drz

Yes I must say that the altered seat is fine, it is now comfortable.

Maverma

2013 E350 same problems. Right hip hurts. I agree with your earlier post that it's the gas pedal position not the seat. I think the gas pedal is a bit to the left which pulls your right leg to left and puts pressure on right hip. Try by extending your arms out horizontally in front of you and move the right arm a bit to left. You will notice the same pain in your shoulder after a minute or two.

Anyway, did the seat redo fix the issue ? Maybe by allowing your body to move a bit to the left so your right leg will be straight. Let us know.

drz

Yes the added padding to seat base and slicing some or the bolster , made the seat much flatter and more comfortable for me.
Great service by Mercedes of Bedford.

Z

Grego3031

I think it's all about adjusting the seat to your body size and positioning. I'm 6' about 225lbs and have found that dropping the seat to the lowest height setting while elevating the thigh bolsters helps a lot. I like to drive in a more relaxed position and find this helps to keep the legs stretched out. Just my .02 cents

I had the same findings in my last Caddy STS. Lowering the seat seems to make your arms line up with the door arm rests and center console much more natural and makes for a better 'cockpit' experience.

Motorwagen1886

Actually I had a 2011 & now a 2014…..
I think the 2014 is more comfortable…..

davahad

Here's a follow-up to my uncomfortable Active Multi-Contour seats and the mods I am in the process of doing.

I've attached some pictures of the actual seat bottom cushion for the Active Multi-Contour Seat. Before having the Upholsterer modify the seat I wanted to see what we were working with so I ordered a replacement seat cushion for $446 from Pelican Parts. Pelican was fast ordering the seat cushion from Germany and only took about 10 days to get.

As you can see from the attached pictures there is a huge gap in the center of the seat where there is no cushion whatsoever. Just the honeycomb lining which allows for the airflow from the fans. Unfortunately this honeycomb material is very hard and that is what you are sitting on which explains why the seat is so uncomfortable. This honeycomb material is installed on all of the the seat and on the sides you can see a grey foam topper material. This material is quite soft and you can fully depress with a finger.

The left side seat bolster is made out of rock hard foam that has no give whatsoever which explains why it is so hard and uncomfortable. The right side seat bolster is medium softness and has quite a bit of give. Too bad the right side is not the same.

I'm having the upholsterer remove all of the honeycomb material and replace with foam. On the center where there is no foam padding he is going to build this up with foam so the seat is flat. On the left side bolster he is going to cut out the top part and replace with softer foam so when you sit on this it has give.

Since you can barely feel the airflow on the seat cushion bottom I don't care that I will get no airflow after the mod. I was toying with the idea of having some small holes cored out of the foam where the fans are located but decided against as comfort is my main goal.

I will do a video soon of the cushion that shows the firmness of the honeycomb material as well as the left side seat bolster.

ucla95

This thread is scaring me off from ordering an E-Class...

dbldpr

I have a 2014 E350 and I find the seats to be very comfortable. Once they were adjusted they fit like a glove. Maybe I am just not use to luxury but I am impressed with the comfort. Way more comfort that the Cadillac cts we have.

ucla95

In reading through this thread it sounds to me like those who keep the seat at the bottom of its travel (which would be me) are having problems with the bottom bolstering as it rests against the frame beneath the seat.

I'm going to have to go for an extensive test drive again.

m4sta

Well my right leg hurted like hell before i adjusted the seat high and " right " position. So Since the gass and brake is quite long from eatchother. I have the regular mb tex seats.
Now its ok, but before even driving for 10 minutes it hurted alot. Its ok now
So remember kids, play with the seat position buttons.

borozzo

I recently ordered a 2014 E550, and I have to say the the front seats are more uncomfortable than any car seat that I have ever sat in! After about 20 minutes of driving I am shifting around trying to relieve the pressure on my lateral butt and thighs from the stiff side bolsters.

I ended up removing the front seat cushions and removing the leather covers to expose the seat surfaces. The bolsters are covered with an inch of soft grey foam. If you peel this back, you will expose a 1/2" layer of white mesh which is very firm and stiff. Under the mesh is a fairly firm molded foam seat cushion. I removed the white mesh covering the bolsters and then shaved about a half inch of foam away on the medial half of each bolster. I then repositioned the grey foam and put the seats back together and reinstalled them. The seats are much more comfortable!

These seats are poorly designed for comfort. I am usually good at tackling jobs like this, but I did find the whole process rather challenging. I would probably advise most people to take the car to someone experienced with seat work. I am still rather amazed that a $70,000 car can have seats so uncomfortable!

GabrielNov

The seat if molding if you got the nappa leather. Only complaint is they seem rather thin.

BenzV12

Great and informative post for a 1st message , welcome and thanks for your insights . What disconcerts me assuming your E550 came with the leather seats you still find your seats uncomfortable which means regardless of seats material choice leather vs ARTICO , any W212 seats are far away from comfortable zone then

beshannon

My 2014 seats are great, no complaints. I miss the thigh bolster from my BMW but I was not going to pay for the active seat just for that.


My seats are very comfortable and the MB TEX is great.

borozzo

My E550 has the Nappa leather seats

justaguy

I went out and purchased one of those chair cushions. They cost anywhere from $10 to $20. Mine has two tie downs so it stays on the seat . It is very soft . My butt doesn't hurt as much as it did before. The MB C300 seat is so hard it feels like sitting on wood .

Steinhart

interesting thread...

I have a '12 CLS63, I'm 6'3" 200 lbs, am very uncomfortable driving it, the seat bolsters are too firm and the flat portion of the seat is too narrow, my hips hurt after sitting in the seat for even short trips, long trips make my hips hurt for days, even limp after getting out of the car, lately have thought of trading it for an S class which is very comfortable for me

Now I'm going to take it to an upholsterer to remodel the seat along the lines as has been described above in this thread, thanks for all the helpful posts!

PoiDog

I have this exact same problem! I've tried different seat positions, etc. Nothing seems to work. Next service appt I'll ask MB for their suggestions

gcg

First of all, it's hard to accept that on a $60k car, leather seats are an option, and plastic is standard. I have the ventilated "premium" leather seats and they are very uncomfortable, a complete waste of money. I've driven the same car with the plastic seats and they are more comfortable.
The issue is that the bottom of the seat back pushes into the small of your back if you drive in anything other than a 90 degree angle. I took measurements of another car at the dealer because I could not accept that the seats could be designed the way they are. The pivot for the seat back is too high, so as you recline the seat, the bottom moves forward into the lower part of your back. I thought that maybe the cushioning on my seat was protruding, but measurements verified that the seat was identical to the other car, so this is just the way they are designed.

I would never buy a Mercedes again after my experience, but if you do, fore-go the "premium" leather seats and settle for plastic, or look at any other vehicle in this segment and get leather seats as a standard (and more comfortable).

I don't know what happened to MB.

noka

Is it strictly the "leather" seats that are uncomfortable compared to the "MBtex" seats, or is it (possibly) the ventilated option that makes it uncomfortable? Can anyone comment on leather seat comfort without the ventilation option?

ss3964spd

My '11 has the multi-contour (driver), heated/vented, leather covered chairs in it.

They fit my wife and I to a tee. No discomfort at all during our first major road trip consisting of two 4 hour legs and one 8 hour stint. A handful of stops during each but never because we were uncomfortable in the seats.

Everybody is built different, no manufacturer can build a seat that will fit everyone.

noka

How would you describe your build (height, weight, etc)? Anyone have leather without ventilated seats that can comment? Unfortunately, my dealer doesn't have any to try.

JDBKLYN89

I have commented in another thread that my 14' e350 seats with Nappa leather are far less comfortable than MB tex seats in my mothers 14' e350. The Nappa seats have a much stiffer feel, I'm not sure if it's a result of less padding or stiffer materials, but undoubtably within 45 minutes of a drive I have lower back pain that no amount of seat adjusting seems to help. Just an uncomfortable feeling like sitting on a wooden bench. This does not happen when I drive the E with Mb-tex which I find to be much more plush and conforming to the shape of my back. Had the Nappa leather option in my previous MB and had 0 issues with cofmort. Very dissapointing as this was a 3k+ option in my car. I do not have the ventilated seat option in this car

noka

Disappointing to hear that. I would be getting the regular leather, so I'm curious to find out how that compares.

Arrie

[=noka;6212673]Is it strictly the "leather" seats that are uncomfortable compared to the "MBtex" seats, or is it (possibly) the ventilated option that makes it uncomfortable? Can anyone comment on leather seat comfort without the ventilation option?[/QUOTE]

I don't think it matters if it is MB TEX, leather or nappa leather when it comes about the seat comfortability. It is all about the cushion under the surface.

Yes, there could be a small difference between the surface materials but it has nothing to do with the comfort difference between the E550 and the 2004 Tahoe LT that I used to have. That Tahoe seat is still the best I have ever sat in any car yet.