Bolt Front Seats Recall Media Campaign

[LeftieBiker]

The first Leaf 2 cars built this Fall will have 40kwh packs (not 45) as best we can tell, with a 60kwh pack following sometime next year.

 

[flamaest]

Leaf 2 specs....

http://electrek.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=53ec2d4dd6eb242346cdddfa2&id=f0c178984d&e=9bed1a6247

 

[Anonymous]

I have been reading on this forum for quit some time as I prepared to buy a 2017 Bolt Premier trim. Was initially a little concerned about the potential seat issue so I thought I would sit in the car for a while before I actually signed on the preverbal "dotted line". Went down to Connell Chevrolet this afternoon and sat in a black premier and a red LT. I immediately noticed the side bolsters pressing into my shoulders on both trims. The seats are very narrow and had very little room on the bottom of the seat as well. However, the seat backs were by far the biggest issue for myself. I am 5'7"and weight 158Lbs. I consider this a big fail. How could Chevrolet let the seats pass through engineering. I am wondering if all the interior engineering was done in North Korea? I have decided to pass on the Bolt and looki into the BMW I3. I am very disappointed GM!!!

 

[iletric]

I have decided to pass on the Bolt and look into the BMW I3.

GM, another on bites the dust.
Can you afford it? Really?

 

[devbolt]

I have decided to pass on the Bolt and look into the BMW I3.

GM, another on bites the dust.
Can you afford it? Really?

So long as their sales numbers keep increasing, yes, they can easily afford it. Most people don't have a problem with the seats.

A vocal minority have legitimate complaints about the seats, but without the ability to quantify the number of lost sales solely due to seat issues, GM will not aggressively pursue a redesigned seat, or a TSB campaign to alter existing seats to mollify a minority number of owners.

 

[elpwr]

Bolt sales are doing pretty good. Even while being held back by the slow rollout.

It's outselling the antiquated Leaf in spite of the huge Leaf incentives and discounts. New Leaf with only 150 mile range and ineffective battery thermal management is a big disappointment. Nissan has clearly blown their initial lead in EV's and is now in catch-up mode.

https://www.autoblog.com/2017/09/08/chevy-bolt-may-outsell-every-other-ev-short-of-the-tesla-model-s/?hcid=ab-around-ab-tile-6

 

[d2170]

I'd echo that last thought. There is no seat controversy. There are just incontestable facts. But they have to be stated precisely and without exaggeration in either direction. It's real easy to change a few words and make a misleading statement.

1. Some potential buyers have turned away from the Bolt because the seat they sat in was painful or uncomfortable.

2. Some Bolt owners encountered seat problems post-purchase. Some of them found the problem so bad they purchased cushions or had the seat modified by a seat shop.

3. Some of us have sat in multiple Bolts, and found seat A awesome, and seat B painful. So it's not an issue of having a "big butt", as some have suggested. Same butt, one seat hurts, another feels great.

4. GM is aware of the problem. See the comments by the GM Customer Care representative on this forum. And GM has a suggested solution if you own a Bolt - contact your dealer first, and contact customer care directly if you dealer doesn't give you satisfaction.

5. This thread will keep growing until it has consumed all the computer storage on the planet Earth.

As explained in #5 above, we all agree the seat problem is of biblical proportions.

 

[elpwr]

" we all agree the seat problem is of biblical proportions". - a totally false statement.

Many Bolt owners and potential purchasers find the seats completely satisfactory. Myself included.

 

[Allelectric]

" we all agree the seat problem is of biblical proportions". - a totally false statement.

Many Bolt owners and potential purchasers find the seats completely satisfactory. Myself included.

"We all agree" is not accurate, I agree with you there. But I have had 6 people at work drive my car because they are (sorry were) interested in buying one. Only one (5'2" and probably 110lbs) thought the seats were "alright, but very hard". The others, all various size males and none over weight, said the seats were unbelievably narrow and very uncomfortable. They also all drove my Kia Soul EV. They all loved the seats. Same size car so apples to apples.
If you haven't yet read the Doug Review thread and watched the video review please do. He only has 3 gripes in the car. The seats are one. He was told they were narrow but he says they are even worse than he thought they would be (his words not mine) and he is not a big guy.
Me and my wife fight over who gets to drive our Kia Soul EV each day, for one reason only......... really, no BS, it's the only reason. We both think the Bolt is fantastic, except for the seats which make us want not to drive it.
And my wife is 5'6" and 135lbs.
The seats are too narrow, full stop. Add to that the almost complete lack of padding in the base and seat back. Add to that the high hard plastic seat base shell, and the pronounced hard side bolsters on the seat back.
The seats are at best for some "satisfactory", for many terrible and even painful.
My car is heading to the dealer for a repair of the seat back that has split away and a loud cracking noise when you lean against it. Others on this and another popular forum have had the same issues (some more than once now.
A leading car maker aiming to break new ground should be making sure that "Satisfactory" is the way someone who doesn't like the seats describes them.
They are losing sales because of these seats. If the don't make wider, more padded alternate seats available, they will lose me as an owner as soon as someone comes out with a car to match the mileage (that I can actually buy, not put a deposit on).

 

[elpwr]

I have to ask: If spending only a few minutes in the car you find the seats so unbearable - why did you buy the car? That's tanamont to admitting that you didn't do a very careful assesment of your potential purchase.

The same can be said of complaints about the suspension. Even a reasonable test drive allows you to evaluate seat comfort and ride quality. These are fundamental characteristics that should be plenty easy to assess.

 

[iletric]

A leading car maker aiming to break new ground should be making sure that "Satisfactory" is the way someone who doesn't like the seats describes them.
They are losing sales because of these seats.

Thank you for the missive.

I must say this for the umpteenth time: instead of suffering, do something about it, and get them to the upholstery shop and spend the money. I did, it hurt, but now I don't have to think about the crummy seats anymore. The shop sunk those bolsters in 4 inches of foam and 1 inch at the lower back, and the seats are now Cadillac.

The Leaf 2 not coming out with the 60 kWh model until 2018 is a huge disappointment. My plan B, since our Soul is going back (with less that 80 mile range at 47,000 miles), may just be Ioniq with 124 mile range as a stop gap measure until 2018-19 when a whole slew of >200 mile cars come out.

 

[Allelectric]

A leading car maker aiming to break new ground should be making sure that "Satisfactory" is the way someone who doesn't like the seats describes them.
They are losing sales because of these seats.

Thank you for the missive.
I must say this for the umpteenth time: instead of suffering, do something about it, and get them to the upholstery shop and spend the money. I did, it hurt, but now I don't have to think about the crummy seats anymore. The shop sunk those bolsters in 4 inches of foam and 1 inch at the lower back, and the seats are now Cadillac.

The Leaf 2 not coming out with the 60 kWh model until 2018 is a huge disappointment. My plan B, since our Soul is going back (with less that 80 mile range at 47,000 miles), may just be Ioniq with 124 mile range as a stop gap measure until 2018-19 when a whole slew of >200 mile cars come out.

Sorry, I didn't realize that there was a limit on the length of a post.
I would love to do a self funded seat fix but it would surely effect a warranty claim. My car is going to the dealership because of seat issues that the service manager looked at before I went away for the summer. He said it would need a complete new seat cover and an examination of the seat back structure as he thinks something is broken. The clicking/popping seat back issue I have is reported on this and another popular forum. If that if it happens on your vehicle a warranty repair will be a fight. I have already asked the service manager if they could put a little extra foam in seat base while they are fixing the seat. He said he would talk to Chev about doing that. That way warranty is no issue.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not unwilling to spend money on comfortable seats. If the 2018 comes out with better seats, that will also fit directly into a 2017, I will buy them and put them in my car, thus preserving the warranty. I hope Chev offer a seat solution other than that of course but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[scbolt]

I'd echo that last thought. There is no seat controversy. There are just incontestable facts. But they have to be stated precisely and without exaggeration in either direction. It's real easy to change a few words and make a misleading statement.

1. Some potential buyers have turned away from the Bolt because the seat they sat in was painful or uncomfortable.

2. Some Bolt owners encountered seat problems post-purchase. Some of them found the problem so bad they purchased cushions or had the seat modified by a seat shop.

3. Some of us have sat in multiple Bolts, and found seat A awesome, and seat B painful. So it's not an issue of having a "big butt", as some have suggested. Same butt, one seat hurts, another feels great.

4. GM is aware of the problem. See the comments by the GM Customer Care representative on this forum. And GM has a suggested solution if you own a Bolt - contact your dealer first, and contact customer care directly if you dealer doesn't give you satisfaction.

5. This thread will keep growing until it has consumed all the computer storage on the planet Earth.

Speaking of #4 above, it has proven completely useless for me. I spent many months post-purchase working with GM customer care and the dealership, and after many rounds of back and forth they have up and said this is a design issue with the seat and not a "defect" per se, so they are unable to do anything about it.

EXTREMELY disappointed by this and hence this is likely going to be my very last GM car.

 

[d2170]

The Leaf 2 not coming out with the 60 kWh model until 2018 is a huge disappointment. My plan B, since our Soul is going back (with less that 80 mile range at 47,000 miles), may just be Ioniq with 124 mile range as a stop gap measure until 2018-19 when a whole slew of >200 mile cars come out.

Could someone list all the pure EVs under $45,000 with over 200 mile range coming out by Q4 2019? I can only think of three: Leaf 3, Model 3, Chevy Bolt (and maybe also the Model Y).

Don't give us the ones 2020 and beyond, because I don't believe press releases projecting out that far. Anyone can write press releases. Besides, at my age going to the supermarket buying a green banana is long-term planning, so 2020 is too far out for me to think about.

 

[iletric]

You are making a very valid point, Allelectric. Yes, I could definitely get in trouble with the warranty, if the seat came apart. I actually never thought of that. I was driven to get those things fixed at any cost. I have actually not had a seat fall apart for me before. It appears, with GM we cannot be so sure now. By all accounts so far your seat is an outlier.

This post was, and still is, intended to to stimulate someone social media savvy to rake them through hot coals to get something done for the Bolt electronauts, mangling their butts and backs in Bolts' front seats. No one has done a thing, and GM is losing sales by a percentage point they find acceptable. I would venture to say that despite what Mary Barra promised would become a new GM corporate culture under her tutelage, stemming from the ignition key fiasco that shook up GM's reputation, has not come to fruition.

The only avenue to bring GM to the table is to take them to small claims. But that only means a buyback at best. We need media to catch on to this issue and it has not materialized.

 

[GernBlanston]

I have to ask: If spending only a few minutes in the car you find the seats so unbearable - why did you buy the car? That's tanamont to admitting that you didn't do a very careful assesment of your potential purchase.

The same can be said of complaints about the suspension. Even a reasonable test drive allows you to evaluate seat comfort and ride quality. These are fundamental characteristics that should be plenty easy to assess.

^^^^ This.

 

[scooter123]

I bought a seat cushion and that solved all my issues.. and I was having sciatica flare ups due to sitting too much.
Problem solved (I'm a P/T driver for lyft.

 

[elpwr]

I have to ask: If spending only a few minutes in the car you find the seats so unbearable - why did you buy the car? That's tanamont to admitting that you didn't do a very careful assesment of your potential purchase.

The same can be said of complaints about the suspension. Even a reasonable test drive allows you to evaluate seat comfort and ride quality. These are fundamental characteristics that should be plenty easy to assess.

^^^^ This.

Have you noticed that all the repetitive whiners have completely ignored my question?

 

[devbolt]

" we all agree the seat problem is of biblical proportions". - a totally false statement.

Many Bolt owners and potential purchasers find the seats completely satisfactory. Myself included.

This is what we fondly refer to as sarcasm.

 

[Allelectric]

I have to ask: If spending only a few minutes in the car you find the seats so unbearable - why did you buy the car? That's tanamont to admitting that you didn't do a very careful assesment of your potential purchase.

The same can be said of complaints about the suspension. Even a reasonable test drive allows you to evaluate seat comfort and ride quality. These are fundamental characteristics that should be plenty easy to assess.

^^^^ This.

Have you noticed that all the repetitive whiners have completely ignored my question?

If you track who's on line you will see that I am not a daily visitor. Hence not answering your question in a time you deem suitable. As for your comment about being a repetitive whiner a check of my posts will reveal I have praised the car in every area, but the seats. When I drove the car (the only one in Vancouver at the time) there was a line of people waiting for me to make a decision. Had I not committed at that drive I would have lost the car. That said both myself and my wife loved it so much we thought we could put up with the hard seats. Yes, we were wrong. I have purchased a padded seat cover and a memory foam wedge to go under it. The seat base is now bareable but the seat back is still bad. My car is going into the dealership for seat repairs this week. The same issue that it seems quite a few others have had. Until Chevy comes up with a fix for the uncomfortable seats that does not jeopardize my warranty, I will continue to comment on them, as well as praise other aspects of the car.
If that's ok with you of course ?