W124 drivers seat not comfortable - need input
 

The driver’s seat in my 92 400e is just not working for me. I’ve had the pad and the seat spring replaced and I still can’t get comfortable. The seat feels as if it is ever so slightly sagging to the left. It’s subtle but after a short time in the seat, my left leg starts to hurt (upper leg where the hamstring tendons are). My upholstery guy swears that the mechanical parts are in correct alignment. Yesterday he built up the left side of the seat with extra padding. This helps a bit but I’m still feeling discomfort. I do not feel any of this type of discomfort in my wife’s 92 Q45 that has 103K with the original seat padding and springs. The Q does have a significantly longer seat cushion and I’m wondering if that might be part of the problem. The seat cushion in the W124 feels really short to me, and I’m a short person!

I’ve priced out Recaro seats but the fact that they cost so much ($1200 in leather + 180 for armrest) and lack OEM appearance and power controls makes me hesitant to go this route.

Is a W210 seat any more comforable and or supportive (ie longer seat cushion) and if so, would it be a direct bolt in?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Answer your question with a question:

Can the seat be shimmed up from the mounting bolts? Could your upholstery guy have forgotten a spacer or something?

do you have the seat relatively flat? i used to have discomfort when i set up my seat that way. i adjusted it so that the front part is raised acting like a bolster near the back of my knees. i was amazed at the difference..

I agree with Jsmith- try raising the front portion of the seat, so that it is more like a recliner. This makes all the difference for me. We have the same seats, by the way.

I know what you mean about the seat seeming to lean to the left a tiny bit...My old 116 body really leaned to the left, but my 126 car feels much more even, but still slightly uneven in this respect. I believe old MBZs feel this way because most poeple lean slightly towards the window, and the car will usually lean a bit to the right because of the crown of a road. Naturally, you try and compensate, by leaning a tiny bit towards the window. This is my theory...hope it makes sense.

I rectified the problem by jacking up the leading edge of the seat bottom..makes all the difference...

Mike

And I thought it was a problem only I had! I wore a pair of pants I never wear because the only rear pocket was on the left-seat felt normal! I'll have to adjust the side up one of these days!
Thought it was just my car!
-M

Id take the passenger seat bottom and switch it with the drivers seat bottom. Good saturday afternoon project.

Good idea! I wonder if she'd notice?! (HEE HEE)
Thanks! -M

Glad to know I'm not the only one! It's been a few days since I had the mod done to my seat. I have to say it's actually LESS comfortable than how it was before the mod. Needless to say I'm ready to put a gun to my head! I I have tried the "recliner" style position in varing degrees. It does help some but I'm still in discomfort.

I was studying pictures of W210 seats and they seem to be longer in the seat cushion. I was wondering if a W210 seat might be able to be directly bolted into a W124? Or maybe I could just use a W210 seat cushion, leather cover and box spring in place of the stock parts?

I've also considered installing a Recaro seat. I saw some Japanese modified W124s that had Recaros installed in them.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/s124factory/hard.html

http://homepage3.nifty.com/s124factory/kei.html

http://homepage3.nifty.com/s124factory/shin5o2.html

But I'm not sure how they secured the seatbelts to the aftermarket seats. Don't want to do a mod that will let me go through the windsheild in a crash!

Forgot this attachement!

Its about you man, you drive the car the most. W210 seats are really nice, but I dont know if they would fit.

Id get some 95 E320 leather seats and put in there, if swaping the cushions doesnt work.

Ive sat in the first set of recaros, they are nice, but the buttons always break.

I am not sure what you are posting with the pictures... Are those your seats?

If your seating arrangement is similar to the W201, then I have found some peculiarities that might be affecting you if you are tall (I am not, but quite long-waisted, so I 'sit tall'). The floor of our car is high under the feet due to the unibody channeling, wiring and ventilation ductwork, thick foam, multiple carpets. This puts feet high relative to the ceiling, which is low due to the sunroof. I must adjust the seat bottom to the minimum height in back to get enough head clearance, which leaves my feet and thus knees too high relative to the posterior. I compensate by reclining the seatback more than I otherwise would, and raising the front of the seat. It works for me, but I wonder if the problems you have may be similarly related to the short distance between the floor and the ceiling, and no seat will solve that issue of posture compression.

Try removing the lowest layer of carpet with the foam padding, and any mats on top, to see if you can get more comfortable. This can be done in about a minute, but if it works for you, I don't know what is a good permanent solution.

Steve

In case anyone from Mercedes Benz ever reads this post - your seats suck! Sure, the person who posted this comment drives a car that is almost 10 years old, but I've sat in '80s vintage Saabs, Volvos, BMWs and even Japanese cars that have seats significantly more comfortable than those in Mercedes. I don't understand why this should be. Heat, adjustable lumbar support, supportive side leg bolstering, adjustable seat cusions, and extandable leg support (like that found in BMW seats) should be standard, no-questions-asked, equipment. Why does the world's leading auto manufaturer give us wet sponges to sit on????? MB puts so much engineering into the rest of the car, I don't understand why so little appears to go into seating comfort. If Toyota can put comfortable seats in a Camry, I'm sure Mercedes can afford good seats too.

And guys, don't tell me to rebuild the seats in my w123 - I did, and they still are a poor excuse for a seat.

GregS
'84 300D, 173k
'90 300CE, 163k

Just got a ride home in a W210. The seats are definitely superior - in their shape/support but...the leather looks/feels REALLY cheap. In fact I now know why so many have commented on the "lower quality" feel of the W210. Though I think the design is well done, the materials used are SUB PAR!!!!!! Material wise it is the level of let say a Ford Tarus or Honda Accord!!!!! I couldn't believe how inappropriate it felt for the price point and brand. I couldn't get over the cheap looking fake wood trim! Not to mention the sceamingly cheap plastic parts all over the dash. The experience was positive in that it did make me feel better about owning a W124!

Anyhow, does anyone know if W201 seats/seat tracks/seat controlers are the same as W124? There's someone who has the deeply contoured Recaros that came on some sport version of the W201 for sale. Anyone ever sat in these seats?

You know what seats are really really nice R129 SL seats, they fit like a glove.

I just put some Mercedes w123 seats in my friends ford festiva, I got some festiva seats that you could have =)

I think you should look into Corbeau seats, they are really nice, see dean albrecht's post on racing seats in the 500E. Lots of great comments there.