Hard leather seat causing right buttock pain

[Guest]

Good for you. Are you a `skinny` by any chance?

No, 13.5 stone 5'10. I find the seat just the right width.

This is my third Superb elegance, number two did have a much firmer seat though and was Onyx. Numbers one and three were Ivory and softer, the latest is quite soft and is certainly not as good a quality.

I note that some owners possibly have back trouble, I was using a normal sized dumper on a site in 1978 filled with concrete when the two people tipping it could not hold it and let go this catapulted me right up and over the front, for a long time afterwards I had bad back pains, I find many chairs and sofas uncomfortable to sit in but no problems with my Superb seats.

I did find a website that gave detailed instructions how to adjust car seats and did PM it to some members. If I can find it again I will post a link, I used their method.

I found Bentley and Jaguar seats uncomfortable as they were always too wide and soft, but my Superbs are a perfect fit for my shape and hold me in a secure position.

[Guest]

How to adjust car seats:

http://drivingergonomics.lboro.ac.uk/health.html

[mandp]

No, 13.5 stone 5'10. I find the seat just the right width.

This is my third Superb elegance, number two did have a much firmer seat though and was Onyx. Numbers one and three were Ivory and softer, the latest is quite soft and is certainly not as good a quality.

I note that some owners possibly have back trouble, I was using a normal sized dumper on a site in 1978 filled with concrete when the two people tipping it could not hold it and let go this catapulted me right up and over the front, for a long time afterwards I had bad back pains, I find many chairs and sofas uncomfortable to sit in but no problems with my Superb seats.

I did find a website that gave detailed instructions how to adjust car seats and did PM it to some members. If I can find it again I will post a link, I used their method.

I found Bentley and Jaguar seats uncomfortable as they were always too wide and soft, but my Superbs are a perfect fit for my shape and hold me in a secure position.

As I said, I'm pleased it works for you, Spectrum.

For me...its all about the seat base. I don't ever have back pain, just an ache in my right buttock. A pain in the ***e you might say!

[Cemesis]

I'm exactly the same and never had any problems with any other car before.

Its clearly the seat base at fault. I know some people seem to have no issues and I presume they are 'wider' and thus sit on the bolsters rather than up against them as some of us do.

I also wonder if the S models are unaffected due to no leather.

[JamKart]

Perhaps an owner size survey is in order

I'm 34" waist, 6' 2" tall 12 stone with a not particually big backside and find the seat hard & uncomfortable & gives me a pain in the buttock.

I'd be interested to know the waist size of thoose who say it's good/bad - perhaps it's affects a particular waist?

Strange but the comfort varies on the trousers I'm weariing! Its more uncomfortable with thin fabric trousers and it's marginally better if I'm wearing jeans. I've tried putting bits of foam on the seat but it's not great. Maybe a thin leather cushion that sits on the base to raises it 10mm would help?

Edited 26 October, 2012 by JamKart

[mandp]

I'm not sure the size of the driver is all that relevant ..though you would think so wouldn't you. I say that coz `I` find the seat really uncomfortable and my measurements are vastly different to yours...Waist 47", 5' 11" tall and 18 stone!

[mandp]

Further to what I've just said...

The whole problem, in my view, is the positioning of the control buttons for the electric seats. If they were somewhere else, (perhaps on the door like most other cars), then the seat could be that much wider and we could sit IN the seat rather than, in my case, having to sit on the right side bolster in order to be aligned with the pedals. That may be why our `shape` in not so relevant.

[Pesmog]

Its an interesting point. Are the non-Leather non-electric seats really wider ? Can someone measure across one so that a comparison can be made. Would do my own car but its elsewhere at the moment for a few days.

[kilworth]

Just to add my penny to it I had a new a6 out on loan for a few days , experienced the pain discussed above . Strangely I have the leathe in the skoda and don't have the same issues , I had been uncomfortable but found that sometimes playing too much with the seat settings caused the seats to be always on the wrong positions . Did a total reset on the seats , got one supportive position , saved it and stopped messing with the settings . Seats comfortable since then .

[bmhill]

38" waist

17.5 stones

6'6"

i find the seats in my 2008 Superb II very comfortable

half leather half alcantera

i have to say they are more comfy than my previous 4 cars

C220 cdi sport

E250 cdi sport

Audi A6 S-Line

being they all have narrow type seats the Superb is more comfy to me

Octavia 2010MY manual

[mandp]

Just to add my penny to it I had a new a6 out on loan for a few days , experienced the pain discussed above . Strangely I have the leathe in the skoda and don't have the same issues , I had been uncomfortable but found that sometimes playing too much with the seat settings caused the seats to be always on the wrong positions . Did a total reset on the seats , got one supportive position , saved it and stopped messing with the settings . Seats comfortable since then .

Kilworth...what is `the leathe`?

[Noddy90]

I'm 36" waist, 15 stone and 5' 8" (in other words: overweight, but not a complete porker) and the Superb's seats are the narrowest of any car I've owned.

For the first 3 months of ownership, I fiddled with every button and lever and just could not get completely comfortable. No buttock (or any other) pains, but definitely not right. I would then fiddle some more, to the extent where I didn't sit in exactly the same position for two successive journeys or even for the duration of one journey. The amount of available adjustment was giving me far too much choice and too many chances to get it wrong.

Recently - perhaps by accident; perhaps by getting sick of fiddling - I've found a position which I've stuck with now for about a month and it's very comfortable. I don't think the leather is a very gentle leather - the velour seats on an SE I briefly tried seemed much more yielding - but overall I now find it a very comfortable drive.

I sit as low down as possible (still far too high for my tastes, but that's modern cars for you), with the seat back reclined to about 30 degrees. The seat base is tilted up almost to its maximum setting and the lumbar adjustments are very discreet. I know this will not suit everyone, but it suits me fine: I waft along in sybaritic comfort. Well, almost.

Overall I'm sure the perfect setting for everyone is there somewhere. The link posted by Spectrum (above) is very helpful: if you've got lost in the myriad permutations, strip it right back to basics and start again. Use the different memory settings to store the possibilities and alternate between the 3 until one sticks. Go easy on the lumbar support: I find that if you get this wrong, everything else seems wrong.

[kilworth]

Sorry I blame my smart phone and predictive txt , sometimes I'm not smart enough for it ! , meant leather seats in my elegance !

[mandp]

Sorry I blame my smart phone and predictive txt , sometimes I'm not smart enough for it ! , meant leather seats in my elegance !

Thanks, Mate.

[Noddy90]

Kilworth...what is `the leathe`?

That, I imagine, would be the leatheR.

Whoops - just seen Kilworth's reply.

Edited 26 October, 2012 by Ned Brickley

[mandp]

I'm 36" waist, 15 stone and 5' 8" (in other words: overweight, but not a complete porker) and the Superb's seats are the narrowest of any car I've owned.

For the first 3 months of ownership, I fiddled with every button and lever and just could not get completely comfortable. No buttock (or any other) pains, but definitely not right. I would then fiddle some more, to the extent where I didn't sit in exactly the same position for two successive journeys or even for the duration of one journey. The amount of available adjustment was giving me far too much choice and too many chances to get it wrong.

Recently - perhaps by accident; perhaps by getting sick of fiddling - I've found a position which I've stuck with now for about a month and it's very comfortable. I don't think the leather is a very gentle leather - the velour seats on an SE I briefly tried seemed much more yielding - but overall I now find it a very comfortable drive.

I sit as low down as possible (still far too high for my tastes, but that's modern cars for you), with the seat back reclined to about 30 degrees. The seat base is tilted up almost to its maximum setting and the lumbar adjustments are very discreet. I know this will not suit everyone, but it suits me fine: I waft along in sybaritic comfort. Well, almost.

Overall I'm sure the perfect setting for everyone is there somewhere. The link posted by Spectrum (above) is very helpful: if you've got lost in the myriad permutations, strip it right back to basics and start again. Use the different memory settings to store the possibilities and alternate between the 3 until one sticks. Go easy on the lumbar support: I find that if you get this wrong, everything else seems wrong.

Very useful. Thanks, Ned.

[veloplus]

I find I get some discomfort to the underside of my left thigh after driving the car for at least 30 minutes. The same was true of my first Superb II 'S'; I'm now driving an 'SE' and the situation remains the same.

The seat base and backrest have given no cause for concern though.

By way of comparision, the seats in my Octy II were perfect throughout the 115,000 miles I travelled in that car.

[iancjc]

I'm 6 foot tall, 16 stone and a 36 waist.

Have no issues at all. This afternoon I've driven 200 miles and have got out the car ache free.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Chubbs]

I had this problem with a previous Superb Estate at 6'3", 17 stones and 36" waist.

The seat softened slightly after around 8000 miles but I finally found a more comfortable position after months of trying - given my height I was always used to having the seat at its lowest position but when I raised the seat so my hips were on a level with my knees, as opposed to being lower than my knees, the problem almost disappeared.

The back of my legs were thus providing support too instead of all my weight going through my backside. I also have a problem with pelvic tilt and no doubt the pain was a result of my anatomical design not the seat.

[Barnowljenx]

I did notice that seat comfort on the L&K pack Superb was noticeably better than on the standard Elegance and my experience since buying the car has been that these are the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. On a long trip with three passengers, they also were supremely comfortable despite almost 8 hours in the car. It did take me some time to find the most comfortable seat position but it was well worth it.

[Bagpuss]

Further to what I've just said...

The whole problem, in my view, is the positioning of the control buttons for the electric seats. If they were somewhere else, (perhaps on the door like most other cars), then the seat could be that much wider and we could sit IN the seat rather than, in my case, having to sit on the right side bolster in order to be aligned with the pedals. That may be why our `shape` in not so relevant.

I share similar body dimensions to yourself, and I've had no problems over the 4 years that I've had my car.

I was very careful when choosing the Superb, as I've got a lower back problem resulting from a car accident. I spent 3-4 hours test driving the car, just to make sure the seats would be comfortable.

Now, the Octavia, both in L+K and vRS form, I found to be awful.

Don't really know how to account for the differences, but I'm sure that correct adjustment, and how you sit in the seat has a lot to do with it. I know, as I've had to re-learn how to sit as a result of my condition. Previously, my posture was terrible, and I suffered for it.

[Pesmog]

I have only had my car a few weeks and was having the same right leg/buttock pain which was getting excrutiating and I was starting to limp. I couldn't make out why it was only on the right side and not the left.

A bit of investigation showed that the plastic seat surround on the right side was preventing the right seat side bolster from spreading under my weight as it was butting hard against the leather. Drastic measures were called for, so I undid the front clip that holds the plastic surround to the seat frame and tried to remove the plastic competely. As mine is an SE it doesn't have the electrics just the height lever poking through the plastic side trim and this unfortunately prevented the surround being completely removed. While I was wrestling with the plastic the real cause of the pain problem became clear. The plastic side trim is held in place by being clipped on top of a very robust 6mm steel tube that runs parallel with my leg high alongside the top of the seat bolster, It was this and not the plastic that was preventing the cushion from spreading on the right side.

Anyway the metal tube is at its closest near my right hip (only about 15mm away) so that explained the pain at that point. I used brute force and pulled the tube 20mm towards the door and away from the leather (I had to remove the seat back angle adjuster wheel first). I then reassembled everything. The result is I no longer get squeezed on that side and the pain has now gone after 3 days of using it and the seat base feels wider. There is now a 10mm gap between the seat leather and the plastic trim (you can push your fingers in the gap when you are not sitting on it) that now allows the cushion bolster to spread properly on the right side when I sit on it. I am 99% sure that this has cured the problem. Not sure if this can be done on a car with the electric buttons mounted in the plastic trim, but it can be done on the manual ones. The plastic trim now rubs a little on the height lever as its now closer to the door, but its a small price to pay for comfort.

The seats are hard as others have said but this has taken away over 90% of the discomfort.

Edited 21 November, 2012 by Pesmog

[JamKart]

Quite a drastic solution!!

Can you post a picture of the finished result?

[kensym]

Cant say I've had the problem. I'm 6'2" and 19plus stone and did 1300 miles in 2 days earlier this week and found the seat to be fine. would say though that I do have a slightly different driving position in the Superb to previous cars.

[mandp]

Cant say I've had the problem. I'm 6'2" and 19plus stone and did 1300 miles in 2 days earlier this week and found the seat to be fine. would say though that I do have a slightly different driving position in the Superb to previous cars.

Dont you find that you sit on the right side bolster? Thats my problem and thats why I get the ache after just a few miles.