[Scorzon]

Hi folks I wonder if you can give me some help re my driver's seat.
Couple of days after I got Leafy McLeaf Face I was fitting my plush new luxury floor mats (oh yes you betcha) when I noticed under the driver's seat quite a lot of foreign debris, which in hindsight looked suspiciously like chewed up seat foam. See below.

I didn't think much more of it but over the first two weeks of ownership I have found it really difficult to get comfortable in the driver's seat, it felt like something was sticking in my right hip bone. So yesterday I gently pulled forward the material on that side of the driver's seat and it reveals a quite aggressively positioned bolt. See the photo below. This is looking from above, front of the seat to the right of the photo, and at the bottom of the photo you can see the rake and height adjustment levers.

This bolt is chewing into the foam of the seat pan material and creating the debris underneath. As well as sticking into my leg. In fact what the photo doesn't show is that 2cm directly below the one shown is a second similar bolt which can't really be seen but can be felt when I carefully slide my finger down the side in the seat pan.

When I check the passenger seat (only this time of course the left hand side of the passenger seat nearest the door) there are no such bolts that I can feel. See below.

What I'm asking is would one or two of you be kind enough to have a feel around your seat (oo-er) and perhaps carefully pull back the material on the right side of the driver's seat for a look to see whether you too have these nasty looking bolts. Please be careful when poking around with your fingers, there are one or two sharp edges down there.

Many thanks in advance for help rendered.

 

[JohnMars]

@Scorzon , your a thin in shape man! Maybe the last owner was not?

 

[Scorzon]

I know it was a she, nothing more.

I'm 6ft2 and 95kg. Impressive stats for sure, but I've never been a slim hipped snake charmer. I'm perfectly comfy in the passenger seat.

Go on John, stick you fingers in and give em a wiggle.

 

[JohnMars]

Go on John, stick you fingers in and give em a wiggle.

Well seeing as that’s the best offer I have had all night, ill nip out first thing! 😉

 

[Scorzon]

Well seeing as that’s the best offer I have had all night, ill nip out first thing! 😉

Oh come on, we all know it's the ONLY offer you've had all night

Thanks for checking though John, much appreciated.

 

[donald]

I've never found Leaf seating comfortable, and not bought one for that reason ... you might have just unstitched one of the factors that made me think that!

Odd not on passenger side. Maybe this is some battery related support bolt that 'should' have been on the passenger side, but of course we get RHD so endlessly have to put up with things like bulging gearboxes into the footwell (4/RWD), glove boxes of a diminutive size in which 'glove' is the singular and you put the other one somewhere else, etc.....

I'd at least punt to Nissan that this is a design defect, see if they can do something about it.

 

[Scorzon]

Cheers Donald. I certainly will as I'm still under my 30 day 1000 mile return policy. And it's under dealer warranty. Just wanted to know if it is a Leaf thing.
I otherwise find it a comfy car to drive, just took a little while to get the seat position correct. Just the annoying bolt poking in my right thigh. I'm sure that cannot be as designed......

 

[srichards]

If the seat is damaged I'd take it back and either get another or get something else. I suspect the bolt issue is across all of them as I remember them being quite prominent on a demo model I sat in even in the Tekna 40 new shape car.

Strangley the ones in my Leaf 40 aren't so prominent. Seat in that demo car was like concrete as well. Mine is softer.

 

[Scorzon]

If the seat is damaged I'd take it back and either get another or get something else. I suspect the bolt issue is across all of them as I remember them being quite prominent on a demo model I sat in even in the Tekna 40 new shape car.

Strangley the ones in my Leaf 40 aren't so prominent. Seat in that demo car was like concrete as well. Mine is softer.

Thanks for that. I wonder whether your demo car had leather? The one thing my whole family agree on is that the cloth seats in our Acenta are soft and comfy. Apart from that bolt.

 

[dk6780]

The picture above is from an early '16 Tekna with 40k miles. The squab is both protected by the carpet style material that is around the squab, and is still well away from touching the end of the (presumably captive) bolt despite my fat arse doing its best to squash it in that direction.
I'm now not sure whether:

1. This is a difference in the design of the seat in the later car - the bracket bolted on in yours is not so noticable in mine, and mine has a flanged nut rather than a separate nut and washer
2. Related to the different trim
3. A defect on the assembly of the squab in your car

Sorry not to be more helpful.

 

[Scorzon]

Cheers dk that's actually very helpful.

Looks basically the same as mine just taken from very slightly different angle. Interesting that from the angle you took your photo the second bolt below can be seen.

My arse is clearly bigger than I realise 😭

 

[Scorzon]

Think I'm going to get a little wad of padding from Melvin Laslett's World of Seat Material to stuff down that crevice. See if that copes with the not inconsiderable challenge of my enormous butt.

 

[Scorzon]

Though I would say why would they use such long bolts. Why not just use shorter bolts that are flush with the nut. And it reduces weight .......

 

[dk6780]

Though I would say why would they use such long bolts. Why not just use shorter bolts that are flush with the nut. And it reduces weight .......

It makes production a lot simpler.

Think I'm going to get a little wad of padding from Melvin Laslett's World of Seat Material to stuff down that crevice.

Good idea - something that will let the padding slide over it without shredding itself. Unless you have started keeping your pet mouse in there - I found evidence of one under the rear seat of my LEAF when I bought it. Perhaps let your killer cat take up residence tonight, although our boy cat (the hunter) just decided to take the opportunity to sharpen his claws on the fabric of the parcel shelf instead of hunting.

 

[Scorzon]

I'm now wondering how difficult it would be to get the seat out and take it apart in order to put in shorter bolts.

 

[dk6780]

I'm now wondering how difficult it would be to get the seat out and take it apart in order to put in shorter bolts.

Dead easy, just don't forget to disconnect the 12V first to disarm all of the airbags. The thing I don't know is whether you can get to those bolts from underneath or whether something else would be in the way?
Rather than shorter bolts couldn't you just file them shorter. A decently sharp b4stard file should make short work of them and whilst awkward to do it'll probably be quicker than removing/replacing the seat.

 

[Scorzon]

Dead easy, just don't forget to disconnect the 12V first to disarm all of the airbags. The thing I don't know is whether you can get to those bolts from underneath or whether something else would be in the way?
Rather than shorter bolts couldn't you just file them shorter. A decently sharp b4stard file should make short work of them and whilst awkward to do it'll probably be quicker than removing/replacing the seat.

I must admit I was considering trying to saw it off and then filing it down. Won't do any harm to give it a go I suppose.
Then again my warranty book arrived today so I could try at the local Nissan dealer to get them to sort it given it's clearly ripping up the seat.

 

[Scorzon]

Well seeing as that’s the best offer I have had all night, ill nip out first thing! 😉

How was it looking John?

 

[donald]

I would just try a dome nut first. It will stick out further still, but being curved it will conform to the seat material then and I suspect you won't feel it, and perhaps as important will not damage the foam material any more.

 

[JohnMars]

How was it looking John?

I feel bad as I was distracted during annual leave.

I have done nothing but sit in the house with pussy on my lap and watch Netflix in my underwear.

Oh and I got distracted by QVC and ended up buying a very expensive blender........ they promised Vitamix replaced 13 kitchen things.

Tomorrow I will be looking at my seat for you.

I feel very bad, please forgive me.

I promise to buy you a Babycham at the next meet up. 😘