Replacement seats | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Mon 12 May 2003 22:52

Replacement seats - Backache

Can anyone advise me where I can get seats to replace the manufacturers original. I have recently bought a new Citroen C5 and on long journeys it's killing me - awful support for the lower back. I live in the north-west so if anyone can point me somewhere I can get an orthopaedic seat(or simply a good seat) fitted it might save me having to replace the car which is otherwise OK.

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Mon 12 May 2003 23:12

Replacement seats - ShereKhan

Surely if you replace the seats you risk invalidating your warranty with Citroen. Which I think is a bad move. There are independent companies who offer warranties, but most of them don't cover modifications.
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet

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Mon 12 May 2003 23:31

Replacement seats - Backache

If my back gets much worse I won't be moving at all - I think it would only affect the warranty as far as the seats are concerned anyway and not the rest of the car

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Mon 12 May 2003 23:54

Replacement seats - ShereKhan

I would check the small print. As the warranty underwriter will worm their way out of any claims. The seat will probably contain the side airbag and wiring for seat belt pretensioners. The wiring will be multiplexed so you will need to fool the car that they are still present and ok. I can see you opening up a can of worms....

I have known some warranties to be voided because they missed their service interval by 50 miles above the allowed excess on the recommended interval!

I would contact Citroen UK or even Citroen France. To see if they can help. I very much doubt if the dealer will be intrested in helping you with your back problem unless you buy a new car from them!

306 2.0 SE Cabriolet

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Tue 13 May 2003 09:02

Replacement seats - andymc {P}

I can fully sympathise with your situation, as I also experience lower back pain. But before you spend hundreds and invalidate your warranty, read on. A good motoring accessories shop will have a range of add-ons you can fit to your existing seat, even ones which allow for side airbags by just covering the front part of the seat - I'm not sure whether to refer to these as bolsters or just seat-covers. Many of these will have built-in additional lumbar support. In fact, my wife swears by the lumbar roll she can put behind the small of her back in virtually any seat or chair. It's just a cylindrical cushion which doesn't get squashed out of shape and so always provides support - you could ask your GP to prescribe one so it'll only cost £6. Finally, (and I'm sure you've tried this already) I've found that something as simple as adjusting the angle of tilt of the seat back can often make a big difference between feeling the strain or not - it doesn't take long to get used to the changed driving position.

Any of these would be a much lower cost option than replacing the original seat of the car, as well as being easier and less expensive to rectify if your initial choice turns out to be a mistake. To my mind, replacing the seat would be a drastic last resort as it is pretty unlikely that the above options wouldn't get it sorted for you first. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

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Tue 13 May 2003 10:14

Replacement seats - Peter

I have constant lower back pain and I find the lumbar roll very helpful and it can be used across a wide range of cars. As the average price is around £15.00 they are a worthwhile investment.

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Tue 13 May 2003 09:02

Replacement seats - Backache

Yeah, you have a good point there - I'd forgotten about the airbags and electronic wizzardry - maybe I can get a local upholsterer to knock something up for me

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Tue 13 May 2003 10:21

Replacement seats - borasport20

Are you sitting comfortably - obviously not, but before you rush off and replace your seat, read Loughborough University's Driving Posture Guide at www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cd/docs_dandt/research...f

hth

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