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      04-06-2019, 02:31 AM   #1
mariopl
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Seat comfort - pain in butt after longer travel

Hi there,

I have 2019 G02 X4 and have Merino sport seat.
Car has 1000km on clock and until now everything was super comfortable.
After a while I have started to drive for longer trips and started to feel pain in my butt around side bones.
It feels like seat is too narrow in lower bolster area, causing pressure and pain.

I have read some comments it is common for seats in X3/X4.
How to get a relief?
Change seat position?
Wait some time until seat bet in?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers!
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      04-06-2019, 05:54 AM   #2
Eclimax13
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Lowering the seat helped me with this. Now they are very comfortable.
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      04-06-2019, 07:20 AM   #3
MechX3M40i
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I would suggest you check if you have the optimal driving position / seat adjustment. There are many how-to articles and videos on the web, here is an example:

https://www.driving.co.uk/car-clinic...ving-position/

There are also multiple threads in this forum talking about seat comfort, unfortunately, Search function is not great to easily find those threads. Here's an example:

Ride Comfort Recommendations https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1593655
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      04-06-2019, 12:07 PM   #4
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Selling mine was the only solution for me.
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      04-06-2019, 12:56 PM   #5
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sorry to hear you don't like your seat comfort! about the same in my case.

my fiance loves the seats, I don't love the seats. either sell the car (no joke) or just learn to adjust them to be as comfortable as possible. I love the car and I hardly get to drive anyway. I also don't mind it because I don't road trip in it long enough for it to be an issue of pain. for me it's more of just thinking "these could be better"

the BEST seats I have sat in recently was the sport adjustable seats in the 2019 cayenne. wow those are nice. I can actually say they are comfortable.
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      04-06-2019, 01:51 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadigmDawg View Post
Selling mine was the only solution for me.


I debated selling it too because of the exhaust that scared the horses, or the hood that hindered my view....
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      04-06-2019, 05:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadigmDawg View Post
Selling mine was the only solution for me.
Did you not test drive an example before buying?
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      04-06-2019, 05:59 PM   #8
MechX3M40i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GT500R View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadigmDawg View Post
Selling mine was the only solution for me.


I debated selling it too because of the exhaust that scared the horses, or the hood that hindered my view....


You forgot to mention the rattles and poor fit and finish! And yeah, those run flats, atrocious!
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      04-06-2019, 08:14 PM   #9
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They are what they are... everything is there for anyone to see, inspect, or try out during a test drive but admittedly it’s very hard to evaluate all aspects during a test drive. I’d say that it would be possible to do a full test and evaluation but you’d need the car for at least a day. A long drive to test the comfort factor and acclimatise to the vehicle and then methodically check everything off a pre-prepared and detailed checklist to ensure all aspects are comprehensively covered.

I’d say that I’m fairly meticulous but my test didn’t involve a checklist (other than the one in my head), so it’s easy to miss a few things. There’ll always be the faults that develop with time, so those can’t be accounted for during an initial test drive.

Most of us on this forum bought G01/02’s so those who are unhappy with certain aspects can only blame themsleves and maybe learn for next time. Just one example... if seat comfort is paramount, one has to be fair to themselves and check out and compare what is available from other manufacturers - sit in a Range Rover and get used to the seats, you’d then struggle with buying an X3, but then you have to factor in the price difference - it’s all relative!

I’m not having a go at anyone... I’m ultra critical myself and sometimes have similar thoughts, although I tend to have a word with myself about it rather than voice it. Ok, I’ll say this... my X3 M40d is a great car but if I’m going to criticise it, maybe I’d like to see a slightly better quality of interior trim in the area of the standard leather, carpet, lower door plastics, and plastics in some other areas, but for the price I couldn’t really expect much more than what it already is and the few things I’ve just mentioned. If I was paying, say £95k on something I’d expect a whole lot more, as I would if I then moved up to £120k budget.
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      04-06-2019, 09:17 PM   #10
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....two weekends ago I drove 20 hours round trip in my X3, and I got out of the car feeling like I had driven 20 minutes. No pains or aches, not even tired feeling. Best seats I've ever had......
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      04-07-2019, 02:53 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fw_fw View Post
....two weekends ago I drove 20 hours round trip in my X3, and I got out of the car feeling like I had driven 20 minutes. No pains or aches, not even tired feeling. Best seats I've ever had......
Wow, 20 hours is a long time... I’ve done two round trips of 500 miles recently and suffered no discomfort at all.

There’s a thing in motorcycling called the ‘Iron butt’, basically means riding 1000 miles in one go!
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      04-07-2019, 02:29 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lux700 View Post
They are what they are... everything is there for anyone to see, inspect, or try out during a test drive but admittedly it’s very hard to evaluate all aspects during a test drive. I’d say that it would be possible to do a full test and evaluation but you’d need the car for at least a day. A long drive to test the comfort factor and acclimatise to the vehicle and then methodically check everything off a pre-prepared and detailed checklist to ensure all aspects are comprehensively covered.
I agree completely, but evaluating long-term seat comfort requires a test-dive of a couple hours or longer... which is impossible (at least here in SoCal USA). I've offered to rent a dealer loaner car for just that purpose but the dealers ain’t do it. I have not found an X3 to rent anywhere.

Very frustrating. So I feel the OP's pain...
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      04-07-2019, 05:48 PM   #13
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I have a similar issue with the pain on the bottom of my left leg after 1.5 hours of driving. Since my commute is regularly 50 minutes it is not too bad but I do travel 3.5 hours semi- regularly to see friends and family.

Has anyone considered changing the seat? Would another BMW model seat fit/work like a X5 seat?
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      04-07-2019, 05:52 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hendoo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lux700 View Post
They are what they are... everything is there for anyone to see, inspect, or try out during a test drive but admittedly it's very hard to evaluate all aspects during a test drive. I'd say that it would be possible to do a full test and evaluation but you'd need the car for at least a day. A long drive to test the comfort factor and acclimatise to the vehicle and then methodically check everything off a pre-prepared and detailed checklist to ensure all aspects are comprehensively covered.
I agree completely, but evaluating long-term seat comfort requires a test-dive of a couple hours or longer... which is impossible (at least here in SoCal USA). I've offered to rent a dealer loaner car for just that purpose but the dealers ain't do it. I have not found an X3 to rent anywhere.

Very frustrating. So I feel the OP's pain...
Some rental car companies offer luxury vehicles for rent at major airports, the catch is they don't always have a particular car (let alone trim level) available at any given time. It happened to me quite a few times that when the rental car lot (my company uses National Car rental) ran out of the car category that I booked, they would let me pick something more luxurious like Cadillac, Lincoln or Audi. I have seen X3 in more than one National Car rental before so that's definitely a possibility if you must. The most hilarious experience was getting a Nissan Armada in LA and its hard to sail that boat in congested LA area. However, if you want the ultimate seat comfort akin to sitting in a La-Z-Boy, the Armada is one to consider
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      04-08-2019, 09:35 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
Did you not test drive an example before buying?
Well yeah but a 20 minute test drive didn't give me any indication that there would be seat issues. Honestly it's not anything that even crossed my mind considering I purchase a new car every 1-2 years and I have never had a seat issue until this one.
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      04-08-2019, 09:36 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GT500R View Post


I debated selling it too because of the exhaust that scared the horses, or the hood that hindered my view....
Ha, no kidding....
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      02-12-2020, 02:20 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadigmDawg View Post
Selling mine was the only solution for me.
What did you switch to? Used to love BMW until I bought one and felt how horrible these seats are ergonomically. Never thought I’d be getting actual injuries from driving my dream car smfh! All these videos about “proper seating positions” don’t help with sh*t when the brake pedal is in the center of the foot well but the seats are inset which means you’re as far to the right as possible but have to reach your foot over to the left to hit the brake. My foot is always bent to the left due to the damn transmission tunnel impeding on how much I can move my foot. How did they think this was a good design. I’m so annoyed with BMW man I can’t even express it.
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      01-17-2022, 12:34 PM   #18
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hate the seats

The bottom bolsters of the 2022 X3m Comp are literally unbearable. It makes me happy I am not alone, but sad that I will sell this car because of the pathetic attempt at making seats for anyone that's > 6' tall and muscular with big thighs/ass. lol

Has anyone changed the seats with a fabricator? The bolsters make my drive miserable after 30 minutes. Luckily I purchase a purple seat pad and have that in there for the time being until I get rid of the car. There IS NO other spots SUV that I want or that can match the driving experience. It is really really unfortunate.

Pleas let me know if anyone has found a solution for the bolsters digging into their hip bones because I would love to keep the vehicle and or get another one in the future.
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      01-17-2022, 02:44 PM   #19
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I have a M40i. Regular seats, sensatec material. I find the seats comfortable, though I do get a little neck pain. I need to adjust the seats a bit more, but I am really comfortable on short trips, so I dont want to mess it up.

The seats are no worse than my Infiniti G37 sports seat. That car had lots of forum members that had major issues with those seats. A fair number of those people would get a shop (or themselves) to change the foam. They loved the car and found that an easy solution.
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      01-17-2022, 04:56 PM   #20
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Yeah, I've become very disappointed in the seating for my X3 M40i for long trips. I had to get a gel seat cushion. This will probably be my first and last BMW.
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      01-17-2022, 06:24 PM   #21
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I hate using the gel cushion. Pushes me up to high but makes the bolsters bearable. Might try a seat fabricator.
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      01-18-2022, 04:18 AM   #22
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