BOLT SEAT ISSUE - no DATA thread

[iletric]

Isn't that something.

GM will quietly fix the seats and the bad seats' owners will have no recourse, b/c dealers and GM will play dumb as to the subject of:

"New seats? What new seats?!"

Mary Barra's era of silent recall is upon us.

 

[elpwr]

Auto manufacturers make unannounced running changes to production vehicles all the time - with no provision for retrofitting previous cars.

Nothing new here.

Get used to it.

 

[Chargeit]

It's been a month since we got our Bolt and I thought maybe an update would be helpful. Since reading this thread, the first thing I think about when sitting in our Bolt is seat comfort. Thanks! Then I immediately forget about it for the rest of the trip.

We had our first long travel day on Christmas - three stops and more than 150 miles with both my wife and I driving, and both daughters taking turns riding shotgun. My youngest was the only one to complain (nothing new about that) but she has wide hips and more than her share of built-in padding. For her the front seats are definitely too narrow. Maybe butt width is the best criteria for determining long range seat comfort?

One other thing... I used to be an admin for a busy online forum devoted to merchandise completely different than cars. It wasn't unusual for company reps to create average Joe identities in order to tout their wares or pan those of the competition. In one instance their IP address was traced directly back to corporate headquarters. In other words, the Russians weren't the first at spreading misinformation on the internet.

And you don't have to work for a company to have strong loyalties. When I was growing up you were either a Chevy or a Ford fan and never the two would meet. To this day I don't think I could buy a Ford for absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. It's also easy to see the Bolt as a game changer and serious threat to other electric car offerings. If I were heavily invested in Tesla, I'd be worried given their problems producing the Model 3. Would I unconsciously obscure the truth for some indirect monetary gain? Am I doing it now?

This is not to say anyone posting here doesn't have a genuine concern with Bolt seat comfort. I used to have a Toyota which numbed my right leg after an hour of driving, and only a beaded seat cover helped. My hope is that no one leaves this forum thinking any particular opinion is definitive (especially mine). Go to a Chevy dealer and take a long test ride to find out if your butt fits a Bolt. Don't miss out on this groundbreaking EV because of fake news.

 

[LeftieBiker]

What you don't seem to understand is that the problem appears to vary from car to car. A 30 minute test drive in the actual Bolt you intend to buy or lease is the best way to avoid Buyer's Butt Remorse.

 

[SeanNelson]

What you don't seem to understand is that the problem appears to vary from car to car. A 30 minute test drive in the actual Bolt you intend to buy or lease is the best way to avoid Buyer's Butt Remorse.

Hey, you either make the best evaluation you can based on what's available to you and then roll the dice...

...or you just write off the car based on something that may or (probably more likely) may not be an issue for you.

It's your choice.

In my case seat comfort has turned out to be a non issue.

 

[Anonymous]

I love our Chevy bolt premium vehicle. However as most people have mentioned on this forum the seats have a little bit to be desired.

So rather than continue to bitch about it I went to my local upholstery shop in Long Beach California, and for around $300 I had them add additional padding to the bottom and seat back cushions. Now I have good lumbar support and more than enough width on the seat cushion.

They did a great job. Total time at the shop 8 hrs.

 

[robbertPatrison]

The main problem of the seats in the Bolt is that they are narrow at the bottom. The seat bottoms have huge 'love handles' that are compressing even average-sized butts. Chevy simply put too much padding on the sides. The good news is that there is an easy fix for this design flaw: 'foam-of-suction' of the seat-bottom. And its easy to do by anyone.

I ripped out the offending foam padding on the left and right sides of the seat bottom. This makes the seat bottom flat. Foam-o-suction converts terrible seats into seats that are actually quite OK. I did this 3 months ago and I'm very happy with the result. Here is how:

• Remove the clips that hold down the seat (cloth/leather) covers at the bottom on the left and right sides. There are some suspender straps holding down the seat cover. It is not necessary to unclip the forward parts (which are harder to unclip).
• Fold up the seat covers, exposing some of the yellowish foam on the left and right sides.
• Rip of the foam down to the point where it is level with the middle part of the seat bottom. You can start the rip using a knife but tearing with a finger does the job best.
• Work your way forward by sticking in one or two fingers and rip inch-sized blobs of foam out. Don't worry: the seat heater elements are not affected because they are only in the bottom part.
• Sit on the seat to check how much more needs to be ripped. I took out a surprising amount of foam padding until I was happy.

Compared to adding a cushion, this foam-of-suction has major advantages: more comfortable, it is near-invisible and the seat heater continues to be effective.

In case your car is leased and are worried about modding: Nobody is likely to notice (except that the seats are better). But you could you could later stuff back some of the foam.

The suspender clips that need to be un-done to access the foam. Some of the removed foam blobs:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rgoqQIAtJF3OMvjK2

How the seat look after foam-o-suction:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/OBfp7P1sVe2qpi9x2

 

[boltage]

http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6157 describes a different modification for those who find the seat bottom to be too narrow between the bolsters (adding foam under the middle of the seat cushion). This modification is easily reversible if desired.

 

[boltage]

If you prefer more or different padding in the seat back, you may want to see http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7499 for links to another video where someone adds padding to the seat back.

 

[desiv]

Well, I finally got around to adding some padding to my Bolt seats (bottom padding, the back is fine for me).

I was in an Ace Hardware and saw a gardening kneeling pad that was square (instead of the rectangles I usually see) and it looked about seat size, so it reminded me of it. I got 2 of them (about $15 for the pair).

I had some regular seat cushions before, and they helped a bit, but I was always planning to get around to adding some padding to see how it worked.

My theory about using the square cushion didn't totally work out, because there is a wire (for the heated seats I would imagine) right in the middle. So I cut the cushions in half.
Removing the clips holding down the seat took a bit of time, but with patience, wasn't too bad.
Wrangling them in was a bit awkward. Took me probably 30 minutes per seat trying to be cautious. Hands scraped up a bit, but not too bad. ;-)
Replacing the clips was much easier than removing them.
And the result?

Wow. Much nicer... My wife and I went for a drive and it was noticeably better.
I'd recommend it if you think the seats are a bit uncomfortable.

I was thinking tho, it's too bad that GM doesn't offer this as a service/option/upgrade.
I mean, I paid $15 for the pads and then spent an hour adding them in.

If that was an "option" that GM could offer for $50-$100? At $50, I probably would have done that.. At $100? Maybe.. I know some people spent much more to have an upholstery shop do it.

People keep talking about dealerships losing money because EVs don't have as much maintenance, but this type of option (factory approved) would be something that I think some people would go for...

Just a thought... ;-)

desiv

 

[lrmills]

For me (5'9, 145lbs.) the seats are excellent and very sporty, aside from the horrid front headrests, which push my head forward and give me a serious stiff neck.
I can't figure out how to detach them from the seats to straighten them up a few degrees - there is no apparent way to slide them up and out like other cars.

THEY ARE REMOVABLE just not as apparent.
Got mine off in less than 5 minutes.
Investigate and look closely. No special tools required. Think of it like a child proof medicine cap where you have to squeeze and pull at the same time.

If you can't figure it out, post and I will go out and take photos. At first I too thought it would be difficult. It's not once you figure the trick. I had to take mine off to cover my LT seats with faux leather and it was easy.

It is not intuitively obvious how to remove the headrests. Please post pictures and a description as to how you accomplished this in 5 minutes.
Thankyou,

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

After almost a year, I don’t notice the seat issue at all anymore. Probably my enormous mass has pummeled it into submission.