Hi,

 

I took my Fabia Mk II for a trip over the weekend (6h drive altogether) and my lower back is killing me. I'm the guy that has to look down when sitting in the back seat as the roof is generaly too low for me 😞

I noticed the following: no lumbar support, upper seat pushing against sholders (not too bad, but not great), head rest too low and pushing forward way too much.

Driving short distances (up to an hour at once) has been without (significant) issues so far.

 

What are my options for seats? Currently looking at cushions as a short term fix, but would not be against swapping the seat out (airbag and all). The most comfortabale seat I've sat in would be the very flat bench like seat in a '96 Mazda B3000. Everything "sporty" seems to be made for people with a much shorter torso and neck then I have.

 

Thanks

The best designed and most comfortable seats were found in Saabs, there are loads at the breakers, take some measurements and see if they might fit.

Hi @sepulchrave, thanks for the reply.

I should have mentioned in the original post, but forgot: I'm handy, but far from a mechanic, and fiddling with airbags is not my idea of fun. Any seat swapping would be outsourced to someone who knows how to handle airbags safely.

Is there any model Saab that is a simple swap? My colleague used to drive a Saab (while also being on the tall side), will check with him for size/back support.

Do you know if there are any adjustable or flat headrests that fit the factory seat? The forward pointing one that I have just encourages slouching 😞

 

Anyone know of a flat headrest (or adjustable to be flat-ish with the seat) that will fit a Fabia Mk2?

I ended up getting a back pillow, it helps with the slouching problem.

Headreast still pokes the bottom of my skull though, just a bit less.

You could, as a last resort, take it right off. Keep it handy for resale, etc.

Hi mrgf, that would be very bad if I was ever rear-ended. My sholders are above the seat edge, I would litterally snap my neck here :(

I'll eventually find a flat headrest that fits

Some quick questions that'll help with finding a solution:

How tall are you?

What spec is your Fabia?

Have you explored the adjustment options fully for the seat?

 

I would think swapping in a seat from a different manufacturer is going to be difficult to do. If you really think you need to change the seat, I would start by looking at PQ25 cars from other VAG brands, SEAT Ibiza (2008-2017), VW Polo (2009-2014), Audi A1 (2010->), particularly higher spec models which may have more options for adjusting the seat. Being based on the same platform means they should bolt straight in with no modification needed there. Airbags should also be compatible. The only tricky part might be adjustment if you swap in power seats to replace manual ones as you will need to find power for the adjustment motors from somewhere.

I get that, Tommy, it'll be like going back to the 70's... That said, I doubt a head rest so low as to poke the bottom of you skull, will be any better. Might even exacerbate the situation! 

Have you toyed with the idea of getting someone to fabricate longer headrest poles, (I doubt there is enough on the poles just to grind additional slots to lock it in place but you never know) and swap them over? You would need firstly, to see if there was room inside the setback, to accept it when lowered, though, unless you had the adaptation done to a spare. You would only really need to do it to your seat, unless your family/partner is tall or you ride as a passenger frequently. 

Edited 1 December, 20205 yr by mrgf

Hi @chimaeraThe seat is as low as it can go and I'm the recommended "3 fingers from the roof" high. I'm not overly tall (180-something) but long torso and neck means I'm always sitting tall.
Not sure about the spec, it's a manual seat, has side airbag, no heating, no leather.

Swapping out the seat is a bit of an extreme measure (as I'm not a mechanic), especially in the current state of things, so the chances of getting that done now are pretty low.

 

@mrgfI don't think there is enough of the poles to extend easily, even if I did it won't help much as they the headrest is protruding too forward for my liking anyway. Ideally I'd like to get a compatable headrest with a "flatter" angle. The bellow pictures should help explain, red is the standard angle of the poles where blue would suit me much more. I've seen such in pics of some VW's but haven't been able to find if they are compatible or not.

Almost all the headrests from the VAG concern are fittable I think. I once fitted Golf mk IV headrests in a Seat Arosa, so I think it will be doable to find a golf headrest which is adjustable (make it more flat) and put it on your Fabia seat.

Hello, I have heard of people putting the headrests from the rear seats on the front seats.  

Although it'd be free to try that, I think the button to lower the headrest is on the side in the fronts, whilst on the front in the rears. I'll look tomorrow but anyone can check.