# POLL: Does your driver seat click?



## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

*POLL: Does your driver SPORT seat click?*

Again I'm at this damn seat click issue. I wrote BMW NA through the Owner's Circle and finally got a call back. I'm gathering information about the complaint prior to calling them back.

I need to know how many of you have (or had) this problem. So far research shows that the M5 and Z3 also suffer from faulty seat rails causing a click. I can't imagine BMW NA is not aware of this, however on the 4 dealer visits I've made to complain about it, 3/4 of them came back "could not reproduce" even though it's so bad I can barely make a gear change without the seat clicking.

Speak up folks!

EDIT: I changed the title of this poll to be specific to the sport seat since that is the one I have.

Thanks


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## mrogers (Mar 2, 2004)

I did the zip-tie temp fix on www.540i6.com and it greatly improved it. It only clicks now during the greatest shift in weight, like if I really slam on the brakes or am going up or down a steep hill. So it still can be annoying, but far less so, and for the time being I can live with it. Clicking on every shift though would drive me insane!


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## BillP (Jan 4, 2002)

I had the problem when I first picked up my car and the dealer fixed it and it never returned.

Have you checked out the fixes on http://www.bmwtips.com? They are Jim Cash approved!

Bill


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## jmig (Jan 11, 2004)

*Clicking seat*

I have manual sport seats that are heated, when I bought my car as the 3rd owner the seat clicked when making right hand turns. I fixed the probelm by replacing the seat jaw part. See bmwtips.com for details on repair.


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## bimNaround (Jun 19, 2003)

I couldn't vote because only my passenger seat clicks. It just started on my 4 door 2004 330 that is 9 months old. I too am interested to see how prevelant this problem is.


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## crete (May 16, 2003)

I have sports seats and the clicking occurs usually during turns or sudden stops. Even if I don't hear the click I can still feel it happen under the seat.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

bimNaround said:


> I couldn't vote because only my passenger seat clicks. It just started on my 4 door 2004 330 that is 9 months old. I too am interested to see how prevelant this problem is.


Sorry about that! I didn't realize some folks had a passenger seat that clicked, but not a driver seat. Now I know.

Also, thanks to the others who responded. I'll keep you all posted...


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## O.S. (Jun 22, 2004)

mine does not click so far.
e39 540i6 Sport, 70000 Km, electric sport seats


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## FosterE39 (Aug 28, 2003)

*Had the same problem.*

I brought my vehicle to service and they replaced the driver seat seat rails (2). I was experiencing the same thing as you. I have an 03 E39, and the seat started to rock back and forth during hard turns. Make them replace the seat rails b/c it is a known problem. My passenger seat thus far has been fine.



jvr530i said:


> Again I'm at this damn seat click issue. I wrote BMW NA through the Owner's Circle and finally got a call back. I'm gathering information about the complaint prior to calling them back.
> 
> I need to know how many of you have (or had) this problem. So far research shows that the M5 and Z3 also suffer from faulty seat rails causing a click. I can't imagine BMW NA is not aware of this, however on the 4 dealer visits I've made to complain about it, 3/4 of them came back "could not reproduce" even though it's so bad I can barely make a gear change without the seat clicking.
> 
> ...


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## roadie (Jun 1, 2004)

*Is there a TSB or something for this I can show my dealer*



FosterE39 said:


> I brought my vehicle to service and they replaced the driver seat seat rails (2). I was experiencing the same thing as you. I have an 03 E39, and the seat started to rock back and forth during hard turns. Make them replace the seat rails b/c it is a known problem. My passenger seat thus far has been fine.


Is there a TSB or something for this I can show my dealer?
My dealer SA just called me to tell me that it is deemed within "acceptable limits" by BMW NA.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

roadie said:


> Is there a TSB or something for this I can show my dealer?
> My dealer SA just called me to tell me that it is deemed within "acceptable limits" by BMW NA.


I think you need to call and complain, LOUDLY! I'm about to call BMWNA again about this problem. As you probably saw above, I've had this issue since the car was new, and I keep getting sunshine blown up my a$$ about it.

My seat rocks and clicks now and it's beyond annoying. Please complain to BMWNA on the phone and in writing. Also, I gotta look, but someone on the 6'er board had a name and contact information for a high up person at BMWNA. I just haven't had the time to write the letter yet.

Keep us posted!


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## Tahoe (Jan 9, 2004)

I was under my seat just the other day to try to find what was making that damned click. I have power sport seats and, like JMIG, my seat clicks during right hand turns. I think I will complain about it to the dealer since some of you have had it fixed that way as it is still under CPO warranty. Thanks for the thread.


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

Yep, mine still click but not as badly as before. I may try out the stuff on bmwtips.com as Bill suggested but I have other things occupying my time right now and, frankly, I'm kinda getting used to it. It isn't as bad as before.

I think ours click in different spots, Jeff. Mine clicks only on hard left or right turns. I have the 16-way comforts.

Folks, note what style of seat you have...the click(s) could be different.

Chris


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## waapples (Jan 5, 2004)

99 528i heated, non-sports/comfort seat w/ leather. 52k miles.

doesn't click at this moment, but who knows it might start to click when i get on to my car when i go home this afternoon. just can't trust the quality of the BMW cars.... :dunno:


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## FosterE39 (Aug 28, 2003)

roadie said:


> Is there a TSB or something for this I can show my dealer?
> My dealer SA just called me to tell me that it is deemed within "acceptable limits" by BMW NA.


About a TSB, I was not made aware of any. I would try another dealer. My dealer just replaced both seat rails--no questions asked. Two months later since they have been replaced them, my car is just fine.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

roadie said:


> Is there a TSB or something for this I can show my dealer?
> My dealer SA just called me to tell me that it is deemed within "acceptable limits" by BMW NA.


Here's the names and addresses I got from the 6'er board...

Tom Purves
Chairman & CEO 
BMW North America
300 Chestnut Ridge Rd.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677

You might also send something to: 
Helmut Panke
Chairman of the Board of Management
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Petuelring 130
D-80788 Munich, Germany
Fax 49-89-382-2-44-18


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

waapples said:


> 99 528i heated, non-sports/comfort seat w/ leather. 52k miles.
> 
> doesn't click at this moment, but who knows it might start to click when i get on to my car when i go home this afternoon. just can't trust the quality of the BMW cars.... :dunno:


My '99 didn't do it either! I have to ask, what's different? Same seats in this car, but obviously something is different inside there.


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## Cabriolet (Apr 7, 2002)

My'99 with heated sport seats does the click on some turns.


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## jimmyg50 (Sep 28, 2004)

*Annoying as all get-out*

I've had the driver's seat click fixed TWICE in my 2003, 530. What an annoyance! 

You'd think a car costing over $45k would have seats a bit sounder.

The passenger seat rattles when going over bumps, as well. My local BMW dealer, BMW of San Diego, gives me the stock, BS answer that "It's within tolerance."


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## GuapOh (Sep 28, 2004)

yes, me too. Haven't noticed in pass. seat but certainly in drivers, especially when spirited driving. :thumbdwn:


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## bimNaround (Jun 19, 2003)

bimNaround said:


> I couldn't vote because only my passenger seat clicks. It just started on my 4 door 2004 330 that is 9 months old. I too am interested to see how prevelant this problem is.


1 year old and now no more clicking. It went away by itself. Hope it doesn't come back.


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## Bearcat (Oct 15, 2003)

My 01 530ia S is starting to click last month right after I took it to the dealer to replace the thrust arm bushings. It is easily provoked even if I move my body a little bid. Milage is 41K.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

jimmyg50 said:


> I've had the driver's seat click fixed TWICE in my 2003, 530. What an annoyance!
> 
> You'd think a car costing over $45k would have seats a bit sounder.
> 
> The passenger seat rattles when going over bumps, as well. My local BMW dealer, BMW of San Diego, gives me the stock, BS answer that "It's within tolerance."


And what have they done to fix it on these 2 occasions? I have an appointment on 11/17 and am going to press hard for seat rail replacement. On 4 previous complaints this has not been suggested by the service department, 3/4 times they gave me the BS could not reproduce. The last time I made them disassemble and lube all the parts, suggested by another member here. It's worse now than ever.


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## Godsogd (Oct 23, 2004)

2K E39 and zero clickage :dunno: 

Got a little squeek when I put her in reverse for the early morning back out of the garage at less than 35 degrees F, but other than that I've got nothing in the clicking department.


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## TXE39 (Oct 2, 2003)

There's no option for mine (passenger seat only) so I picked both, but mine is just the passenger seat.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

*Makin' Progress!!*

We're making some progress now, finally. I visited my servicing dealer bright and early this morning to drop my car off for this blasted seat click problem. The SA gave me the standard "there are alot of moving parts... not much they can do..." the usual. I explained it was my 5th mention of the problem, so he got the shop foreman to come have a look.

As we're approaching the car I explain how I parked it where I did because I didn't want anyone moving the seat, cuz the problem is most reproducible when it's in my driving position. He drives, first thing he does is move the seat. 

After him driving for a while he proclaims the seat is rock solid and there is no problem, though I pointed out 3-4 clicks while he was driving, he couldn't hear/feel them. I have him pull over and I get in and drive after adjusting the seat. He hears it a couple of times but isn't convinced it's severe. I continue, looping around, up and down hills, curves, all the while pointing them out. Still not convinced. As luck would have it I find a street that is on a slight uphill slope and yank the wheel left and right repeatedly. On every right hand yank a click. 100% reproducible, he acknowledges it and we start heading back to the dealership.

In the parking lot he says it would be better if we could reproduce it here, so I slide out, then back in a number of times, clicks galore. He feels around under the seat all the while I'm doing this and finally agrees to replace the seat base. FINALLY!!! Someone has confirmed it and has taken ownership of the problem other than me.

So I probably won't have the car back for a number of days with all the other items they have to look into and fix, plus they probably have to order the part. I'll report back when I get the car back.

I have an X3 loaner with 16k miles and that thing has more creaks, rattles, and wind noise than any car I've ever driven. If it were my personal vehicle I'd push it off a cliff.

There is hope. I had to lose 2/3 of a day of work to get the car in and demonstrate the click, but now that someone has confirmed it I shouldn't have to go thru these hoops again, I hope. 1.5 years left on the warranty, lets hope it comes back fixed for good.


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

LOL...best of luck, Jeff. Pray tell WHO are you using to take care of this? I want the invoice number, the dealer, the service tech, all the part numbers, the mechanic, etc., etc.. I'll send you my fax number...you can just fax over your receipt when they are done!


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

Ågent99 said:


> LOL...best of luck, Jeff. Pray tell WHO are you using to take care of this? I want the invoice number, the dealer, the service tech, all the part numbers, the mechanic, etc., etc.. I'll send you my fax number...you can just fax over your receipt when they are done!


No problem, I'll hook you up. :thumbup:


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## crete (May 16, 2003)

jvr530i said:


> No problem, I'll hook you up. :thumbup:


If it turns out that this fixes the problem, could you PM me and I'll send you my fax number also, since we're local....thanks.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

*Problem Solved!*

Got my car back yesterday and have had an opportunity to drive it hard in the mountains. My sport seat is now rock solid and CLICK FREE! The solution was to replace the seat base, but as I mentioned, it was a difficult road to get them to approve this.

My advice to others with this problem is to focus on a method to reproduce it and take the shop foreman with you on a drive to have him acknowledge it, don't leave it up to them to find it on their own, cuz they won't. Calling BMWNA will be a waste of your time, they don't care how frustrated you are.

Persist and prevaiil. With a new seat base and a new radio I feel like I took delivery of a brand new car.


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

Sweet! Good job, Jeff! Mine still clicks but I have a feeling the steps on bmwtips will help.

Did you get a good full in-depth explanation of the problem and the solution?


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## roadie (Jun 1, 2004)

jvr530i said:


> Got my car back yesterday and have had an opportunity to drive it hard in the mountains. My sport seat is now rock solid and CLICK FREE! The solution was to replace the seat base, but as I mentioned, it was a difficult road to get them to approve this.
> 
> My advice to others with this problem is to focus on a method to reproduce it and take the shop foreman with you on a drive to have him acknowledge it, don't leave it up to them to find it on their own, cuz they won't. Calling BMWNA will be a waste of your time, they don't care how frustrated you are.
> 
> Persist and prevaiil. With a new seat base and a new radio I feel like I took delivery of a brand new car.


Today the shop foreman finally agreed that the seat rails needed replacing.
Special ordered the part and expect it fixed next week.


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## 540cmc (Oct 7, 2004)

*Seat click*

JVR,

Sorry to hear about your ongoing issue with this. My 1998 528 with sport seats had the issue. Dealer replaced the seat rails and no more click.

When I bought my 2001 540 with sport seats, it quickly developed the same problem. The first two times I got the same "no problem found" comment you did. The third time I went back, I pointed out that replacing the seat rails in my 528 had cured the problem. I also informed my service writer that if I came back and they hadn't replaced the seat rails, they were going to have one very unhappy customer in their dealership until it was fixed.

Apparently it is so common, they keep the seat rails in stock (Fields BMW / Orlando). Seat rails replaced. No more problems!

Unbelievable that your dealer was such a jerk about such a simple fix.


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## spankys330 (Nov 16, 2004)

*seat clicking*

2002 330i started clicking at ~50k miles


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

I had a number of "explanations" from the dealer. From "they all do that, even your passenger seat" to "are you aware of the TSB about stacked tolerances" to "i'm not convinced it's that severe". The bottom line is there are some points in the seat base that wear out causing excess play which causes the click. Moving the seat will often stop the problem, but only temporarily. I'm a single driver household so my seat is never moved, unless some half-pint at the dealership moves it. In a multi-driver household you'll likely not notice it as much since the seat is moved regularly.

The parts are expensive. I've read here that BMWNA is cracking down on warranty repairs, the dealerships don't want to get burned, so they push the responsibility onto the customer. Not a new thing.

It is a common problem but the dealership acts like they've never heard of it before. Why the customer has to research the cause and steps to reproduce it and educate the shop foreman is beyond me. I also tried to get them to go to bmwtips.com and apply those fixes, but they go deaf the second you say you saw something on the Internet.


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## roadie (Jun 1, 2004)

jvr530i said:


> I also tried to get them to go to bmwtips.com and apply those fixes, but they go deaf the second you say you saw something on the Internet.


TOO TRUE JVR!!!!!!!!!!


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

You gotta print out the stuff from bmwtips and stick it under their noses and then you gotta read it to them so they don't have the 'deer in the headlights' look....


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

Ågent99 said:


> You gotta print out the stuff from bmwtips and stick it under their noses and then you gotta read it to them so they don't have the 'deer in the headlights' look....


Been there, done that... DENIED! The SA got very agitated and said "that guy on the internet doesn't know anything about YOUR seat problem. My guys will take care of it for you." And I said, But the fix is Jim Cash approved!


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

:rofl: ...figures....


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## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Okay, I'd like to know if this is much broader in scope that the e39. I had a 2004 330i (sport seats), and my driver's seat clicked with turns and weigh shift changes. Sometimes it was a series of clicks in a right turn. I could feel the click happening by putting my fingers on the metal anchor that the lap belt is mounted to as well as the plastic around that area. The noise eventually went away on its own. 

Now, with my new 2005 X3 (sport seats) I'm seeing the exact same problem. Seat often clicks wihen braking, accelerating from a stop, or turning. Sometimes I can make it click by just pushing back in the seat hard. Again, I can feel the click in the exact same area as with the 330.

I find the problem irritating, and I'm not sure if I should see if it works itself out or if should take it to the dealer.


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