Lumbar support

[illavehalf]

Hi I wonder if you guys can shed any light on this one, had my 1.9 se tdi now for 6 months and find the lumbar support completely inneffective! I drive a couple other cars and

vans and when you wind the wheel either way a pronounced difference in the seats lumbar region can be felt however with the Octavia it's operation appears to have little or no effect! The vehicle is only a few months old so wouldn't have thought the guts of the seat wood have failed , it would seem others have had similar concers judging by some postings on here

[ChrisRs]

It is rubbish..ALL Octavias are!!

Its the same for all of us I'm afraid!!

[Grizzle]

Yeh as Chris said it is absolute awful, infact some other things on these Octavia's are really poor so much so we are seriously thinking of going back to a BMW.... an M5 infact.

[Rab-k]

Agree also - if you don't get the set up just right it can be the most uncomfortable driving seat I've ever had the misfortune of sitting in. Not so much an issue if you're the only driver and you find that elusive comfortable position and can keep it there. But if you're moving the seat around between a couple of drivers, it's a real pain in the ....back.

Edited 17 April, 2011 by Rab-k

[iCraig]

I find mine quite comfortable, then again I was used to crappy 10 year old Astra seats before.

[Mud]

The memory settings on the L&K are a life-saver

[DevonDave]

I have had my Octavia for just over 12 months and agree that the lumbar support control might as well not be there. Having changed from a Volvo V70 I was expecting that the seats would not be as comfortable, but not as bad as this. I have electric lumbar adjustment on the driver's seat which works reasonably well, but the manual adjustment on the passenger seat is useless. I have also found that the seat heater on the passenger seat does not work as well as the driver's seat. When the car was in for its first service last month I got the dealer to have a look at these problems but they say there is nothing they can do. Regarding the seat heater, they say there are less heating elements in the passenger seat than in the driver's seat. Why?

The dealer suggested that I take these issues up with Skoda Customer Services, so I have emailed them and am awaiting a reply. I have suggested to them that it may be possible to exchange the passenger seat for an electric driver's seat from a left-hand drive vehicle and I would be prepared to contribute towards the cost if this could be done.

I will keep you posted on the outcome.

[CEPi]

The memory settings on the L&K are a life-saver

Second that. With electrical control the seat feels fine on longer journeys, but it took a few weeks to fine tune to the liking.

[ednmra]

I find mine quite comfortable, then again I was used to crappy 10 year old Astra seats before.

Mine's okay too, but the lumbar control doesn't do a thing so far as I can feel. The wheel turns okay but what is it supposed to be altering inside the seat?

[rockhopper]

My previous L&K had electric memory seats and they were ok, but having the Yeti with the electric memory seats is awesome. The best seats I have ever had. Maybe the extra height helps.......

[marcusthehat]

I too find the seats in the Octavia very uncomfortable, after 7 monthe & 8 thou miles.

Been racking up a wheen o extra miles this last couple of weeks and my back is fair creaking.

I fidget & cannot get comfortable, and after reading this post, yes it is probably poor / non existent lumbar support.

Other than that the car is good/possibly even excellent.

BUt I knew I wanted/needed the Yeti, and would prob spent the extra for the leccy seats.

Heartfelt sigh smilie reqd :'(

Edited 19 April, 2011 by dieseldogg

[Lou_O]

Mine had failed and was replaced under warranty. No matter how much you turned the wheel it never got tight and there was no noticeable change to the seat. Once fixed they would stop turning after 2 or 3 revolutions.

But now they're fixed I can barely notice the difference from before anyway.

Edited 19 April, 2011 by Lou_O

[onmeheadson]

I find the seats pretty comfortable but yes the lumbar support is rubbish!

[iCraig]

I take back what I said, my back was killing me after a 3 hour drive yesterday. :(

[Sarge]

It is rubbish..ALL Octavias are!!

Its the same for all of us I'm afraid!!

Whilst I agree that the lumbar support adjustmemnt on my vRS is not great, I do find it adequate, but the Scout at work has an amazing lumbar support. In fact I have to have it turned to really soft because otherwise it is just too firm and is then uncomfortable.

Sarge.

[Delacroix]

It's a common fault, the plastic retaining rails for the cable that moves the support in and out when you turn the wheel snaps and so it then doesn't work. Happened to mine (felt/heard it go when I was driving) so it will get fixed at some point under warranty when I have the time to take it in. There is a thread on here somewhere on this that is particularly useful if you are out of warranty as there is a diy method of refixing the cable...

[GAFF]

There is a thread on here somewhere on this that is particularly useful if you are out of warranty as there is a diy method of refixing the cable...

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/115478-lumbar-support-broken/page__p__2041718__hl__lumbar+gaff__fromsearch__1#entry2041718

It still works but overall the actual lumber ain't very effective in terms of use....but thats a design flax.

[illavehalf]

wound mine right off and used the backfreind that i bought for my golf(now that seat is pants!!) a much better seating position was achieved..however her indoors slung it in the boot so i wound the support right up and it definately does adjust but its so slight that you could easily be forgiven for thinking its buloxed , in all a poor design as already written definately and an aftermarket lumber support is really a must if you suffer (like me!!)

[ruffday]

My Lumber works fine but the foam collapsed after 4 months ( 20k ) on the base and that was replaced and also the foam on the seat back went and thats just been done.

All fine now.

[DevonDave]

I have had my Octavia for just over 12 months and agree that the lumbar support control might as well not be there. Having changed from a Volvo V70 I was expecting that the seats would not be as comfortable, but not as bad as this. I have electric lumbar adjustment on the driver's seat which works reasonably well, but the manual adjustment on the passenger seat is useless. I have also found that the seat heater on the passenger seat does not work as well as the driver's seat. When the car was in for its first service last month I got the dealer to have a look at these problems but they say there is nothing they can do. Regarding the seat heater, they say there are less heating elements in the passenger seat than in the driver's seat. Why?

The dealer suggested that I take these issues up with Skoda Customer Services, so I have emailed them and am awaiting a reply. I have suggested to them that it may be possible to exchange the passenger seat for an electric driver's seat from a left-hand drive vehicle and I would be prepared to contribute towards the cost if this could be done.

I will keep you posted on the outcome.

UPDATE

After a bit of chasing I have finally got an answer from Skoda, and they are not prepared to do anything. No surprise there then!

[Auric Goldfinger]

After my Leather re-trim in my Octavia Vrs the seats have firmed up and are very comfy

[illavehalf]

From the general consensus on here it seems the original lumbar support is pants when it is working so not working makes negligable difference I'm struggling to decide wether mines having it or not!!

. It's up for a service in the not too distant but from. Posftings previous will. Not be holding my breath!!

[GAFF]

I got one of these https://www.jmlsitright.com/. I didn't wrap it around the seat because of the air bag...I just pushed the lower part into the gap between the base and the back of the seat and it sits reasonably well in position. Great value at €8.

Very comfy.

[john1280]

I agree with all thats been said .The seats are awful and no lumbar support .It got that bad after long journeys I had enough and swopped the front seats with Golf ones which are not brilliant but much better than the skoda ones .No mods needed they are a straight swop .

Edited 11 July, 2011 by john1280

[illavehalf]

What a letdown !! I was thinking here was a car that was by and large pretty.good and it's let down by a seat back !it's a pretty important price of kit isn't it after all the guy driving needs to be relatively comfortable ! My old fiat had a better set up! I'm using a "back freind " and this makes it bearable but to have an adjustable lumber support that isn't adjustable is surely a fault?? But not to worry at least we are getting round the niggle still a party popper though!