Numb Bum in a SL

[Pitts Pilot]

Yesterday my wife and I spent a total of 9 hours driving from London to Bordeaux, via the Eurotunnel.

I have never sat in such uncomfortable seats, driver’s or passenger, in my life.
Even the same 9 hour journey in a Smart car did not leave my backside so numb, and my lower back so sore!

The next day, barely able to walk, I examined the offending seats to find two things:

1. There is very little padding on the seat base. What is there compresses so easily you can simply push it down with your hand, and then it hits a layer that is unsprung and very hard.

2. The leading front edge of the seat is as ridged as the edge of a table and completely uncompressible. No wonder it cut the blood supply off from my knees down! (And yes, I did everything to adjust the leading edge both down and back and so forth to suit..).

Now, I admit that moving from an Elegance C250 to a 2007 SL was never going to be an upgrade in comfortable seats, but with ABC giving the car a smooth ride on smooth French motorways, the issue is clearly SL's appallingly uncomfortable seats.

Furthermore, today I got into our 2004 Renault Laguna and I immediately wanted to swap the seats out! Renault versus Mercedes; who would you expect to have the better seats?

So what is the story with the SL seats? Has anyone else spent more than a couple of hours in their SL and had issue with the seats?

I am currently organising lumber supports from eBay (there is *no* lumber support at present), and memory foam seat cushions in order to prepare me for the journey home!

Any suggestions, short of removing the seats and having them properly upholstered?

Incidentally, the car has done 21K miles, so it’s had relatively little ‘bottom’ time

Thanks

 

[developer]

Both my E Classes have had poor seats - you are not alone.

 

[Doodle]

Interesting...I've done 14hrs straight in my 211 with no issues. That said, the daily commute on the Ducati has probably removed any sense of feeling from my backside.

 

[BTB 500]

We go to the south of Germany in the Vito at least once a year, stopping just at the Eurotunnel and once for fuel (about 10 hours). No problems with that, but then it does have the optional 'comfort' seats ... with lumbar support

Not done any runs longer than about 3 hours in the R129.

Hope you find a solution for your R230. How did your wife fare in the passenger seat?

 

[s88]

have driven for long spells in the UK in my 2006 SL 350 and not had any issues, quite comfy for such a car on low profile tyres.

Seat not as well padded as a saloon but not uncomfortable.

 

[davidjpowell]

My dad had a 190E pre facelift when we were kids.

3 Kids on the backseat, and the hardest seat known to man saw some interesting journeys. OP has my sympathy!

 

[BlackC55]

I think seat comfort is a very personal thing as we are all different shapes. I find the new and old Smarts very uncomfortable even after 20mins.

 

[moonloops]

This is what you need:

 

[Burger]

We regularly drive 700 miles in our R230 with a stop probably every couple of hours to stretch legs etc. No such trouble with the seats and we do not have optional comfort seats or anything like it. As Olly said, seats (and body shapes) are very personal and you should spend time with the infinite adjustment of electric seats making sure they're adjusted properly to your build/shape. A common problem people fall into is to move the seat swab too far forwards or in other words have it too deep or long or the swap tilted too far with the front higher than it should be. It feels great on short journeys because it kind of forces you to sit IN the seat but it can trap the blood flow in your legs which can lead to all sorts of issues and aches and pains in areas you didn't know you had. With fully adjustable seats and steering wheel, it can be minefield to find the right position but play around, I'd be amazed if you can't make it much more comfortable.

Regards,

 

[A210AMG]

As above what suits you does not suit me?

I've done Annecy to Chester in the E clas, ML and a B class in one go and none of these feel uncomfortable.

Have you checked the position? tried different ones?


You say you jumped in the scenic... Where you in that for 14 hrs also...

 

[Pitts Pilot]

I agree that seats are a very personal thing; we are all different shapes and sizes.

However, my R230 does not seem to have anything of substance in the centre of the seat when compared to my Laguna seat. Press that down and you are met with firm springy resistance. It’s far more comfortable than the SL, no question.

Anyway, I'm sorting out some dual layer foam seat cushions, firm foam covered with memory foam. A solution will be found

As far as the electric adjustment is concerned, I agree I need to experiment with the countless combinations more.

Thanks for the advice.

PS. My wife will probably want to drive the Laguna back to the UK...

 

[C43AMG]

Speak to David at d-class for advise. 01483 722923

 

[trapperjohn]

Forum member Druk has put Saab seats in his. Its a great conversion too. There may be pictures in the gallery.

 

[Dieselman]

Get a W210, they have comfortable seats, but my old cars have seats like sofas, which have always been noted as being very comfortable by the press.

 

[reflexboy]

Yesterday my wife and I spent a total of 9 hours driving from London to Bordeaux, via the Eurotunnel.

I have never sat in such uncomfortable seats, driver’s or passenger, in my life.
Even the same 9 hour journey in a Smart car did not leave my backside so numb, and my lower back so sore!

The next day, barely able to walk, I examined the offending seats to find two things:

1. There is very little padding on the seat base. What is there compresses so easily you can simply push it down with your hand, and then it hits a layer that is unsprung and very hard.

2. The leading front edge of the seat is as ridged as the edge of a table and completely uncompressible. No wonder it cut the blood supply off from my knees down! (And yes, I did everything to adjust the leading edge both down and back and so forth to suit..).

Now, I admit that moving from an Elegance C250 to a 2007 SL was never going to be an upgrade in comfortable seats, but with ABC giving the car a smooth ride on smooth French motorways, the issue is clearly SL's appallingly uncomfortable seats.

Furthermore, today I got into our 2004 Renault Laguna and I immediately wanted to swap the seats out! Renault versus Mercedes; who would you expect to have the better seats?

So what is the story with the SL seats? Has anyone else spent more than a couple of hours in their SL and had issue with the seats?

I am currently organising lumber supports from eBay (there is *no* lumber support at present), and memory foam seat cushions in order to prepare me for the journey home!

Any suggestions, short of removing the seats and having them properly upholstered?

Incidentally, the car has done 21K miles, so it’s had relatively little ‘bottom’ time

Thanks

I did over 1200 miles in a week traveling to Scotland from the SE with no issues. I found the seats just fine

 

[Pitts Pilot]

I've had a good look at the driver's seat, and there is a poorly supported area at the very rear of the seat. The seat dips down before meeting the seat back, and it’s this ‘hole’ that is the problem.

If you sit well back in the seat your bum sinks into this poorly supported area and you adopt a shoulders forward, hips back position resulting in a hunched-over posture. It’s really uncomfortable and completely unnatural!

So I filled this 'hole' area with some memory foam and suddenly I'm sitting upright (well, 'upright' as far as a slightly inclined seat back is concerned) and it feels much much better.

I see eBay sells foam wedges that fill these seat base ‘holes’, like this one:



However, the ebay wedges seem to finish at the thin end with a 2-3cm thickness, which I suspect could create an edge that cuts into your thighs?

Anyway, I intend to order some proper wedges, ie. Tapering to zero cm by ordering from a cut-to-size foam company once I’m back in the UK.

I reckon a firm foam wedge placed in the ‘hole’ area, and then memory foam over the entire seat base will work wonders. Time (seated) will tell