Driver seat issue

[sportvagontdi]

My wife has a 2011 Jetta sportwagon tdi, owned for about 8 months and generally like the car. Problem is the driver seat is as comfortable as a milk crate. It is not a power seat which would likely solve the problem but the dealer wants over $6,000 to install a power seat (change harness, seat, etc). I am not going that route. The problem seems to be there is no real adjustment in the angle of the seat base and it is set with your knees very high relative to your butt. The car commutes 120 miles/day and is causing hip pain for her - when I drive it (or friends) we experience similar discomfort. Any suggestions????????????

[chittychittybangbang]

I have the same problem - a low butt and poor posture. I'd post pics but this is a work safe forum! Best bet is to DIY. mk5 Jetta had power seats that will fit. Some early years may require you to repin the airbag connector to fit the new style plug. The used seat will probably have wear on seat skin, you could reskin all the seats - not terribly hard but time consuming.see here http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/m...-seat-swap.htm I bought some junky seats for $100 each and reused the foam and skins from current seat. I don't even know where the dealer is getting $6,000 since they're doing a custom job. Most dealers won't touch custom work. Memory seats won't work but not worth it since I doubt your central electric module can accept memory seats anyways.

[sportvagontdi]

I laughed at the dealer & told them I would trade the car before I paid $6g's. Any one have any knowledge of aftermarket seats & their comfort / adjustments?

[sportvagontdi]

Could I buy new jetta power seat & just run new power from the fuse box to power it up?

[chittychittybangbang]

They won't have side airbags, how do you intend to turn off airbag code? I've only noticed racing seats from the aftermarket - you definitely don't want one of those. I'd get something that was designed to fit the cabin and retained all safety equipment. Also know that the stock headrests were changed around 2007-2008. They were fixed forward instead of being active for more anti whiplash. Of course, any mods you do to your own car are at your own risk!

The new Jetta doesn't have power seats. I believe the Tiguan does but the cabin and seating position are different. The seat rails should match up because it's basically a raised Jetta. You could buy new seats from dealer but they're insanely expensive. Probably in the $3000 range - for that price, buy some used seats and take it to an upholsterer. The seats from a b6 or b7 Passat TDI might fit but I don't know.

[chittychittybangbang]

Just out of curiosity, I searched car-part.com and a power driver seat from an early mk5 jetta is as low as $125-200. 2008 Tiguan is 275. On the early one you'll have to repin the airbag plug (don't cut-solder) and have an auto interior shop reskin it to your tastes or put your current skins on it for just the labor cost.

One other thing, the heated seat interface is different after 2010 so I don't know the compatibility. Should work fine since it's not controlled at seat, seat heater is basically just a padded wire but something weird could happen - something like it checks for a certain resistance and when it doesn't see it, it throws an error code. Just letting you know, it's unlikely but is possible.

[sportvagontdi]

thanks for the knowledge, glad to hear I am not the only uncomfortable one in a new car. I still can't believe after years of making cars that this is the best they can come up with - wtf (german for go back to the drawing board).