Bolt Front Seats Recall Media Campaign

[mbepic]

my VIN will be 56421, built about 2 weeks ago.

Don't want to burst your bubble, but your seat will be the same as the "early" that is 3-5 months ago production seats.

They would have to produce new manufacturing molds and perhaps even change the type of foam they blow into them for the seat to be any different. That is not in the cards. It's too much to ask for of a 100-year old grandma GM. As I said, unless people are dying, nothing will make them do it, not even limited bad publicity.

Try to sit in LT first to feel how bad the seats are, then try your Premier leathers, which are better. As an aside, I would NEVER lease the LT I test-drove. Those seats were not doable by a long stretch. They were insanely bad. Someone screwed up, period.

I had no thoughts one way or other whether GM has already redesigned the seat from beginning to now; but if they do, a VIN # should be a good reference for people that are consistently having problems. I'm convinced that some folks will not have any problem where others will not be able to live with the problem...........and ironically, someone came on here and said that the LT was much better than the Premier......go figure that!

 

[LeftieBiker]

They would have to produce new manufacturing molds and perhaps even change the type of foam they blow into them for the seat to be any different. That is not in the cards. It's too much to ask for of a 100-year old grandma GM. As I said, unless people are dying, nothing will make them do it, not even limited bad publicity.

It may be as simple a fix as blowing in more foam, if that's how the foam is installed. If not, it may be as simple as using thicker sheets - or two sheets, more or less - of foam.

 

[iletric]

I saw it in the shop. It's not sheets. It's one formed piece of foam. I presume it is formed inside some hollow contraption. Incidentally, the guy had me squeeze one side of it to show me that that was firmer than the opposite side. He excised the hard area and replaced it with his foam. The process was so bizarre, I could not watch it. I mean he shredded that thing.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I saw it in the shop. It's not sheets. It's one formed piece of foam. I presume it is formed inside some hollow contraption. Incidentally, the guy had me squeeze one side of it to show me that that was firmer than the opposite side. He excised the hard area and replaced it with his foam. The process was so bizarre, I could not watch it. I mean he shredded that thing.

That suggests that a second, thinner foam piece could be added underneath, as a sort of shim, to raise the bolsters above the frame.

 

[SeanNelson]

I'm trying to understand the problem a little better. Are the fore-aft rails you're describing at the extreme edge of the seat, or are they somewhat inboard?

In other words, if one's hips are within the margin of the seat would they be immune to this problem? Or is the problem well inside the margins of the seat??

I've only had a relatively brief time in Bolt seats at auto shows - but it feels to me like the rails are a little bit inboard of the edges of the padded portion of the seat. Some people have laid part of the blame on the plastic moulding on the left side of the driver's seat, but it didn't feel that way for me. The seats didn't seem too bad to me, but I could feel what people are talking about and I'm a little concerned that the seats might become more uncomfortable for me if I had to sit in them for a prolonged stretch of time.

I think this is one of these things that you've really got to try out for yourself.

 

[SeanNelson]

my VIN will be 56421, built about 2 weeks ago.

Don't want to burst your bubble, but your seat will be the same as the "early" that is 3-5 months ago production seats.

They would have to produce new manufacturing molds and perhaps even change the type of foam they blow into them for the seat to be any different. That is not in the cards. It's too much to ask for of a 100-year old grandma GM.

GM doesn't make the seats, they source them from another manufacturer. And with modern just-in-time manufacturing techniques, they won't have a huge inventory of them sitting around. If GM is concerned about the seat design, and if it can be improved with a relatively simple modification that doesn't change how the seat interfaces to the car, then there's no reason the design can't be changed. The only obstacle would be negotiating with the seat manufacturer, particularly if the redesign increases the cost.

 

[SeanNelson]

A better analogous example would be the Ford Fiesta ST optional Recaro seat:

I completely understand how side bolsters can help maintain your seating position in spirited driving. I was just trying to explain the reason why the poster had padded the center of the seat. The problem that people are having with the Bolt seats isn't really in the bolsters, it's in how the seat frame below them impinges on your skeletal frame depending on your own "build".

Yes, padding the center of the seat makes the bolsters less effective in holding your butt in position during hard cornering. But that's by far the lesser of two evils for the people who are so uncomfortable that they're willing to spend several hundred dollars in search of a solution.

 

[CopperRoad]

I agree that could be a problem for SOME folks; I really don't expect that to be a problem for me as I am 5.9", 167lbs with 32waist. Don't have a wide bum, so I would expect to sit right down in that so-called hollow and have boltster cushion on either side. Now feeling the plastic frame as you slide out might be another issue. Thanks for that lawn chair example.

Think again, my stats are 6'2" | 160lbs | 32" waist and the front seat bothered me so much in my 3 test drives I've moved on from considering the Bolt. And this is after extending my 2013 Leaf lease 12-months just to be able to get the Bolt. Luckily, for me, I'm able to extend another 6-months.

The bolsters are soft and weak, compared to my Leaf. But that really doesn't matter, because due to the extremely narrow and low cushioned seating position of the Bolt, one sinks in-between the plastic seat frame, and the padding doesn't offer adequate protection. It actually pushes into ones hips from hitting the plastic seat frame. The seat, in my opinion, is a mess of a design. This also isn't an isolated issue. There are quite a few threads here with numerous individuals of varying size and width experiencing the same problem.

This issue isn't simply people complaining that a seat is too firm, or soft. With the Bolt you have a hard plastic touch point that can be felt through the cushion. This should never happen.

 

[astroboy]

by the way i ended up in a new impala (rental) during a recent trip and i noticed that the seats were very similar. the seat seems slightly narrow, and the bolster was hurting my hip just like the bolt does, albeit not as bad.

 

[BerkeleyBowlt]

due to the extremely narrow and low cushioned seating position of the Bolt, one sinks in-between the plastic seat frame

While I've found the seats "tolerable", I agree they would be much better if the bottom of them simply didn't sink so much when you sit.

People have reported taking the seats to car upholsterers, where they take the seat apart and redo the foam entirely. However, I looked under the driver's side seat today, and it appears that the foam rests loosely on a spring-like assembly. I can easily get my hand between the spring and the foam and push the foam up an inch or two.

Has anyone tried simply stuffing something (a towel, perhaps, or more foam) between the spring and the foam, so the bottom is pushed higher? Getting it in there properly would probably require removing the seat just to get a good angle on it, but it doesn't look like it would require taking the seat apart, and it wouldn't affect the heater.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Has anyone tried simply stuffing something (a towel, perhaps, or more foam) between the spring and the foam, so the bottom is pushed higher? Getting it in there properly would probably require removing the seat just to get a good angle on it, but it doesn't look like it would require taking the seat apart, and it wouldn't affect the heater.

Maybe the $25 fix I predicted/hoped for has just arrived. Has no one else seriously not looked under the seat frames?

 

[Tttait]

Well...

I am embarrassed. I'm willing to bet a lot of Bolt owners are problem solvers, engineers, etc. How many of us have gotten on our knees and really looked at whats going on with the seats. I just did based on the advice from BerklwyBowlt and LeftieBiker, and I may have fixed my seats to my satisfaction in just about 5 minutes.

Yes, as they suggested it is possible to get something between the seat cushion and the springs, and its far easier than we thought. That's half the fix. It takes only a few minutes.

If you look under your seat from the front you will see that the seat skin in the painful area of the seat is attached at the rear to the seat and cushion by two black clips, each about 1" wide, that attach to straps and ultimately the leather which clip onto the seat spring frame. These two clips pull the leather tight and compress the foam beneath, rather than letting my hips do it. if you go in through the rear door and reach under the seat they are easy to unhook, and the seat will relax slightly. I think this might have been enough after a quick test sit to perhaps make me happy, but while I was in there I did as Berkley suggested and looked a bit further. The rear of the seat skin is also stretched and attached to the spring assembly, this time by two black clips each about 4" wide. These are under more tension and a bit harder to remove, but again the black clip slides forward toward the front of the car and unclips from the springs as well. I found it easiest to get a finger inside the leather and directly on the back of the plastic clip and push forward from the outside edge, and was able to unclip both sides. This is harder - it MIGHT take you 90 seconds to get a feel for it. Note there are 4 clips total, two on the rear sides about 1" long and two at the rear about 4" long.

Then back to the front door again and tilt the seat back all the way back. Now you can pull the skin free and expose the rear quarter of the cushion. From here its possible to work additional foam between the skin (and seat heater sewn into it) or you can lift the foam cushion and see the spring below it. there is a plastic clip and wire you can unclip and get more slack in the wiring for the seat heater. Lots of room to put something in between the spring and cushion.

I have so hated the seats that I have lots of supplies in the car for seat comfor experiments, aftermarket cushions, covers, memory foam, and even come closed cell foam. I chose a piece of this closed cell foam, about 5/8" thick, about 1" by 12" and inserted it between the spring and cushion, so it goes under my tailbone. I reconnected the clip for the seat heater wire, tucked the skin back under the seat back, and going in from behind I reinstalled the two 4" black clips that hold down the rear of the skin. I'm leaving the shorter slips loose for now.

I THINK I'm happy now. If I didn't have a 1pm meeting I'd skip out of work for a nice 200 mile drive to find out. What's important to me is how easy it is to get into the cushion to rework things. Everything from start to finish was less than 10 minutes, including taking photos.

Yes I have photos, but sadly I don't see how to upload them on this forum so I'll have to come back later today and put some in after someone kindly tells me where the insert image button is. This is easy, cheap and effective. Thanks to those who got us this far.

Everyone take the afternoon off and go for a nice drive!

Tom

(HOW DO I POST THE PHOTOS?)

 

[Anonymous]

I have had my Bolt Premier for about 45 days and put 3000 miles on the odometer. I read about the seat "issues" before I took delivery of the Bolt. I measured them compared to my Volt and a Toyota Avalon and they are indeed narrower. But I can also say they are quite comfortable to ride 100-150 miles in. I am 5'10 and 240 lbs, and 60 years old and have no problems whatsoever. I did find the LT cloth seats to be a bit more uncomfortable. I would tell a prospective buyer to go sit in it and drive it and decide.

 

[sgt1372]

(HOW DO I POST THE PHOTOS?)

Easiest way I've found to do this is to post them to Facebook and then copy the link to the photos there as images here. Just bracket the link with the on and off code. Or you can just post the links that people can click on to find the photos.

BTW, nice fix. Fortunately, I've not had a problem w/my seats but hopefully your fix will help those that do.

 

[BerkeleyBowlt]

Yes, as they suggested it is possible to get something between the seat cushion and the springs, and its far easier than we thought. That's half the fix. It takes only a few minutes.)

"Good news, everyone!"

Yep. I investigated further and did what you suggested, and indeed, adjusting the bottom part of the seat turns out to be trivial. You can easily get access to it and shove whatever you want in there, raising it a couple of inches (or more if you wanted).

Here's a picture:



You just pull back the existing (insufficient) foam and stuff more foam under there, where my fingers are.

No seat removal or disassembly needed -- just unclip the clips. And it doesn't affect the heater.

(HOW DO I POST THE PHOTOS?)

You can use the "Attachments" tab below the "Save Draft" (etc.) buttons when composing a message.

 

[iletric]

I am adding more images.

That towel fix would be almost impossible without removing the foam, there is a tight web of metal underneath. Notice the dirty yellow material stuffed under the original white/green foam.





And this is what the seat "infrastructure" looks like. The bolsters are metal. This is the passenger seat. The verdict: there is just not enough foam in the center seating area of the seat or it's not appropriate foam material to begin with.

 

[BerkeleyBowlt]

I am adding more images.

Thanks! One thing to note is that the driver's side seat does not have that white plastic thing, X-ed out here:


It's presumably the weight sensor for the airbag. So it's a little easier to work on the driver's side.

The green arrow shows where you'd be inserting the foam if you put it where my fingers were in my original picture.

The verdict: there is just not enough foam in the center seating area of the seat or it's not appropriate foam material to begin with.

Agreed.

 

[flamaest]

Thank you for the amazing research.

A video would go a long way to describe this better... Any chance someone who knows how to do this can slap together a 2 minute video taking the chair cover off, and throw it onto you tube?

 

[boltage]

For those interested, perhaps it would be better to make a "Front seat modification thread" so that new forum users do not need to go digging through pages of existing seat complaint threads to find these instructions.

 

[Tttait]

So here is a pic similar to what was just posted showing the skin peeled back...

View attachment after.jpg

This is the closed cell foam I inserted under the cushion and on top of the spring



and this is the end result...



It's also possible to get additional foam between the existing foam and the skin, but because there are nylon runners and clips that pull the skin down tight to the cusion for a tailored look, those will have to be cut by hand and inserted into place. With all the varied body types and just how easy it is to get in there and make adjustments, this will be of interest to some folks as well.

If you are looking for memory foam, you can get more than you'll ever want for $29 here...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LVY4HU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Soon I'll fill you guys in on telescopic sun visors, but that's another day and another thread!

Anybody know how to get that plastic cover off the back of the seat back (without damaging it)so we can look at adding lumbar support?