Honest advice - massage seat feature in the W222 S class
 

Forum friends,

I am in need of some genuine advice here. I have debilitating back pain, and now am at a stage where my walking is impaired. I am a lot younger than many of you, but at this point, the pain is quite overwhelming when it comes to long distance drives (1 hour or longer).

An S class is within my budget, but there's only three things I care about.

1) Suspension - obviously air suspension on the S wins.
2) Quietness - obviously the S class is one of the quietest cars on the planet (in this class - vs a Bentley/Rolls/Maybach)
3) Seats - namely - massaging seats.

Massaging seats (the real ones that are not on cars) are amazing. I realize that there are limitations when massaging seats make their ways to car (safety is chief I guess). What I would really love to know is - do these massaging seats actually make your life better? E.g. - is it a tickle, or is it a pretty "crappy" real massage (which in my mind is great for a car).

What are your honest thoughts on the massaging seat feature? Bonus points if you have back pain and you feel your life has gotten a lot better or stayed the same with this feature.

Thanks!

Thank you Utopia Texas. So I just want to be crystal clear here if I may. In your opinion, the massage seats is not something you feel helps you with your lower back issues? E.g. It's not something you're like..."wow, thank gosh I bought this option!"?

I use the heated seats on my W204 on every drive, at max setting, and it helps. I just feel like some lower back massage action would help, but after watching the guy on Youtube tear open that S class seat, I was like..."wait, that's it?!"

Thank you again. Just looking for some further clarification. My interpretation of your post is that it's more of a gimmick than anything, and I haven't found any review to indicate that, but then again most people don't suffer from our back pain issues!

Cool to say you have them, but totally useless..... At best, you will feel something, but a hot stone massage, please....
Best advice I can give you, Go to a Local Dealer and Test all features of the seats. For every person that will say its amazing, I'm sure you will find someone that will say its a novelty.

Thanks. I'll try and make time today to do just this. I've test driven the S a bunch of times but for whatever insane reason, I keep on forgetting to try out the massage seats.

Thanks gentlemen. Just like @streamliner, I too turned down the Genesis G90 because of the lack of said seat function, and also super thankful for @Wolfman's comments about the S vs the SL as after @Utopia Texas's comments I was pretty disheartened.

Alrighty, I'm back. Please don't shoot the messenger here, but I could not have been more underwhelmned here. I was told something though and unsure if it's true. I tested out the massage function in the dealership, so the car was not started. The sales person told me that it's "weaker" when the car is on battery.

Is that true?

To be fair though folks, I did just drive the 2018 Lexus LS500 and the massage seats were night and day better (As in MUCH better) than the S class (2018), so I know it can be done right and is another data point.

It was in the dealership (inside). They did have one outside but I figure there was no point as I have driven it a bunch of times and am only interested in the function of the seats.

There are two intensity settings for massages. Make sure you were in the stronger intensity- They aren't amazing but better than most...

Yes I made sure I maxed out the intensity setting. I remember doing this.

It also helps to:
1. Sit properly in the seat.
2. Adjust the Lumbar/Back, the more it protrudes, the closer the massage will be to your back. You really need to sit firmly back in the seat to appreciate it.
3. Make sure you don't have on a Jacket or Coat.....

Now, Go back to the Dealer, and test a car on the Lot so you can start it. In my opinion, starting the car will not change much.... But heck, go test it again.....

After running the numbers, Mercedes is willing to give me $10K right off the bat (current promo), and some money under the Executive Car Allowance program. I don't know what that is, but I have asked.

This now puts the car's price, for the dealer (no margin) at a cheaper amount than the LS. That blows my mind. The LS doesn't even sell well, so I'm fairly certain this is a done deal anyways.

For the record, the condition for testing both cars was the same. No jacket, just a dress shirt and dress pants.

BAHAHAHA! :D

Well, I'm happy to give that shot, in my garage, with the doors closed. Performance anxiety is an issue if I try to do this at a dealership. :D

Back to the thread topic at hand.


Yup, that sums it up. Go to 6:03.

In case anybody wanted to see exactly what's inside a Mercedes S-Class seat take a look at this video. The guy and his son are very popular on YouTube for cutting things apart, which is why Mercedes invited them to Germany to cut open one of their S-Class seats.

Yes, that video is what led me to question the efficacy of the S class's seat. I drove one today (a 2015 S 550) because they didn't have any 2018s left on the lot since S class sales are rare around here, and the ride still floored me, but even still, the massage seats (and the Burmester stereo) were both VERY terrible in my views. A stock Bose 2018 Audi A8 system (and massage seats) beat out the S, however the S's ride cannot be beat. I still have not made up my mind on what to do now.

You hit a nerve without realizing it. :-)

If MBC was an option on 4matic cars, the S class would have been in my garage by now. I am not even kidding. MBC is not an option on 4matic S classes, and that's all they sell in Canada.

I'm holding out for the 2019 Audi A8 as the stereoscopic camera system is coming on the A8, although the Audi dealer still does not know if that particular function is coming to Canada.

The only downside is that my balls don't hang that low and I'm scared to repeat a decision I once made which was to buy a first gen Audi. I got burned bad the first time around. I just don't know what to do now but want to give Audi the benefit of the doubt here with the new one.

Kahonas? Pfft....I ain't got those :D