hgp

My driver's seat is manking a dull "clunk"-ing noise when I reverse on a decline or when I'm accelerating harder than normal. Has anyone seen this? Are the seat bolts just loose? it sounds like it may be coming from 2-3 different parts of the seat.

Thanks!

MARK CUMMINS

Take The Car Into The Dealer and Tell Them That The Seat frames Are Making Noise. They Make Clunking/rocking Noise..Im On my Third set ...

Air Marshall Eldritch

It must be a technical feature of the W210, since they all seem to do this.
Wolfgang thought up the idea one day to have the seat announce its' presence in case you might doze off during hard acceleration.

hgp

I'm debating if I should bring it to the dealer or just let it be...How big of a job is it to fix...I don't want them to mess us the electric seats, etc...only to just have it recur.

Thanks!

jimmydagreek

You don't have to worry about the electrical part of the seat just the frame. My seat also made a very light clunking and so I had my mechanic pull my seat out. On my seat, he noitced a small crack in the frame so he tack welded it. We put the seat back in and it works great without any noise. Pull your seat out and inspect the frame.

BenzE

Yep, I have the same problem in my 1998 E320. I even had a thread about it somewhere a while back (called "Rattleseat" as I remember...)

Anyway, I've had the rails replaced under Starmark. Fixed for a while. Still makes noise. I personally tightened the bolts on the seat rails, which seems to have worked a bit. Still, if I accelerate up a hill after a stop, I feel a knock/rattle behind me. Grrr. My 2000 E430 didn't have the rattling seat, but it had a whole slew of other issues.

I think we should write MBUSA or something to lobby for full extended warranty coverage to replace the entire seat unit.

Curious: I have heated seats. Do you? I wonder if it matters...

hgp

Yes, I do have heated seats...It's very weird. It seems like this is a common problem.

jimmydagreek

I also have heated seats and wondering if the frame and rails can't handle the unit. Hmmm, maybe something to ask Mercedes Benz...

hubert

Yup my seats are doind the same thing in my 1999 E430. Too many problems with those Benzes got to get a Lexus.

E55AMG99

My 99 E55 (heated non-sport seats) makes a clunk on left to right transitions. Dealer replaced frame/track but problem persists. I gave up trying to find it.

BenzE

Hmmmm! Very interesting... Does anyone without heated seats have the rattling?

I smell "class action"

jimmydagreek

No not a Lexus (no offense though)!!! Though they look nice and all but it's just a Toyota with nicer interior and options. Strictly my opinion, why don't you go with an Audi A6 or a Volvo S80 or something like that? I would say BMW but I have owned 3 including an M3 and they have their share of problems as well. I switched to Mercedes which has been better and the problems are far less. Good luck with your choice...

hgp

Hmmm. Let's think about this. Besides the fact the noises the seats make are annoying, how safe can these loose seat frames be? And how about its integrity after its been replaced?

jimmydagreek

I agree hgp. Thank God for the side airbags but you could literally go flying on a major impact if the seat is somehow loose or unstable. If someone ends up writing to MBUSA to petition a recall or fully extended warranty, I would be more than happy to sign. I just don't have the time to some up with something at the moment or I would do it myself. My Benz is way out of warranty coverage anyway and someone with existing coverage that has tried to resolve the problem and has had no resolution should write the letter to start the petition. Let me know guys...Thanks!

apb

I'll join in!

BTW, I don't think a Lexus is any more like a Toyota than a Mercedes is like a Volkswagen. But I like Volkswagens better than Toyotas . . .

jimmydagreek

LOL ! That's too funny "apb," good point. I guess it's a preference between German or Japanese and I prefer German engineering. Much luck on whatever vehicle you choose and lets see if someone can get a petition going on the seats...

hgp

I just got the car back from the dealer and the noise appears to be gone. Hopefully it will stay that way. I will keep you updated if it comes back.

jimmydagreek

hgp, would you happen to know what the problem was on your seat and what the dealer did to rectify it?

michakaveli

I want to know too! :-)

Air Marshall Eldritch

Speaking of loose seats...
I had a Maxima that got rear-ended by a truck on the highway. The seats were rock solid till that point. After the impact, my friend and I found ourselves lying down in the back seat. Our front seats collapsed completely. If someone happened to be riding in tha back, and survived the truck imploding the back of the car, they'd have been done in by me and my friend crushing their legs.

hgp

jimmydagreek,

The dealer replaced the seat frame, and the noise is gone.

jimmydagreek

So it was the seat frame. If my noise comes back, I will know where to look first. Thanks for the info. hgp...

zmirza

I have 97 E 420 non heated seats and I have the same problem. There are 3 other E Class's in my family and they all have this problem. It's the railing. The railing that MB designed for their E Class are weak. This usualy occurs right around 50K miles. Whatever you do don't get the rails replaced from the dealer because they will put another set of weak rails on and after a while the problem will come again. The best thing to do is to take it to a welder or a seat guy and get better frames put on.

PS. Tightening the screw/bolts will not fix the problem.