nordicsl

Over that last month or so I have been getting a pain in my upper thigh, on the right side only after 10 minutes of driving. Im 5,9 tall

I have tried all type of adjustments of the seat, but the dull pain persists.
I believe the pain in my right leg is due to the location of the gas pedal.
It is very difficult to set seat in position that you can keep your right leg straight enough.
Is this common?

Anyone else have this problem?

Rudeney

I'm about 6'2" (actually, 190cm) tall and I don't have any problems getting comfortable behind the wheel. In fact, I find the SL one of the most comfortable cars I've driven. I have a lot of back and neck issues, too. My problem with the SL is getting out, not driving. I drive with my arms somewhat stretched, but my legs bent. For me, the seat first goes all the way to the floor, seat the cushion fully extended, and then I raise the front to bend my legs.

I do get a bit annoyed at MBZ's pedal positions. The gas pedal is always deeper than the brake, so you have to lift your leg when braking. That is one thing BMW is better about - their pedals are more even so you can leave your heel planted and just feather the pedals with your toes. Still, would never trade my SL for a BMW!

Ghostty

Sounds more likely that you need to see a doctor for that. Do you get same pain when driving other cars?
I'm 6'5" and have no problems at all driving it, getting inside or out. Of course, the seating is very low on these cars, as well as stretched legs. But never felt anything like that.

Ptrigg17

Thank you for this posting, I thought I was the only one experiencing the exact same problem that you described. I am 5'8" and shrinking as I approach 68 years. In addition to my 07 SL, I currently own an 07 CLK 550 cabrio and an Audi Q5. Until very recently I also owned a Porsche Boxter and an Audi A5 cabrio and never experienced the problem in any of those cars. I have gone so far as taking measurements off the seating position of the CLK and attempted to duplicate them in the SL with limited success. I find myself constantly making changes in the seating position when driving in attempt to get comfortable. I find that raising the seat is more helpful than a straight leg position however the jury is still out. Since it is winter here in the north east and the SL is put away until late March or so I am no longer making any changes. My problem seems to be my right hamstring and I develop the pain or cramp after about 15 minutes of driving, I then readjust and wait for it to return. It has me totally baffled . It has something to do with the angle of my right leg as I apply it to the accelerator pedal. I absolutely love the car and power through the discomfort in hopes that I will eventually find a comfortable seating position. Good luck and please let me know your progress with a solution.

Rudeney

Do you keep your wallet in your right back pocket? Maybe it is too fat because you have not had to pay for any car repairs lately? Seriously, it could that! A guy I work with had a lot of leg problems and it turned out to be that his wallet pressing on a nerve in his buttock when sitting.

Ptrigg17

No wallet in back pocket, I learned that at a young age from a chiropractor. I wish the solution would be that simple.

Ptrigg17

Just an observation, Nordicsl is 5'9" and I am 5'8". I would like to hear from others of similar height that may or may not have comfort issues.

compaddict

iTrader: (1)

I'm 6' and I suffer in my wife's car the same way. 170Lbs and long legs.

Ptrigg17

This is getting more interesting, there appears to be some sort of ergonomic phenomenon with the seat/pedal relationship that affects some of us who own this wonderful automobile. I, for one, have never experienced this before in any automobile. I find it very disheartening to finally own a dream car and then experience pain when driving it. I can drive my CLK all day in total comfort, the SL is a whole different story. The CLK does not have the multi contour seats either like the SL.

nordicsl

Im so glad Im not the only one to experience leg pain. Within 15minutes of driving my right leg is in pain and I find myself playing with the seat adjustment to desperately find some kind of alleviation of pain.

My solution will be to buy extra cushions and place them in front of the seat to cushion my thighs as well as raising the seat to the maximum and moving it back so as to extend my leg instead of bending my leg while driving.

Also, using the cruise control as much as possible seems to relax my legs which is a positive.

Any advice ?

Ptrigg17

Thanks for the information. My car is in winter storage, will be back to looking for solutions sometime in May.

Rudeney

One of my big gripes with MBZ is that the brake pedal is too close (or maybe the accelerator is too far away). BMW does a much better job of pedal placement. One of their few advantages.

Ptrigg17

What I find interesting is that I can drive all day in my 07 CLK in total comfort, with the SL I have to constantly readjust the seat to stop my right leg from cramping.

BlownV8

The back of your seat is too low and the front edge is too high so it puts pressure on your hamstring causing it to lose flow and cramp. You may need your seat repadded or sit on a pad that raises your buttocks so your leg is more inline with the pedal. I don't get it in my SL but I have suffered from it some other MB's that had too much padding on the edge of the seat.

Ptrigg17

Thank you, that makes sense to me . That would answer why the problem gets worse when I extend the front of the seat out. I believe the seat bottom has a tilt adjustment so I can raise the back up and lower the front. I would go and check it out but it is in storage.

anothercar

Wow! George Constanza (see Seinfeld) would have a helluva problem!

Rudeney

Seriously, I don't have an issue with the SL's seats. I have mine adjusted to just the right position. However, I do have one or two pair of jeans where the back pockets are a bit low (overprice designer jeans, of course) and no matter where I sit, the billfold in my back pocket is uncomfortable. And it's not because it's because it's too full of money. I mean, after all, I do own an R230!

Dusky

I'd like to say a big thanks to Rudeney for his comment about the wallet in the back pocket. I was having problems with a dead right leg on a journey, I took my mainly empty wallet out & problem resolved.

Thank you.
Tony

Rudeney

You're welcome. But don't lose that wallet - you're gonna need it for the next round of repairs and maintenance!

Ptrigg17

BlownV8 suggested that the problem could be pressure on my hamstring due to the height of the seat front so I went to my car in storage and played with the tilt angle of the seat bottom. When I adjusted the front lower and the rear higher I think he hit the nail on the head. Suddenly it felt much more comfortable, I was no longer sitting in a hole. The proof will be in the driving but first we need to lose 2 feet of snow. Thank you BlownV8!

nordicsl

I tried this as well. It did help a bit. Still sharp pain in the right calf and thigh. Always the right leg which is strange.

One thing I have noticed about my lumbar support is that the inflatable bag tends to deflate whenever it wants. It only seems to inflate whenever I start the engine, but within 15min of driving it deflates.

thigh and hamstring back pain could be the result of initial pain in the lower back according to Livestrong website.

So I have now invested in a lumbar pillow for my car as well as a cushion to sit on and to offer support for my thigh and calves

will update and post links to different cushions and pillows i will try out.


Side note: I used to own a gen2 prius and had the exact same problem so maybe my sl500 just isn´t built for me. It´s a shame as I love the car.

Rudeney

If your lumbar support or other multi-contour seat options deflate, you have a leak. It's often in the pneumatic hoses, but can also be in the lumbar "bag" itself. I know mine has a leak as I periodically feel it re-inflate.

nordicsl

Thank you for the answer Rudeney

Now that I think of if the trunk soft close works 10% of the time and fails 90% of the time.

Could the leak theoretically be anywhere in the pneumatic system or what is your guess?

Rudeney

That could be a leak at the pump itself, or even a bad pump. I know if the leak is severe enough that the pump runs continuously, it actually shuts down. I'd start there.

NiceMerc

Hi Nordicsl,

I had the same problem with the pneumatics and the same symptoms - lumbar support would deflate at random, soft close would only work occasionally.

The most common cause is cracks in the plastic around various ports on the soft close unit. There's a thread dedicated to this problem and a solution involving expoxy at the head of this forum.

I jumped the gun and had a new soft close installed, but that didn't solve my problem. My indie then pulled the codes and found seat related warnings. He was about to pull the seats and look for cracked hoses under the seats - the second most common problem with the pneumatics - but his tech found a leak at the PSE pump before the seats came out. Replacing the pump was easy, though hard on the wallet.

No problems since then. The seats and soft close work reliably.

I think it's a good idea to get the codes pulled and track the problem down. If you're slamming the trunk when the soft close doesn't work you can crack the third brake light which will lead to leaks and more problems.

Good Luck
Gary