Back pain from W204 sports seats

[semajLeeds]

Hi

I recently bought a W204 with leather sports seats - I've been getting back pain from the narrowness & firmness of the seats. Is this a common problem?

The dealer says not but I don't believe him

Thanks

 

[jberks]

I found them a bit narrow but very supportive.
We have this regularly and the same answer comes in time and time again.
90% of the time, someone gets a car and naturally attempts to replicate the seating position they had in their last car. Cars are different shapes and sizes so in most cases this will result in the wrong seating position for the new car.
Instead, start from scratch. Seat quite upright, arms at 3:45 slightly bent etc. Then tweak it over time. It will feel very odd at first but give it time to get used to the new position.
Some cars have soft seats (Volvo, Renault etc) and have a great reputation for seating but I always wonder whether their seat design isn't simply more tolerant to poor positioning.
Your dealer is right. There are thousands of high mileage C classes out there attesting to the fact that they're long distance comfy cruisers.