e39 Seat Twist Repair (Driver Seat) Part 2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2012
- Quick tutorial on how to fix that annoying and common BMW Seat Twist. Save your self few hundreds, even thousands of dollars by doing it your self. The most important requirement for this job is PATIENCE. If you have that and few tools needed you should be able to accomplish this task.
Good Luck.
If you need the replace the cable you can find it @
Google part number
52108157408
About $60
Thanks to Cayce West for sharing. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I repaired both seats in my 530i last weekend and these instructions are VERY accurate! THANK YOU 50CAL!!! You rock man! I wouldn't have attempted this without your video. The only thing I would add is to trim the cable sheathing on longer cables about a 1/4", and on the shorter cables, trim the cable sheathing about 1/2". GREAT VID 50CAL! My seats work like NEW! Thanks again Bro!
Thanks for the video!!! , just finished doing this on a 2002 525i. I followed this and one other video on TH-cam. I used 50 , 27, 30 & 45 torx.8mm.
Swivel head.
My 530i recently developed twisted seats. BMW's are very well engineered cars but this seat design leaves alot to be desired! The dealer wanted $1400 to repair them and an independent BMW mechanic wanted $350. Thanks to your video, I'm going to have a go at repairing them myself. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thank you for posting this!!! BTW, 50cal, nice ride! I wish my BMW was an "M". Cheers!
I never watched Part 1 because I repaired my driver's seat first. I read on a BMW forum (and saw on your Part 2), that the driver's seat is more difficult to repair than the passenger's seat. After repairing both seats, I'd have to agree. The driver's seat took me almost 6 hours but the passenger's seat only took 2 hours. Anyway, it was well worth it because I saved a sh*t ton of money thanks to you. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to post this! Cheers Bro!
Just finished both seats with your guide. I highly appreciate your work.
Thanks for these videos, all the steps and tools to use. I will give it a shot and hope to make my wife happy w/o paying over $2k for two seats at the dealer.
Thank you. Glad it helped.. It feels good knowing you save your self hundreds of dollars by doing it your self..
Hey man, your tutorial is awesome!! I watched your video and went straight to work. Did both the driver side and passenger side in 4.5 hours. Driver side needed both motors done and passenger side only needed one. Mine is an 03 530i and looks a little different under the seat but almost spot on. It was actually pretty easy to get to my motors. One note that I don't remember you mentioning is to be careful how much rubber you cut off. Had to heat one back up and slide it up a little.
Wow it worked thanks, me and my dad were about to waste money on some seats, thankfully we found this video and saved us some money
Dude...This one of the best How-to's on the seat twist. THANKS A LOT!!!!! Your great at it. Explanation ,clear and concise. SOund was good, (Not too loud not too quiet) not like ALOT of others, they always put music or something too loud and you can't hear what their saying.
Great video.....working on my 530 this weekend! Thanks for posting
Thank you man.. As always, I appreciate the support. In deed, It feels for seating comfortable on your vehicle once again.
Can you recommend someone to fix this issue, I'm in Atlanta Ga
Great video, thanks for convincing me to have the dealer do it. The repair is a bit beyond the time and patience I have to spare. Now at least I know it’s a repair and not something major.
Another great TH-cam video to help you with fixing your twisted seats. You must watch the first one dealing with the passengers eat before looking at how repair the driver seat. I had to repair both of mine, it feels great to be seated correctly again. Thanks
Your welcome pal. Glad my video was of much help. Lucky you your seat still goes up. Mines did not. Therefore, it made this project much harder. Another tip is, you can also file down the cable. =)
Until finally I found someone with my problem, thanks for the video!
good job - one of the better videos out there to fix the problem
Just bought a 528i thanks for the simply fix . Ford was simple this here is just annoying but love your honest commentary.
Your welcome. Glad my Vid was helpful. Yes I do. The bumper sits too low and some times it gets caught on those bars that stick out on the car stoppers at parking lots. The proper way to fix them is removing the entire bumper. Is a lot of work. Now, what you have to figure out is if the grips on the bumper are broken or bent. Mines are bent and I get a gap of about 1/2 inch on the bumper and fender. That means I have to replace it. But rather get an after market M5 bumper.
Thanks bud.
Agree, is always worth spend extra $ for the right tool. It always pays off at the end
Hey bro thanks for the video just started to take apart the driver seat. finish the passenger bad ass video man Thanks a lot
Wow, a video that doesn't put me to sleep. Very good holmes
+schwartz wolfe Thank you.
Good Video, always makes life easier when you have the right tools...
Great video and patience is definitely the key.
Thanks, I appreciate the feed back.
Thanks for this great video! So helpful.
thanks man saving me tons of money
Great video. I'm planning to buy an E39 with this problem. Glad to see I can fix easily fix it. Thanks.
Paul Drake Thanks. Use this issue at your advantage, try lowering the price.
Oh, Thanks. I'll put that on the description for any one that needs it.. Thanks once again.
Thank you.!!! This video was a tremendous help.
Wow, thanks man. Good point on the patience.
great video bro, I will attemp this fix this summer
Thank you pal. And thanks for the support
Very nicely done! Thank you for posting this it helped me to at least understand exactly what I was doing, beforehand. I have patience, all I need now is to get the special tools, and the time. I'll let you know if I have success.
Any time, have you attempted this repair?
I bumped into the same situation. What I did is that i still trim them but just a little bit. about 1/4 of an inch. But if you think they're fine, leave them the way they are.
Keep in mind that if you remove too much rubber you will have too much wire sticking out, then the wire will get push back from the motor and the metal cap will not sit flush how it's supposed too.
Good luck pal... =)
I got my seat out have almost blew up the seat, stopped came to my computer and got on youtube to find help! man you saved my car my seat and maybe everyone near me, I was about ready to go off.............Thanks
Hahahaha... I'm glad I was able to save Ur seat, and most important save people around you.
Glad my video was helpful =)
You're the man, bro! Thanks.
Thanks for the helps i repaired my seat .
Oh, I see.. =D
I'm happy for you pal.
And thanks, I wish more people would take in consideration the time and effort that's put in into making a video. Is not just recording and uploading. I had over 2 hours of footage, and had to turn that into a 9 minute video.. Cheers to you too..
Thanks for uploading this sir.
great video...luv the fix...knowledgable
Excellent video-thanks for the really helpful advice!
Your welcome. Glad it helped u out.
Thanks for the support pal.
Great video! Now I have some confident working on mine 1998 740i. Thanks.
Thanks.
Is easier than it looks.
thx very much it is helpful and it treated my seat very well
Very helpful vid, thanks!
Nice job 👍
Thank you so much, that was very helpful, my car is like new!
Your welcome. Glad to hear that...
Thank you so much and I messed up one of the seats I cut the wire lol I thought it was ok until I saw that the wire didn't fit back into the motor so now I gotta find a new wire and my buttons to move the seat back now won't snap back in place lol but the passenger seat is PERFECT
Glad to hear that.. Your welcome..
If i'm not mistaken I did add those suggestions, But I think is on the Part 1.. I should of done it on both videos. My bad.. But glad to hear you accomplish this project..
Videos helped a lot, thanks
Nice video. Trying this today on my 97 E39.
Thanks Man. Good luck on ur project. When accomplish u will be glad to took this task by horns.
Just keep in mind that not all seats are the same. Some are less complicated than shown on my video. If your seat looks like mine then u know what to expect.
Let us know how it went.
Thanks.. =D
Wow... it took you less than me. My type of seats are most complicated ones because it has front part of the seat that expands to support your legs.
At 6:35 into the video I mention to cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch rubber material. But your right. I didn't warn you guys not to cut too much. I think I did say that on part 1 of the video. But i'm glad you got your seats up and running..
Primo your the best.i just fixed my 530i seat.muchas gracias.
De nada bro.. Glad you got your seats working once again
Your welcome. I'm glad to know my vid's are helpful..
I agree with you with the seat designs.
Atleast you found a dealer that provides that service. Must dealers don't.
=) thanks...
Thanks bro really helpful though my car is different i have a Z3 the mechanism is similar in principle so managed to repair twisting seat at last. Feels good when you do it yourself and save money
Glad this hard work is appreciated. Thanks for the support
Thanks this will be a great help!
It is actually a simple Fix!
Just time consuming!
Well a lot cheaper than 8 hours at $150.00, so it is much simpler!
I had to R&R the drivers seat Lower belt tensioner #72 11 8 240 045 on my 1998 540ia the first of November 2016.
I had the entire seat out to R&R the Lower belt tensioner.
The seat was acting strange then!
It got real cold last week here the drivers seat started twisting.
The Passenger seat always has, just that hardly any body rides with me so I let it go!
So now I just have to do it! LOL!!
haha... good luck, anyone can do this. tools are key.
good job. thanks!
thanks trying this tomorrow!!
Saul Garcia
So, how did it go??
Ice on wrist is really important for mechanic work. :D But actually it's a nice vid, so congrats!
Thank you so much I hated my seats I just watched your video today and finished both seats the same day your a life saver........now do you have any suggestions on how to fix a loose bumper ?
So do you think an impact drill would get the job done easier on the screws with swivel socket and extension? Or will it be necessary to use a manual ratchet wrench?
I couldn't stop laughing. Thank you
Great video, but I found an even easier way. Unbolt the seat and lift up or out as per the video. Dont bother disconnecting cable from motors etc, just remove about a section of about 2.5cm of the cable outer coating where ever you can get access to it, slide the outer casing back together and tape up. Facing the seat from the front the lower motor is for the back rest and the upper motor is for the height adjustment. Just tried on my E39 and works perfectly!!!
Had the hardest time removing the bolt/nut for the seat belt. Totally held up even with a vice grip. Did get the cable off and sure enough had no wire exposed for inserting into motor?
My seats are fine but I enjoyed watching the video
So did I. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much I decided to rub one out while watching.
@close edge Yeah, it was really nice.
Great video
Thanks.. =)
I'm glad this video has been helpful.
Thnx for the directions bro
your welcome, glad to help
You can put it back into place without remove the entire bumper. I've done it but because my clips on the bumper are bent. Turn the tire inwards and remove the plastic around the tires and you'll be able to see the bracket. Push the bumper forward and with a flat head screw driver try to slide the grip back into the bracket. Then finish it off by putting everything back where it belongs.
good video
A couple of things to add are the seat tracks on some cars have a limit clip that can be removed to get complete access to the bolts ,power seat forward and look for clip on one track from rear ,its about 3in. long .Second thing is straighten seat in car before unbolting and raise seat up as high as possible for room to work on front drive motor access .this job is for someone with real mechanical experience.
Daniel Rogers
Thanks for those tips.. I'm sure they will come handy..
Thank u buddy..
thanks super helpful
Good job brother
Kraig Le Fevre Thanks. Hope this video was helpful.
The first motor is for the Recliners. The cable on the left controls the left side. And the cable on the right controls the right side.
The second motor is the one that lifts and lowers the seat. The left cable controls the left and the right the right side.
Hi, I have the same problem. How long in total to make this repair ?
Thx for the videos & for your response.
The50calKiller1 could you give me a list of tools needed and sizes of the tools needed please, I'm going to attempt this job tomorrow and your video is by far the best one I have seen. Thanks for the work!
I know this video was posted a long time ago but I am having the same exact issue with a Chevy Traverse 2015 on the driver's side. Have you worked on these before? Great video by the way! Thanks.
Resetting the Air Bag light can be reset with INPA or DIS and you don't have to remove the seat, just remove the fasteners that secure the seat and the cable is accessible.
You are the best!!!
Thanks Pal
@Getthtruth your welcome. Look no further. I'm in Los Angeles area as well.
What happens is that the rubber seams to expand thru time and it becomes a bit longer. There for, it pushes the wire inside the rubber out and away from the motor. That's the reason why you have to cut the rubber. Once you cut the rubber the cable reaches the motor once again.
Hope this helps you understand more this procedure.
Thank you, I have the same problem and now I know why it happens and how to fix it!!
Hey 50cal, I've got my drivers seat out and 3 of the 4 cables have plenty of length protruding from the end of the metal fitting. Do I need to trim the cable covering on all 4 or ONLY the one that is flush with the end of the metal fitting? Thanks!
yeah i check it out and it pretty much is the same from what i can see. i was trying to fix it with out taking out the seat. but my seat is like at a 120 angle.
Hey. Great video. I'm thinking about trying to do this myself. My driver's seat is twisted bad. When I remove the seat, how do I realign it so it's straight before cutting the rubber? Is this done manually with no electronics? Thanks so much for your vid. Much appreciated.
I'm sure is diferent. But I might be wrong. The only way of knowing is if u take a look under the seat to check if it has the same mechanism. If it looks similar to mine, then it should be the same procedure.
Thanks =)
Hi! Do you think this would work to repair a driver seat that isn't working?
at frame 9:21, what did you say do not turn On? so that the airbag light not to turn on.
I don't know the name of the cable. All I know is that no body sells it. Not even the dealer. If you happen to find one we would appreciate if you share with us where you got it.
Your doing it the legit way. you can just undo all 4 bolts, and lean the seat back on the rear seat. Then use lighter to burn the rubber around the metal rods that go into the little motors, once there is no rubber on a small section, you can push that rod back into the motors. takes literally 20 minutes.
I saw you did all cables I was wondering if I could do that one cable that's the problem.
=) thank bud.. Good luck on ur future weekend project.. don't loose ur mind on those stupid screws..
You can do this in the car, use the rear seat belt to hold the after you flip it back.
Your very welcome.. Let us know how everything worked out at the end. Good luck.
You can easily reach the nut holding the seatbelt just lift your seat all the way up before removing screws
Dud o get frustrated while watching it lol. Got 2000 bmw 323 ci and both seat goes forward but not backwards
Great video. Only one problem I connected the main wire back to the seat and the seat isn't moving can u help me out and tell me what could be the problem..?..
I sure can help, first you need to figure out if you have an electrical issue of mechanical. But it sound to be electrical.
First of all, are you saying your entire seat will not move? It won't move back nor forward and they won't recline?
If so, make sure the harness is correctly plugged in and that the motors are also plugged in. If the seat is properly connected to the hardness, you need to figure out if there's power going to the seat motors. You can try that by moving the knobs on the side, you should be able to hear the motors turning.
If the motors move but the seat doesn't, that means cables that you just repair are not making any contact with the motors.
Take a look and let me know.
Great video!Is it possible to manually adjust a twisted seat back? I have a 1994, 740il with a badly twisted seat back. The seat was like this when I got the car and whoever had it before me tried to fix it by taking the control switches apart. I'm trying to make the car more comfortable to drive until I can afford to properly fix it.
You can adjust it manually by turning the clock wise of counter clock wise the cable. Will be faster if you have a drill and attach it to it.
Any thoughts to what else could be hanging up and causing seat twist? Seat is currently stuck fully reclined. We did what you showed in the videos, but it's still twisted.
Did you trim all of the four cables? Or just the one you thought might be causing the trouble?
If you did trim the all, there might be two other reasons why the problem wasn't solve.
1st. The motor might be blown and need to be replace.
2nd. The gear on the recliner is striped. Which would be the worst and most expensive scenario. This part is tiny and supper expensive. Is a plastic gear, about 3/4 of an inch big. The problem is that no one sells this gear. You would have to buy the whole assemble part which is located where the recliner meets with the seat. Now the other problem is that the dealer only sells them as a set. The set is the left and right side for one seat and it cost about $1,800 last time I called the dealer.
So before jumping into conclusions, make sure that you trimmed enough rubber off the cable. The cable must stick out about 1/2 inch after you put the metal part back into the rubber so it makes good connection with the motor.
Let me know how it goes. Best of luck.
They are called seat motor drive shafts u can find them on e bay 💪