I have been in cars where the seat was leaning on the left and it was because the seat was worn out and needed new springs. I have been in cars where the sides were even and the middle felt like it was hollowed out. Neither is normal! I don't believe any other MB seats will fit your 124. You may have better luck finding a used 124 passenger seat and having that converted to a drivers seat. It can be done in and hour and a half and involves moving frame rails, etc. The pass. seats "never" wear out and the drivers seats alway seem to. HTH

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Brian Toscano

I think that there has been a steady decline in the comfort of Mercedes seats, at least in the 124 models. My 99E300D seat is hard as a board and in no way compares to the seats in my 87300TDT.
In the 99 there is also an almost completely unpadded bar at the bottom of the seatback that hits me right on the tail bone! Unbelievable. To me the second most comfortable seat in the W124 models is the MB-tex seat that I had in my now sold 95 E300D. Enough padding, enough support, plenty of adjustment, with the bonus of being easily cleanable. The leather in the '99 is apalling--looks more like plastic than plastic does. All that being said, I still like the car. Now if I could shoe horn a seat from an '87 300SDL in to it... As far as what you can do to make your seat more comfortable, I don't know, other than to find a car with the Tex interior and see if you like it better.
Steve

Agreed. They were not that great when new, and just get worse from there. Most comfortable seats ever were in an '84 Audi 5000 I had. Awful mechanicals, but great seats! I had an '83 Mazda 626, which also had wonderful seats.

Funny how everyone tends to agree when seats are comfortable, regardless of height/weight/etc., but manufacturers are somehow unable to figure out the science behind consistently building a comfortable seat. This does not map to price, either. Cheap cars can have simple comfortable seats, and expensive cars can have seats that adjust in 80 uncomfortable ways. Should be easy to standardize on a successful design. It's not like humans are evolving too fast to keep up!

Has anyone tried bolstering the seats bottoms by adding additional padding?

I was thinking about adding a layer of closed-cell foam.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

csnow,

Yes I have added a closed-cell high-density pad to seats, inserted between the foam pad and the seat cover material. I found that the best thickness is no greater than 3/8". Sometimes even this is too thick. I often find this material at camping stores, the idea being to be used as a ground matt for sleeping bags. My guess is even less than 3/8" might be ideal. It really depends on the wear and age of the seats; their covers and pads.

I also found that if the very back of the bottom cushion has pulled away from the back of the base (metal) then the whole pad/cushion will move forward making the seat feel odd and uncomfortable. I have installed an approximately 3-4" strip of the closed-cell high-density pad along the back. After re-inserting the back of the cover into the frame, the whole seat cushion was re-tensioned and felt revived.

Another area that I check is the rear of the seat where the very back part of the metal spring contacts the cushion. Often the metal frame will slip over the cushion material and needs to be repositioned.

I have found the seat cover material tends to migrate forward over the years. Getting the proper tension on the cover so that it is held tightly, pulled towards the back is what works best. Additionally, I will push and prod the covers to move back. This makes the seats feel refreshed and compliant again.

Hope this helps.

Haasman

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'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

Thanks for the advice. I think I will try a padding upgrade when the weather changes.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

I just went out and slipped a half inch piece of leftover hardwood flooring material in the far back end of my drivers seat between the seat cushion and the back of the frame. About a foot long and it slid right in place. Previously the back of the seat was sagging, like there was practically no support for my tailbone. What a huge difference. I have not road tested, and I'm sure since it is not attached it will soon fall out of place. If I want to leave it in, I'll find a way to attach it with some plastic ties. Will let you know how it does after a day or two.

95E320cab-

The is exactly the effect I was talking about. It seems to shift one's body weight so that it is more evenly distributed across the seating surface.

Make sure your rear section of the seat cover is properly "inserted" into the metal seat frame.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

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'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

Interesting thread! The most comfortable seats I have found, outside of an SUV, are my 124s, both 300E and 500E! However, I have had to do some alteration.
First, my back is most comfortable when my seat is as high as possible, with my knees being as low as possible. I do that by inserting a triangular cushion in the seat in such a way that the rear of my seat sits a bit higher than the front. It works perfectly for me. I have a long trunk, and relatively short legs, although I am six ft one in. I also put the seat all the way back, and the steering wheel all the way forward.
The worst seats I have ever had was an Acura Legend coupe--way too low to the ground. I had to get out of the car every 20 minutes.

It is a totally individual preference--what works for one back doesn't work for another.

Tom
92 500E

UMM.... Thanks for the post-I'm sure it will be appreciated!-M

I had the same problem in my w201, the driver seat had two of the four springs on the left broken!

first I tried to fix the problem, but I realized that the car was extremely uncomfortable for a longer drive, my back and my left leg would start to hurt really bad.

I switched the driver seat with the passanger seat, just the bottom parts, and so far so good, I still had to adjust it a bit to get as much comfort out of it as possible, and I have to say that this area in an MB could use some improvment.

Nevertheless, I don't notice it anymore and I'm able to drive the car without any problems.

xp

Well, my piece of scrap wood is still in place. Makes a huge difference. I actually sit up higher in the car. I haven't been in the car for more than 15 minutes consecutively, but previously on hour long rides my lower back would fatigue. I hope I have found a solution, albeit jerry-rigged. Hey, you can't see it, so what the heck.

I had the same problem with my 300D. Talked to a trim man and he told me to get some foam padding about 6" thick from an upholstery shop and wedge it in the area where it is sagging. Worked pretty good for me as the seat is alot firmer now.
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80 450sl
85 300D
97 E320

There are other seats that are good besides Recaro (which are hideously expensive). Koenig for one, Corbeau, Sparco. Pretty much anything is cheaper than Recaro. They all made comfy seats as well as racing seats.

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2005 Mercedes C230k sport sedan, 6 speed
1987 Porsche 924S - 968-engined track car

I had 88 420sel and now I drive 90 300E. Well of course 420sel seats were more comfortable since theyre bigger and the whole car is bigger. But legs hurted on long trips out of state. I started driving 300E and legs hurt on shorted trips even around the city. I dont know whats going on. I tried adjusting seat in many ways but still not that comfortable. I had other cars and I never sat in better seat as it was in my fathers 83 Renault Fuego. I have no clue where he found that car in NYC but I gotta say In those seats you can seat for days. My friend just bought 96 bmw 328is and to me his seats are even worse than my Benz seats. When I ride in his car I always feel discomfort. Can somebody tell me if 300E seats are spring loaded as my 420sel or just foam in them? 300e seats deffinately feel harder than 420sel seats were. thanks

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1999 ML430 Silver 135k ml
Smoked LED taillights, Alpine in-dash DVD player, 12" sub, Pioneer components, 2 amps, 4200k HIDs, ML55 headlights, 20" rims, mirror LED blinkers

SOLD. 1996 E320 145k ml. Burgundy

SOLD but miss it everyday 1992 500sel Black
Chime buzzer mod,Alpine CD/MP3 player with stock amp,Euro headlights,S600 grill,20" rims, BEST CAR EVER!

SOLD. 1990 300E White
187k ml,smoked tails,Euro headlights,17rims,Intake,12" sub in first aid kit,alarm/autostart,buzzer mod

I also have a 124 body, and my seats are very comfortable. It sounds as if there still is something wrong with your particular seat

I suggest that you sit in another 124 body, and see if it feels any different.


Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]