I have a 2004 530i with the sport package, which includes front sport seats. If I sit in the driver's seat for more than 20 minutes at a time, the burning/nerve pinching sensation in my right butt cheek becomes so intolerable that I have to stop, get out and stretch. Needless to say, I have found this very disappointing in an otherwise great car. The only solution I can think of (short of selling the car!) is to try to install a used BMW "comfort" seat instead. With all my internet searching and discussions with used parts companies, I can not locate any available seats. I would like to hear from others if they have had similar pain issues, suggested solutions, knowledge of whether switching out a sport seat for a comfort seat is even possible and leads on how to find a used comfort seat.
Front pocket, but good question. I have tried nearly everything I can think of: back support, thigh support, twisting in the seat, foot placement, seat liners with and without lumbar support, higher and lower seat positions, closer and further to the wheel, etc. Thoughts?
A trip to your cardiologist may be in order. The E60 sport seats are some of the best I've encountered. IMHO, they are more comfortable than the "comfort" seats.
Just switched mine to comfort Seats best thing I've ever done to the car! All you need is a Torx 50 socket and basic hand tools and some seats got mine from a 06 550i Swapped seat belt pretensioners (latch) and installed after that take it to the dealer and have them reset the restraint system... did it for less than $1000
Just a thought, but after a motorcycle wreck a few years back I had the same problem. Solved it by putting a small pillow under my thigh which elevated it an inch or two which helped. Not a long term solution but did solve the problem at the time.
Hi James, I just purchased a 04 530i and am looking for a pair black sport seats. Do you still have them? Thanks, Claus
James, just fyi, no need to double-post the same question in different areas. The forums show most recent posts, so anyone following the forums here will see any new thread that comes up, regardless of what topic area it's in. May not be so great for more current models, but ebay can be a good source to check. However, without sitting in one, you'll really have no idea if that will address your back pain issue - try and find a car to sit in to see if a non-sport seat can be comfortable. Check craigslist.org, autotrader.com &/or local dealers in your area for potential candidates to 'try on'. Other options would be an aftermarket seat such as a Recaro, but unless you have a dealer in your area, that would be even more difficult to find to sit in and see if it can be comfortable, and depending on model, an aftermarket seat might require forfeiting some of the range of positioning built-in with a stock seat. I wouldn't think it's likely, but any chance the sport seats have a lumbar support built-in that's up too much? I think I've seen some of the buttons for ancillary things like that on BMW seats be back a bit and in a slightly less-than-obvious position. Just a thought. Might be worthwhile to hit up your doc for a cat-scan/mri too - just in case there's a more serious issue you wouldn't want to let it go too long. If you've had the car awhile and this is a sudden/recent problem, might be worth exploring it with the doc before throwing much money at seats. If you have any local pic-n-pull junkyards, see if they have a similar body-style car in stock - I don't have a word on compatibility, but in theory, any E60 seats should fit. You can scan realoem.com and check from the beginning to the end of production for your model and see if the part numbers for the seats change any through the E60's production.
