E46 Electric seats discomfort

Hi

I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!

I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?

Cheers
Geoff

Geoffrey Mortimer wrote:
> Hi

[SNIP knee problem]

> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?

Ehhh, well I didn't at least. I have a 328Ci with electric adjustable
seats and no problems with knees. I'm unsure how to link knee problems
to the chairs (unless you kept adjusting it back and forth banging your
knees into the dash ;-) ).

Regards,

--
Arnold

http://www.ligtvoet.org - Edmund Blackadder said :
"I have a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel!"
Ask smart questions : http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Do you and your wife engage in any kind of strenuous activity when you
are home on leave?

Geoffrey Mortimer wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
> weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
> following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
> surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
> control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
> told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!
>
> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>
> Cheers
> Geoff

>Ehhh, well I didn't at least. I have a 328Ci with electric adjustable
>seats and no problems with knees. I'm unsure how to link knee problems
>to the chairs (unless you kept adjusting it back and forth banging your
>knees into the dash ;-) ).

Do they tilt back? Maybe that's cutting off the circulation to the
lower legs?

-Ted

I haven't had a problem with my 325i, but my sister had a problem with
her sciatica nerve when she first changed from her VW to a 320i.
Didn't think of the car untill the doctor asked if she had changed
seats at work. Moved the seat around a bit and problem went away.

On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 13:03:33 +0200, "Geoffrey Mortimer"
> wrote:

>Hi
>
>I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
>weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
>following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
>surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
>control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
>told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!
>
>I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
>electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>
>Cheers
>Geoff
>

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 13:03:33 +0200, Geoffrey Mortimer wrote:

> Hi
>
> I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
> weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
> following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
> surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
> control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
> told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!
>
> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>
The seat pan is adjustable in both height and tilt. I don't know where it
was set, but I'd try raising and tilting the seat pan towards the back at
what seems a more natural feel. It may also help to recline the seat back
a bit. I find that riding for an extended period of time with my knees too
straight leaves them feeling sore for some time afterwards. Positioning
the seat less upright and in a position where there's a bit of bend at the
knee eliminates that problem.



--
The instructions said to use Windows 98 or better, so I installed RedHat.

Geoffrey Mortimer wrote:

<snipped description of knee problem>

> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>

I dunno if thats what caused it for you, but I did have a problem
like that once when I drove for +-18 hours with no stops except
to fuel.

I drove a golf 1, and when I finally stepped out of the car,
half crazed with hunger and fatigue my knees rapidly responded
"oh no you dont!".

I now routinely drive two 6-hour-long trips a month, and find
that my knees appreciate it more when the seat is at its highest
position. YMMV.

goose,
the bee's knees ;-)

"Geoffrey Mortimer" > wrote in message >...
> Hi
>
> I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
> weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
> following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
> surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
> control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
> told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!
>
> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>
> Cheers
> Geoff

When I got my first BMW my left knee ached for quite some time but
simply because the clutch was much heavier than in my previosu car.
If I go skiing now, my right leg burns pretty quick but the left keeps
goign all day :-)

I have a '98 M3 sedan (different seats than the 2 door), and the seat
comfort is horrible on 2 hour drives. Pain the lower back, and right shin
and the back of the upper right leg. No adjustments help. My wife gets
lower back pain as a passenger. Not sure what the problem is, but it is
real.

- Phil

"Geoffrey Mortimer" > wrote in message
...
> Hi
>
> I just got a 330Ci sport cab with all the trimmings. Very nice too. Last
> weekend I went out in it with my wife for about two hours drive. The
> following day I returned from the UK to Italy, where I work, and was
> surprised to discover I could hardly walk, having partially lost motor
> control over my left knee. I thought little of it until my wife phoned and
> told me she'd had the same problem with _both_ knees!
>
> I'm wondering if this was caused by the seats in the car. These are the
> electrically adjustable ones - anyone else had this problem?
>
> Cheers
> Geoff
>
>

"Neal" > wrote in message
...
>I haven't had a problem with my 325i, but my sister had a problem with
> her sciatica nerve when she first changed from her VW to a 320i.
> Didn't think of the car untill the doctor asked if she had changed
> seats at work. Moved the seat around a bit and problem went away.
>
Six weeks prior to back surgery for a herniated disc, I drove my E46 328i
(with sport seats) on a four day, 2300 mile business trip. Experimenting
with position and lumbar support made the trip bearable - although I still
don't care for the non adjustable side bolsters.

Tom