Multi-Contour Seats Available?
09-25-2007, 09:31 AM
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'13 ML550, '08 ML320cdi (retired) & '99 ML320 (retired)
Multi-Contour Seats Available?
I have a nicely equiped ML320 ordered for Halloween delivery. In addition to Package 3, leather w/burl wheel, sidesteps, grill guard, trailer hitch, keyless go, voice control, and a few other odds and ends, I wanted the contour seats which have been unavailable for 2008. I am about to contact my dealer one last time to request the seats, just in case. Has anyone heard if the seats are available on any ML besides the AMG? Anything I can reference when I talk to my dealer would be appreciated. Thanks.
By the way, Mike Smith Mercedes in Beaumont, TX will start talking at 4% below MSRP on orders. Better than anyone I contacted in Houston.
By the way, Mike Smith Mercedes in Beaumont, TX will start talking at 4% below MSRP on orders. Better than anyone I contacted in Houston.
09-27-2007, 10:38 PM
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2007 GL450
Multicontour seats come as standard equipment in the GL550 iand the ML AMG in the USA. They are not available in 2008 in the other ML's or the other GL's.
I have Multicontour seats in my wife's 2007 GL450. To be perfectly honest, we ordered them because we thought they would be great. But actually they are only marginal. There are 3 things you can adjust.
1. The lower thigh support, when you push the button for this the seat at the thigh area lengthens about 1/2 inch and gets a little higher: it is minimal improvement.
2. The lateral flank bolster support. When you push this button the lateral flank bolsters either go in to tighten around you or go outward: I actually like this adjustment and I keep it tight.
3. The lumbar support. This has two controls, one fills up the lumbar support or deflates it, the other moves it to a lower postion on your back or to a higher postion on the back. I have found this one to be difficult to adjust and control. When it is filled up it is very hard which is not comfortable. And the higher/lower postions feel odd. I can't tell if it is one bladder moving up and down or two bladders in fixed positions being differentially filled. The low position is too low on your butt and the high position doesn't seem to get high enough on my back because I am tall.
One thing that my wife and I have noticed is when you have the lumbar area filled up it puts a lot of friction right wear your belt on your pants lies and it is causing more marks on our macadamia seats. So we now leave the lumbar support deflated.
Also, the multicontour seats on some of the coupes and roadsters (i don't know which I tested) have another switch called "Pulse." With this setting the lumbar support cycles up and down in a massaging mode. I thought this would be cool and I thought that the multicontour seats in the GL would have this detail, but they do not! I was mis-informed by my dealer about this capability.
So anyway, we ordered them specially because we thought they would really increase the comfort level of the vehicle on long drives and I must say that now I think they are only marginal. Maybe MB will come out with a contour seat in 2009 that is REALLY more comfortable then the standard seats. But there is nothing in 2008.
I have Multicontour seats in my wife's 2007 GL450. To be perfectly honest, we ordered them because we thought they would be great. But actually they are only marginal. There are 3 things you can adjust.
1. The lower thigh support, when you push the button for this the seat at the thigh area lengthens about 1/2 inch and gets a little higher: it is minimal improvement.
2. The lateral flank bolster support. When you push this button the lateral flank bolsters either go in to tighten around you or go outward: I actually like this adjustment and I keep it tight.
3. The lumbar support. This has two controls, one fills up the lumbar support or deflates it, the other moves it to a lower postion on your back or to a higher postion on the back. I have found this one to be difficult to adjust and control. When it is filled up it is very hard which is not comfortable. And the higher/lower postions feel odd. I can't tell if it is one bladder moving up and down or two bladders in fixed positions being differentially filled. The low position is too low on your butt and the high position doesn't seem to get high enough on my back because I am tall.
One thing that my wife and I have noticed is when you have the lumbar area filled up it puts a lot of friction right wear your belt on your pants lies and it is causing more marks on our macadamia seats. So we now leave the lumbar support deflated.
Also, the multicontour seats on some of the coupes and roadsters (i don't know which I tested) have another switch called "Pulse." With this setting the lumbar support cycles up and down in a massaging mode. I thought this would be cool and I thought that the multicontour seats in the GL would have this detail, but they do not! I was mis-informed by my dealer about this capability.
So anyway, we ordered them specially because we thought they would really increase the comfort level of the vehicle on long drives and I must say that now I think they are only marginal. Maybe MB will come out with a contour seat in 2009 that is REALLY more comfortable then the standard seats. But there is nothing in 2008.
10-02-2007, 06:13 PM
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2004 SL55, 2015 A250d, 2016 GLC250d
There are 2 types of multi-contour seats that MB make for certain markets (I get this from looking at EPCnet)
a) The normal ones (as fitted in my UK 2007 ML500 SE) (option code 404/405 I think)
b) The dynamic ones (option code 433/434)
The normal ones , the switch is a valve and directly regulates the pressure to the pads in the seat
The dynamic ones have an electronic valve seperate to the switch and thus can do the pulse function, and remember the settings alongside seat memory sections. I beleive these also pump up the side bolsters if they think you are about to crash.
If you have (a) you can (in theory) add the stuff to make (b). Installing (a) is much more involved.
Its on my list of things to do to my ML at some point. (Probably driver seat only) and I will write it up on www.mercupgrades.com
Richard
a) The normal ones (as fitted in my UK 2007 ML500 SE) (option code 404/405 I think)
b) The dynamic ones (option code 433/434)
The normal ones , the switch is a valve and directly regulates the pressure to the pads in the seat
The dynamic ones have an electronic valve seperate to the switch and thus can do the pulse function, and remember the settings alongside seat memory sections. I beleive these also pump up the side bolsters if they think you are about to crash.
If you have (a) you can (in theory) add the stuff to make (b). Installing (a) is much more involved.
Its on my list of things to do to my ML at some point. (Probably driver seat only) and I will write it up on www.mercupgrades.com
Richard
