries the sport seat provides.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by KeithLM

I don't know about the leather quality in BMWs. The side bolsters on these cars, at least the earlier ones, are known to wear quite heavily. I'm not satisfied with mine at all. I can't figure out a way to enter and exit the car without putting pressure on them, so I'm just dealing with it.

With my '08 I find that the seat cushion is holding up fine, although I've always found the lumbar to be uncomfortable. I feel a pressure point back there, kind of a sharp spot, and no adjusting of the lumbar (which seems to only offer the most minor of adjustments) helps.

Bolsters on just about any car, especially those with sport seats, will always take the brunt of the pressure during ingress/egress. It's just something you have to be aware of. Short of having them made of thick alcantara or another durable material, there isn't much any manufacturer can do to prevent wear. All I know is that the leather in my 2004 G35C and my wife's FX35 looked a whole lot worse after 6 months than my 1er does after nearly 3yrs. I've also been shopping for a 1989 325ix and am amazed at how nice the leather looks on most of the examples I've found.

The lumbar support is almost infinitely adjustable, going from my tailbone to my shoulder blades and from concave to the thickness of a rolled up bath towel. This sounds like possible user error or maybe you're quite tall (I'm 5'11)?

[KeithLM]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

The lumbar support is almost infinitely adjustable, going from my tailbone to my shoulder blades and from concave to the thickness of a rolled up bath towel. This sounds like possible user error or maybe you're quite tall (I'm 5'11)?

I'm 5'4". Perhaps they vary between years and options. It could have to do with my overall seating position and how it interacts with that. I've moved that lumbar up and down and all around, as best as it will allow. For me, it just doesn't seem to do a lot of good. The area that adjusts the most is too far up on me to be comfortable. I try to dial it back as much as possible and there still seems to be something poking in my kidney. I've had passengers complain about the lumbar too.

[davefromfla]

No problem with sport seats in the year or so I've had my 135 Msport. Leather is better than the E46 M3 I had in terms of wear.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

The seat will "settle" a bit over the first few hours of seat time. Wrinkles are a natural occurrence with leather but after the first few, they definitely subside. BMWs leather ages VERY well compared to most other manufacturers.

I was expecting some "settling", but not to this extent. If it doesn't get any worse I suppose I can deal with it, but by way of comparison, the leather sport seats in our 5 year old Audi A3 are as firm and supportive as the day we took delivery. No butt sag at all, or wrinkles either for that matter. I agree creases can be natural with leather - up to a point. The ripples I refer to are like little waves of leather across the butt portion of the seat from bolster to bolster. I'm sure stretching of the leather from one's weight sitting on the seat is at play here, but it also seems the butt portion of the seat itself has sagged, contributing to the leather's wave like rippling across the seat. Again, this is not the case in our A3.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by DriveHard

I have the same seats, and i know the feeling that you speak of. Its all about seating position and adjustment in that seat to get it feeling just right.

Although mine is manual it still took me a while to get all the adjustments just right.. The thigh bolster and tilt ( not the recline ) of the seat i think are the 2 most important adjustments to make. after that the other adjustments: height, recline, foward-backward are secondary.

give it a try ..

p.s.. These are in fact some of the best seats ever....and ive sat in a lot of cars... espically BMW's

Encouraging words. I'm somewhat familiar with the manual seats having sat in a 1er in an auto show that was equipped with them. I was impressed with how comfortable and supportive they were. It took a bit of fiddling to get the adjustment right but when it was dialed in it was perfect. I think, but am not positive, that the power seats may be a bit different. I've played around with the controls and haven't found any adjustment for the thigh bolster you mention. The tilt of the seat surface is part of the control that raises and lowers the seat and I've played with this quite a bit. I'm a little on the short side (5'8") so I like the seat all the way up, and I've got the tilt set to minimize the sagging effect. I used to have it tilted back a bit but that seemed to accentuate the sag so now I have the seat more level. Anyway, I'll keep playing with all the controls and try different settings as you suggest.

[terrapen73]

Originally Posted by 2012_135i

Encouraging words. I'm somewhat familiar with the manual seats having sat in a 1er in an auto show that was equipped with them. I was impressed with how comfortable and supportive they were. It took a bit of fiddling to get the adjustment right but when it was dialed in it was perfect. I think, but am not positive, that the power seats may be a bit different. I've played around with the controls and haven't found any adjustment for the thigh bolster you mention. The tilt of the seat surface is part of the control that raises and lowers the seat and I've played with this quite a bit. I'm a little on the short side (5'8") so I like the seat all the way up, and I've got the tilt set to minimize the sagging effect. I used to have it tilted back a bit but that seemed to accentuate the sag so now I have the seat more level. Anyway, I'll keep playing with all the controls and try different settings as you suggest.

I would suggest going to your dealership and sitting in some other cars with the same type of seats. If none are available, see if another owner in the area would be willing to meet. If the seats in the other car feel the same then it is probably you. If your seats are not feeling the same, then your car may have an issue and being brand new it is definitely under warranty. Also, talk with your salesman/service advisor. They may be able to show you an adjustment you are missing or offer other advice.

[Jayda]

Originally Posted by 2012_135i

I was expecting some "settling", but not to this extent. If it doesn't get any worse I suppose I can deal with it, but by way of comparison, the leather sport seats in our 5 year old Audi A3 are as firm and supportive as the day we took delivery. No butt sag at all, or wrinkles either for that matter. I agree creases can be natural with leather - up to a point. The ripples I refer to are like little waves of leather across the butt portion of the seat from bolster to bolster. I'm sure stretching of the leather from one's weight sitting on the seat is at play here, but it also seems the butt portion of the seat itself has sagged, contributing to the leather's wave like rippling across the seat. Again, this is not the case in our A3.

I agree, I had an A3 too, great seats and they stayed looking great!

[Gnip Gnop]

My mom has an 06 a3 with sport seats and they look and feel like new.
My driver seat in my 1 feels like is sagging a lot. Car has 6000 miles on it. I don't know what the deal is. I think I've talked with you in PM before about this issue, I still have not talked with the dealer about it. I will in 1400 miles when I'm in for an oil change, and let you know what I find out.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by Gnip Gnop

My mom has an 06 a3 with sport seats and they look and feel like new.
My driver seat in my 1 feels like is sagging a lot. Car has 6000 miles on it. I don't know what the deal is. I think I've talked with you in PM before about this issue, I still have not talked with the dealer about it. I will in 1400 miles when I'm in for an oil change, and let you know what I find out.

Yes, we did PM about our mutual issue and I think you may have the sags worse than me. It's something I notice and don't particularly care for but not sure it's at a level that justifies me going to the dealership about it. Yet. I look forward to hearing what you find out.

[Gnip Gnop]

Originally Posted by 2012_135i

Yes, we did PM about our mutual issue and I think you may have the sags worse than me. It's something I notice and don't particularly care for but not sure it's at a level that justifies me going to the dealership about it. Yet. I look forward to hearing what you find out.

The past week or so, I havent been noticing it. But when I drove into work this morning, it started bothering me again. Its not really that bad.I tried playing around with the adjustment of the seat, and I put the seat in a more upright position which seemed to help a little bit.
My main reason for talking to the dealership about it is the fact that my lumbar button is loose, and just spins around.

[KingOfJericho]

2012 135i, can you post some pics of the wrinkles? I want to compare to what I have...

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

2012 135i, can you post some pics of the wrinkles? I want to compare to what I have...

Sure, I'll try and take some pics and put them up. Not sure I can get to it until the weekend though. Got a rough work schedule and baby day care duties.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

2012 135i, can you post some pics of the wrinkles? I want to compare to what I have...

KingOfJericho, sorry it took me a bit longer than expected, but here's a couple pics you requested. For comparison, there is also a pic of the driver's seat in our A3 (3rd in the series). My 1er is two months old, the A3 is 5 years old.

I went to the BMW dealership over the weekend and looked at a bunch of 3-series sport seats and the sport seats in the only 1-series in the showroom. To my surprise, the edge of the seat where it meets the bolsters on the sides and in the front had similar creases, although not to the same extent, as mine. I'm not a leather worker or an upholstery maker but I don't understand why the leather can't be fitted on to the seat without the creases. Our A3 after 5 years of wear doesn't show any creases like that.

None of the other cars in the dealership showroom had the ripples in the middle of the seat as mine does, but then no one has really sat in them. Not sure what causes that but there obviously appears to be some give between the seat surface leather and the upholstery underneath it. If the foam or whatever upholstery material used is lacking in firmness that might explain it. There are no such ripples on our A3 seats.

The creases I can live with as one could argue they're just a natural part of this particular leather work. The ripples are disappointing but provided they don't get any worse they're not worth making an issue about, although in my humble opinion they cheapen the appearance of the seat. But maybe that's just the way these seats are. What the pictures don't show is the sagging of the butt portion of the seat surface that makes me feel like my butt isn't properly supported and is starting to sink too deep into the upholstery. The ripples in the leather on the seat surface may be indicative of the seat settling under my butt giving me the feeling of "sinking". Our A3 seats are firm and fully supportive after 5 years without any sinking butt feeling. Maybe the BWM sport seats in the 1 and 3 series are just softer and therefore any settling under your butt will be more pronounced, and, again, maybe that's just the way these seats are. I sat in the only 1-er in the showroom and the sport seat was much firmer than mine under the butt, but it did have a trace of softness that I could imagine settling over time with wear. It's something I've just begun to notice in my car over the last few weeks or so. It's not like something I'm constantly aware of, but at times it is quite noticeable and detracts from the ride. My CA wasn't in when I visited the dealership on Saturday, but another CA I spoke with said the service department could advise me if my seat was up to spec. I wanted to get input from other sport seat owners before questioning the service department about it.

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[doublevanosrc]

Hmm interesting thread, no sinking butt seat here.

[KingOfJericho]

Your seats look almost exactly like mine. I've had my car for 2.5yrs and it has looked like that almost the entire time. My VW seats looked like your A3 seats when I sold it at 16k miles. I think VW uses a more firm stuffing with stiffer leather (it always felt like pleather to me). From day 1, the BMW felt more supple to me. This may explain some of your issue. I'll take a pic of my seat tomorrow and post it up.