Don't really expect much help here since nothing came up in a search and I don't ever remember reading abou this problem.

For the few weeks my drivers seat has been a little loose. Shifing forward a 1/4 inch or so when braking hard of turning. I just figured one of the bolts were loose that secured it to the floor. I finally got around to looking at it and I can't figure out for the life of me where the problem is. I have looked at all I can w/o removing the seat or the plastic panneling around it. The bolts connecting the seat to the floor are fine.

I would appreciate any expierience from org. members who may have had this problem. I would just like some idea of what else to do or look for before I go back out in the freezing Chicago winter to work on the car. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Mike D

 

Hey mike you posted this 5 times in a row!! lol

Anyway, sounds like a problem with the bolts not being tight to me but if that's not it then it sounds like a problem with the mechanism that locks it on the rails. I'm assuming your i30 has power seats?

 

I was hoping no one would notice How embaressing.

Yes, I have power seats. 8-way
I was just hoping to get some idea what to do or look for before pulling the seat out. Any time I can save from being out in the 15 degree winter would be nice.
Yea, the front and rear bolts on the floor are secure. It must be the rails. I hope there is some way to tighten it.

 

But if your seat is in fact loose, you're pretty much looking at a new motor. The rails don't have much play in them at all. What holds the seat in place is the motor, and when it begans to wear, there is play (usually in the gears). When this occurs, you get the seat movement.

By any chance, is this car often (or previously) driven by multiple people? If so, the constant adjustment of the seat by different drivers will be a big issue. Also, the weight of the driver(s) will play a role in the life of the seat motor.

 

What you say makes sense.
The car is only driven by me. I do adjust the seat often but I don't weigh much. I have only owned the car for 30K of the 95K miles.

I did notice something when trying to fix it. As I move it along the rail at certin points the seat is no longer loose. Only in the middle part. Don't know if that means anything???

 

I know of this problem, because I have had power seats in my family for a long time now, and have experienced it in one of four cars. In the end, the problem was found to be the motor, and after further research, I found that looseness in a power seat is almost always found to be in the motor itself. I'm sure that if you made a full disassembly, you would find worn gearing or wear in the locking of the coil of the motor.