Last week I bought a 1997 Z3 1.9. Both the driver's seat and passenger seat have power verticle movement in addition to horizontal. When I attempt to use the control to move the driver's seat up and down, there is only a clicking sound but no verticle movement. The fore and aft movement works fine. The passenger seat goes up and down, as well as backward and forward. Does anyone know if a new up-and-down actuator on the driver's side would solve this problem? I tried to look under the seat but couldn't see anything. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with the diagnosis.
This is just a guess, I haven't had this problem on my 2001 Z3, but I've had a similar problem on my 1994 E34. I had it on both front seats, with the rake angle of the seatback and with the forward/backward and up/down on the seats. The problem on that is the cables, not the motors or the actuators. The cables stretch and the seats need to be rebuilt. My local independent guy did each seat for $200. The first indication I had that they were going was the headrest wouldn't go up or down, although this doesn't apply to a Z. In my case, it was one cable, so the seat would move, but it would twist. I'd check with a good local independent guy and see if he's heard of this, and if it might be the cables. Taking those seats apart was one job I wasn't interested in tackling.
Thanks, Doc, for sharing your experience with me. I will look into it. In a few days I will be taking my Z3 to local place to get a body scratch repaired. They also work on interiors. I will ask them to look at the seat.
I had a similar issue with my 1998 M3. In that car the seat back rake angle was stuck. I could hear the drive motor whirring, but the seat wouldn't move. The problem turned out to be stripped teeth on a nylon drive gear in the seat transmission. I undetstand this is a relatively common problem with those seats. There used to be a guy who made & sold replacement nylon gears, but he went out of business a few years ago. I picked up a salvage seat transmission and replaced the gear. Only owned the car another 20 months, but never had another problem with the seat drives.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the power seat. In my case, however, I don't really hear the motor at all, just a clicking sound. That leads me to think there could be either a bad electrical connection or the verticle actuator needs to be replaced. I just don't want to start investing in new parts, such as an actuator, until I have narrowed down the culprit. I guess I'll have to take the car to someone who works on power seats.
