BOLT SEAT ISSUE - no DATA thread

[michael]

I absolutely believed the seat issue was a farce until I rented a Bolt for a day. There was a problem, in my opinion.

Not severe, not painful, but something that .I would have to deal with every single day. So I passed on the Bolt, got another Volt instead.

 

[iletric]

I absolutely believed the seat issue was a farce until I rented a Bolt for a day. There was a problem, in my opinion.

Was it LT (the cloth) model? I assume as a rental it must have been. Those are the worst.

 

[Coop]

I just bought my Bolt over the weekend. The first bolt I sat in, the seat on passenger side felt like it was digging into my hip. The bolt in the show room, on the drivers side had the seat digging into the hip feeling. The 3rd bolt that I sat in, had no seat problems and just drove it 430 miles with no problems. This was all with leather seats. Now in Phoenix, I did test drive an LT and the passenger side seat was so painful after 10 minutes that it gave me a headache.I think it is a slight manufacturing calibration issue with the proper pieces fitting together. I would highly recommend sitting in the car you plan on buying for more than 10 minutes to see if there is a problem.

 

[cperlin]

GeneHG, I agree the Bolt is a lovely car however if driving it leaves someone in severe pain, that is not an issue to be dismissed. The tilt of the headrest is extreme, much more so than any other car I've seen. It is not necessary to protect someone from whiplash to have such an extreme tilt. Then there is the issue of the flares on the sides of the seats that dig into the thighs and butt and the lack of support of the seat back, which feels like a board. As a chronic back pain survivor who spent 3.5 years disabled due to pain and who has done fine for the last 35 years by paying attention to what works and doesn't work for my back, I don't think it's unreasonable to be concerned about the design of the seat. And, by the way, my last car was a 2004 Subaru Legacy Outback and that seat worked fine for me for the last 13.5 years.

 

[SeanNelson]

I am wondering what is wrong with the people posting about bad seats.

Surprisingly, people come in many different shapes and sizes. And, even more importantly, there's nothing "wrong" with someone who isn't the same shape or size as you are.

 

[iletric]

If there was absolutely nothing wrong with Bolt's front seats ...

THIS THREAD WOULD NOT EXIST.

 

[Zago]

:x :x :x

and soon you'll be dealing with these other seat problem....

 

[Zago]

It's all over this other seat thread...

http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6193

 

[cperlin]

Update on my seat issues: The seats were enough of a problem for me that I decided to trade my Bolt in for a Volt. The car had only 284 miles on it. I don't know yet how much of a financial hit it is going to be. Because my Bolt was considered "used" the new owner will not be able to get the rebates, so the dealer subtracted the rebates from the amount they repaid me. The Volt has similar state and federal rebates. I found out that I can qualify for rebates on both cars if my tax liability is high enough. I am self-employed and my taxable income varies from year to year, so I will have to see how it goes. I am disappointed that I ended up giving up on an all-electric vehicle, however the Volt will run on only electric about 95% of the time for me given my driving habits. It is now in its second generation, the seats are way better than the Bolt, and I ended up getting the premier instead of the LT that I had with the Bolt since the prices were comparable. Incidentally, the Pope just got a Bolt. I hope he doesn't have back issues!

 

[iletric]

The seats were enough of a problem for me that I decided to trade my Bolt in for a Volt.

If I were you, I would have claimed lemon, give them 3 fix chances and invoke my lemon law rights.

Or you could have them repaired as I did. I must say, I have no more problems with the seats. They are a little short and minimal, but comfort level is acceptable since the fix.

GM should be ashamed and concerned. And they owe me $900.

 

[Anonymous]

I am an i3 owner coming to the end of his lease. I was super excited to test drive the BOLT, which I did at the weekend. My heart sank when I sat in the seat. I am 5 ft 9 in, 150 Ibs and the side of the seat dug in to the point of being painful. This was a leather seat so I tried the cloth seat, not nearly has bad but not tolerable. I am a little more than mad at GM because I was planning for this to be my next car with no plan B.

The dealer here in Kirkland and Shoreline, WA are already offering a $4,000 discount which he says is GM funded. Bolts are not selling here. One could imagine having a very nice seat in the car for $4,000.

Sorry GM, lost sale.

Update. Went and sat in several Bolts. No go. Test drove Prius Prime, too big (length) for me and 20 mile range - no go. So I am back to gasoline; thank you GM. I got a Fiesta ST. A very different car I know, but it is small, fun and very well priced. I still have my Level II charger, so who knows for the future.

 

[alevek]

Same here for I3, but I'm 5'10", 150 but had no problems with the leather seat.

 

[devbolt]

I am an i3 owner coming to the end of his lease. I was super excited to test drive the BOLT, which I did at the weekend. My heart sank when I sat in the seat. I am 5 ft 9 in, 150 Ibs and the side of the seat dug in to the point of being painful. This was a leather seat so I tried the cloth seat, not nearly has bad but not tolerable. I am a little more than mad at GM because I was planning for this to be my next car with no plan B.

The dealer here in Kirkland and Shoreline, WA are already offering a $4,000 discount which he says is GM funded. Bolts are not selling here. One could imagine having a very nice seat in the car for $4,000.

Sorry GM, lost sale.

Did you try multiple Bolts within the same trim level? Apparently there is a bit of variance in quality, even within the same trim level.

 

[ScooterCT]

>> I am an i3 owner coming to the end of his lease

Sorry to drift off topic just a bit. I test drove an I3 and loved it, especially the interior. I hear rumors of a sports I3 headed our way this fall. Fatter tires. Bigger motor. Bigger batteries. If you can wait till the October Frankfurt show, you'll at least have announcements from BMW and Nissan on alternatives to the Bolt.

I'd echo some of the other posters on the seats. I've sat in Bolts that made me grimace in pain. And I've sat in Bolts that didn't. And it seems pretty obvious GM will fix the seats 'real soon now". Bottom line - if you have a few months left on your I3 lease, you're sitting in the catbird seat. You can afford to wait and see what's coming this fall.

 

[DoninLAlaland]

Currypotter, Devbolt is correct -- if you are still interested in the Bolt, then you have to try all the seats. I found a dealer who would replace the original seat that I had, which was a cloth seat. I went to his dealership and sat in cloth seats of 6 different Bolts. 4 of them were terrible and 2 of them were okay. He let me choose the one that was most comfortable to me and replaced the original seat with it.

There's still a problem getting in and out of the car because the hard plastic hits me on the back of the leg, but I just put my hand on it when getting in and out. (eye roll) One would think GM would have a built a $40,000 car where you don't have to use your hand to protect yourself when using your car, but what do I know?

 

[iletric]

... I just put my hand on it (the front seat) when getting in and out. (eye roll) One would think GM would have a built a $40,000 car where you don't have to use your hand to protect yourself when using your car...?

Mary? Paying attention?

 

[devbolt]

There's still a problem getting in and out of the car because the hard plastic hits me on the back of the leg, but I just put my hand on it when getting in and out. (eye roll) One would think GM would have a built a $40,000 car where you don't have to use your hand to protect yourself when using your car, but what do I know?

I must be getting in/out of my Bolt different than other people because I never feel the hard plastic on any part of my legs. I'm either raising myself up and swinging my legs out, or have the seat height set to where it's not an issue. Maybe I just got a Bolt seat with a decent amount of padding on the bottom.

 

[iletric]

You have to pivot your legs when you ingress. That's when the left bolster hits you. I felt it when I got in an LT for the very first time, and it was my very first question: "What's wrong with the seat?" The dealer just played stupid, of course. These salesmen, I tell you. They will never acknowledge anything negative about the cars they sell.

I pinned my hope on the leather, and it was so-so enough to lease the Bolt. But I knew I was going to have to invest in them (the seats). I let it go for couple of weeks to get the reaction of my kids, to make sure. I sure got it from all of them, i.e., what's with those seats, dad? I just laughed. Can't fool them kids. They know. We all know.

Except Mary. They don't want to tell her. It's a corporate secret. Her ivory tower is safe from any feedback.

"Everything's going great, Mary."
"But what about sales numbers?"
"Fantastic! The numbers are fantastic."
"Okay. Love to hear that. Now ... about that V8 Camaro..."

 

[Anonymous]

I just got my Bolt last week. I agree the seats are terrible, but it was easily corrected with a beaded seat cover. You can buy these wooden beaded ones anywhere. This seems to fix it 100% for me, but YMMV. If you hate the seats, try this before spending much more replacing the entire seat or cushion.

https://www.amazon.com/Kool-Kooshion-60-2930-Beaded-Cushion/dp/B000EEU0IO

or maybe

http://www.sears.com/zone-tech-black-wood-beaded-seat-cushion/p-SPM8042364808?sid=IDx20110310x00001i&gclid=CjwKEAjwjunJBRDzl6iCpoKS4G0SJACJAx-VpCm-uOaMkXqEyPchaiEpcc9Sf1sN2KhrdP8OZJVXehoCKOfw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CODVjMySsdQCFclnfgodgPMJqw

 

[Allelectric]

We now have 8000 Kim's on our Bolt and I can say that hardly any have been by me. The seat is uncomfortable I am driving to work exclusively in our Kia Soul EV. I drove 220 Kim's this weekend (110 each way) to our trailer. Despite having purchased a cushion for the base, the seat is still down right awful. My left hip and leg were dead after 10 mins and my lower back and left hip are still hurting now. The seat back is also terrible. Both sides were digging into my rear rib cage. I am really hoping I don't get into a rear end accident while in that car. The sides of the seat back will do some bad damage to my ribs. Lookout Chevy because if it happens, you will pay. My wife is putting up with the seat as she says it's just uncomfortable for her and not painful but she by far prefers the Soul seats.
Today also a Canadian guy who has been waiting to sit in a Bolt was at the site where we have our trailer. He owns a Leaf and he is getting a seconds electric for sure and really likes what he has read about the Bolt. I let him take ours for a spin without saying anything about the seat. He's 5'11 and maybe 200lbs. He came back, said it drives so much better than his leaf, he liked the interior and styling then looked a little sheepish before he said " but what's with these seats". He said it felt like he had two vertical pieces of 2x4 wooden studs sticking into either side of his back and his backside/hips. I told him it was hoped the seats will change for the 2018's. He said if they do he will buy one for sure, if not he will not even consider it.