'11 E350 - long haul seat comfort
11-21-2018, 05:47 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
'11 E350 - long haul seat comfort
So I am curious if anyone has experienced extreme back pain well after a long trip in their E (standard seats)?
Recently did my first long haul in my '11 E350 and while the car performed beyond expectations and I was comfortable during the drive I had moderate lower back pain/tightness the day after our 6.5 hour trip down to Florida on Friday, I chalked it up to the guest bed I was sleeping in. Well only 2 nights at our friends house and the day we left my back was feelimg normal, then 6 hours back to Atlanta on Sunday. Monday my lower back was so tight I was slow to move.
I didn't have any comfort issues during the drive in my E350 so the day after back pain is curious, the seats in my E feel very similar to my departed '09 C300 which never caused me back pain even after 11-12 hour drives. This is making me somewhat concerned about an upcoming 16-17 hour drive to Minnesota for xmas.
Anyone else have any support/comfort issues with the standard E seats?
Recently did my first long haul in my '11 E350 and while the car performed beyond expectations and I was comfortable during the drive I had moderate lower back pain/tightness the day after our 6.5 hour trip down to Florida on Friday, I chalked it up to the guest bed I was sleeping in. Well only 2 nights at our friends house and the day we left my back was feelimg normal, then 6 hours back to Atlanta on Sunday. Monday my lower back was so tight I was slow to move.
I didn't have any comfort issues during the drive in my E350 so the day after back pain is curious, the seats in my E feel very similar to my departed '09 C300 which never caused me back pain even after 11-12 hour drives. This is making me somewhat concerned about an upcoming 16-17 hour drive to Minnesota for xmas.
Anyone else have any support/comfort issues with the standard E seats?
11-21-2018, 06:44 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
If you do a search on here under my name called “seat pain”, you should find my post with many pictures and a possible fix (easy) for you. Doesn’t sound like yours is as bad as mine was, but that thread might be of some interest to you.
In my opinion in these seats, the design is to sit “in” the seat instead of “on” the seat. They’re trying to do that by having a low area in the bottom right at the point where the back part meets the bottom part. I recently had a new GLC as a loaner, and it was the exact same way and very uncomfortable for me. In that thread, for me anyway, I was able to fix it with some simple extra support up under the overall seat cushion down inside the frame. Sounds like you probably don’t need the extra springs like mine did, but maybe the extra cushion support via some strategically placed hand towels hidden in there.
I can say withouth hesitation that mine mine has been fixed ever since that thread, and can cruise in mine for 12 hours at a time in complete comfort with no residual pain whatsoever. I’m sitting on my seat, not in it. I’ve driven mine from DC to Indiana twice now, and DC to NC many times, each time a joy to be driving the car. Before the fix, I couldn’t last 45 minutes before the discomfort arrived. Almost sold the car because of it and was really regretting buying it. Now, seems like every time I take it in for service at the dealership, I get asked by the mechanic what I did to my seat, as they notice a difference and love it too.
In my opinion in these seats, the design is to sit “in” the seat instead of “on” the seat. They’re trying to do that by having a low area in the bottom right at the point where the back part meets the bottom part. I recently had a new GLC as a loaner, and it was the exact same way and very uncomfortable for me. In that thread, for me anyway, I was able to fix it with some simple extra support up under the overall seat cushion down inside the frame. Sounds like you probably don’t need the extra springs like mine did, but maybe the extra cushion support via some strategically placed hand towels hidden in there.
I can say withouth hesitation that mine mine has been fixed ever since that thread, and can cruise in mine for 12 hours at a time in complete comfort with no residual pain whatsoever. I’m sitting on my seat, not in it. I’ve driven mine from DC to Indiana twice now, and DC to NC many times, each time a joy to be driving the car. Before the fix, I couldn’t last 45 minutes before the discomfort arrived. Almost sold the car because of it and was really regretting buying it. Now, seems like every time I take it in for service at the dealership, I get asked by the mechanic what I did to my seat, as they notice a difference and love it too.
