Squeaky creaky drivers seat ?
11-10-2016, 05:55 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Squeaky creaky drivers seat ?
After about a year I finally said enough is enough to the creaky drivers seat, last trip to the dealer I got the usual 'they all do that but if you want to leave it for a couple days we will look at it' for the seat back creaking and popping going around corners and hitting certain bumps - or me just moving the right way in the seat. Started around 2000 miles and has been steadily getting worse. I didnt record my car doing it but at the 20 second mark of this video from another poster here is what it sounds like:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1593375884
Anyhow, instead of letting the dealer try to fix something they don't think exists I decided to just pull the seat out and see what was up with it. Easy enough to get the seat out and apart and just used this thread for info:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...onversion.html
I didnt remove the panel with the seat controls, just the screw at the rear of it so I could get the seat back off.
Pretty simple if you have some basic tools and aren't scared of working on your fairly new car, only PITA is the seat is pretty heavy so make sure you pull the roof, move the steering wheel all the way up and in and cover the door sill. If you hit the door panel or anything else with the metal seat bracket you will do some damage, its sharp metal.
Once apart it was pretty obvious what was making the noise. There are 7 screws that go into the plastic seat back and all were loose except the one near the side airbag. One screw even fell out and was on the floor under the seat, the threads were pulled out of the plastic. The screws being loose isn't directly what caused the noise, once the screws loosened the metal seat frame and plastic seat back move in different directions when slightly twisted. The part that makes the noise are the metal spring clips that help hold the seat back to the frame. With the seat cover off it was so loud it didn't take long to find where it was coming from. GM (or Lear) tried and put some rubber gaskets between the metal frame and plastic seatback under the clips but thats not where the problem is. The metal frame, while it looks pretty stout, is not and flexes quite a bit with just a little pressure.
My fix was to both polish the slots where the spring clips go in the metal frame and use some leading edge tape (like expell but thicker/stronger) over the spring clips. Even without the screws there was no more noise when moving the seat back around after doing that. There is no doubt the screws will loosen back up again, at least when they do it shouldnt make noise again. Personally I think that seat back frame should be stiffer but man that seat weighs a ton already. Time will tell if it holds up.
Here are some pics, I'm sure most cars dont do it (or some may think its a squeak/rattle from the back of the car) but I have read a few posts about here it so its not just me. Hope this can help a few people out or even be a guide for your dealer, be happy if your car does not do it because its pretty annoying. Happy to say after an hour drive I am very happy not to listen to that seat creaking any more.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1593375884
Anyhow, instead of letting the dealer try to fix something they don't think exists I decided to just pull the seat out and see what was up with it. Easy enough to get the seat out and apart and just used this thread for info:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...onversion.html
I didnt remove the panel with the seat controls, just the screw at the rear of it so I could get the seat back off.
Pretty simple if you have some basic tools and aren't scared of working on your fairly new car, only PITA is the seat is pretty heavy so make sure you pull the roof, move the steering wheel all the way up and in and cover the door sill. If you hit the door panel or anything else with the metal seat bracket you will do some damage, its sharp metal.
Once apart it was pretty obvious what was making the noise. There are 7 screws that go into the plastic seat back and all were loose except the one near the side airbag. One screw even fell out and was on the floor under the seat, the threads were pulled out of the plastic. The screws being loose isn't directly what caused the noise, once the screws loosened the metal seat frame and plastic seat back move in different directions when slightly twisted. The part that makes the noise are the metal spring clips that help hold the seat back to the frame. With the seat cover off it was so loud it didn't take long to find where it was coming from. GM (or Lear) tried and put some rubber gaskets between the metal frame and plastic seatback under the clips but thats not where the problem is. The metal frame, while it looks pretty stout, is not and flexes quite a bit with just a little pressure.
My fix was to both polish the slots where the spring clips go in the metal frame and use some leading edge tape (like expell but thicker/stronger) over the spring clips. Even without the screws there was no more noise when moving the seat back around after doing that. There is no doubt the screws will loosen back up again, at least when they do it shouldnt make noise again. Personally I think that seat back frame should be stiffer but man that seat weighs a ton already. Time will tell if it holds up.
Here are some pics, I'm sure most cars dont do it (or some may think its a squeak/rattle from the back of the car) but I have read a few posts about here it so its not just me. Hope this can help a few people out or even be a guide for your dealer, be happy if your car does not do it because its pretty annoying. Happy to say after an hour drive I am very happy not to listen to that seat creaking any more.
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