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SAAB 9-5 driving seat

I recently bought my first Saab, a 1998 9-5 2.3t SE auto. What a hell of a car (specially for the money)! Looks, performance, equipment and a promise of legendary durability. With 120,000 miles on the clock, the interior is like new, the body is almost unmarked and everything - apart from the ACC electronic display - works perfectly. It also has the best audio system I have ever owned.

The other reason I bought it was Saab's reputation for unmatched long distance driving comfort. With leather all round, it certainly looks good, but although the passenger seats all win compliments from my family and friends, I cannot get comfortable in the driving seat, no matter how much I fiddle with the rake, height, lumbar support etc.

In fact the seat feels like it has sunk in the middle slightly and as a result my bodyweight is supported more by the sides of the seat than the base. Likewise the back. After two hours of driving I get quite a back ache.

Now I'm not unusually heavy (about 90 kg stretched over a 6'3" frame) so I would have thought the seat would have coped with me OK. Instead I am starting to wonder if a previous owner (it has had two, one of whom did 105,000 miles in it) was a gigantic lardass who over the course of owning it has knackered the seat springs or something. I know it can happen, as I had precisely that experience with my Peugeot

406 (which, admittedly, is notorious for having uncomfortable, poor quality seats).

How likely does this sound? Has anyone any similar experiences?

If the seat is indeed shagged, any suggestions on how to cure it? E.g. restorers, parts suppliers (I am in the UK).

Thanks

Reply to
Wheels of Error
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Wheels,

Do you carry a wallet in your rear pants pocket (as I do)? If so try removing it the next time you are on a long ride. I had a similar experience as you, and BTW I am built similarly to you, and I found a large amount of my discomfort was due to my spine being tilted ever so slightly from sitting on the wallet. BTW, my wallet is not all that thick either, only about 3/4", not like the huge pocket purses I see some guys toting around in the back pockets...

The other thing that I find matters to back comfort on long trips is how far you are from the steering wheel. In order to have a comfortable reach to the wheel my legs are often cramped and the thigh/torso angle is too extreme. The trick there is to get a car with tele-scoping wheel so you can back up from the pedals and not have to drive with your arms out straight. Keeping the seat back more upright also helps accomodate the short arm / long leg situation.

Good Luck,

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

Thanks for the suggestions, Fred. No I carry my wallet in my jacket, whether I'm wearing it or carrying it, so it isn't that. I did persevere with adjusting the seat and it did help some, but the crucial test was this weekend.

My wife and I went for a long drive in it, and I asked her to take over so I could check out the passenger seat. It was wonderful! It felt like the most comfortable office chair you could buy. It was (I imagine) what the driving seat was supposed to feel like and probably did, when it was new.

The back seats were also highly comfortable. It's just the driving seat. Damn. Bet Saab charge a fortune for a replacement :-(

Reply to
Wheels of Error

Fred,

Many years ago (20 or more) I read an article in a science journal on "Wallet Sciatica." It was about a discovery by some orthopedic surgeons that sitting for long periods on a fat wallet can lead to sciatic pain. Since then I try to keep only large bills in my wallet.

R. Frist

Reply to
R. Frist

Perhaps you could help me out and send some of those large bills my way? ;-) Actually, I tend not to carry much (if any) cash money anyway. If I do, SWMBO will filch it when my back is turned. But carrying a couple of credit cards, ATM cards, club membership cards, etc and your in for some back pain in a hurry.

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

"Fred W." wrote in message news:-t2dnegyoIqCxh snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.com...

Gud speling...

That should be:

^^^^^

Reply to
Fred W.

Found a place in the UK that does Saab seat repairs and reupholstery on a regular basis; Two Strokes to Turbo in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

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I explained my problem to them and they knew immediately what to do, having seen the problem several times before. They told me that unlike in the 9000s, driver seats in the early 9-5s do collapse over time due to a change to an inferior design. They see this a lot in ex-Police cars.

Their full time upholstery man is going to strip the foams out of a low mileage passenger seat (the foams are symmetric so they'll fit fine) from an early 9-5, and rebuild my seat with the original leather covering. Total 300 GBP or so. They're even going to lend me a courtesy car.

Funny thing is, despite all the searches I did on Google, trying every combination of "saab", "parts", "breakers" and "UK" their web site never showed up, although I gather they are well known on eBay. At any rate, I eventually found out about them by asking in person, while I was at PFS parts returning a duff ACC unit.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Reply to
Wheels of Error

Got my car back from Two Strokes on Thursday and the seat foam transplant was a complete success! It's wonderful, it makes me want to go an all-day drive just for the sake of it.

Hats off to Two Strokes for the excellent job they did - and also for giving me the opportunity to try out an old (1987 I think) 900 for a day or so (as it was the last courtesy car they had left). A mere

231,000 miles >>
Reply to
Wheels of Error

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