Loose Seat - Am I Being too Precious?

My driver's side seat has got a slight wobble to it. When I accelerate from a stop it shifts backwards a little bit. There's a bit of play. It's annoying, it's like having a pebble in your shoe, it's slightly aggravating all the time. Anyway, took it to the dealer today, they thought the fixed it but the didn't so it's back to the dealer again tomorrow. Anything else I can say to describe the problem? Are my expectations unreasonable? Do all seats have a bit of wobble? The passenger seat doesn't move at all. Argh! Why does every problem always require two trips to the dealer?

Mine don't wobble, I have sport seats, and they've been in and out of the car more times than I can remember. If it is annoying then see if they can fix it, also drive one of their other Caymans when you are at the dealership and compare the seats just to make sure you aren't feeling something that is there in all seats. What may seem like a wobble to you, may be something I don't even notice.

Yes, There Is Seat 'Wobble' - In Every Seat.............. Good On You........... You are Driving / OutDriving Enjoying Life..... Keep Up The Good Work............. Drive As Though There Were NO Tomorrow...... That's What Caymans Do Best.....................

Both my brand new Mini and my Cayman have a very very very slight knock not a wobble as such just a slight knock which can change if you put some pressure on it ie rase it 1 mm, if you have it rock bottom. Been to BMW and Porsche dealers both cannot fix it. I am used to fixed seats from my CSL and Lotus i guess.

I had a similar sense of my driver seat shifting a very tiny bit when coming to a stop. I mentioned it to my dealer when the car was in for its first service. They didn't find anything amiss, but supposedly made sure the bolts were tight. I haven't noticed it since, but I've also beeen 'enjoying' the car more and more. My mind might be elsewhere. :drivingskid:

I have the same issue, had in in my Jaguar as well, nothing dangerous so they say but very annoying.

I appreciate the responses as always. I went back to the dealer this morning and the service advisor immediately turned me over to the tech who did the work the day before. The tech was a really nice guy who said, he had removed the seat entirely and retightened every possible bolt before putting it back in the rail. He said he'd be more than happy to order me a new seat under warranty IF we could find clear evidence of a wobble in the seat. I went for a drive with the tech and basically the wobble is so small to be almost imperceptible but kind of like this annoying little 'click' on the right side everytime I accelerate. Anyway the tech couldn't find anything wrong with the seat or rail and I didn't have time to test out a new Cayman to compare. I'm going to try adjust the seat up just a little from the rock bottom position I have it in at the moment. I also moved it forward from its normal point which seems to help a wee bit. Argh, honestly, if the car wasn't leased I'd get someone to weld the seat in permanently.

Must be fairly common. Driver's seat in my Mercury Mountaineer is a little loose too. Took it back to the dealer twice and they said that's as good as it gets. Can't say I notice any wobble in my Cayman seats though.

Update: Okay, I know I said it was fixed but it kind of pisses me off that I have to raise the seat to make the click/knock go away. I want my seat at the lowest position and I want it to function at the position. Proper seat position is pretty basic to the enjoyment of one's car. Anyway, I think I may go back to the dealer again and try and get a fix. Of course they'll say they can't feel anything is wrong.

Glad you were able to find a fix! That wobble would have annoyed the heck outta me too.

Never felt anything like that, but then again, my seat is raised !

Had the same problem in a Corvette. Ended up putting a short 2x4 behind the seat and moving the seat all the way back hard against it. No more wobble. Mickey Mouse I know but it did work.

Probably improved the interior.

My 986 Boxster S had the exact same issue with the exact same fix. Sorry I don't have better news for you than that, but that indicates it's a design issue rather than a defect per se.

Fussy, perhaps. Precious - definitely does not sound precious in any sense of the word. It's hard to let go of an aggravation once you settle on it. I suspect that what you need are more track days. Probably would divert your mind to more immediate things. mike

I have a 2009 Cayman with the same annoying problem. Not only are you not precious but a $50000 car should not have wobbling seats even if you are precious. And by the way my 2007 Cayman 's seat did not wobble. Of course my local dealer says 'they just do that'. Mine wobbles whether raised an inch or on the floor. I'm disappointed that the dealer won't even attempt a fix such as new rails and/or seat. My passenger seat is solid as a rock. That makes me think there's a part that is loosened or deformed with use and could therefore be fixed. This is the kind of thing that's going to put me back into a Miata .

2009 CS. Mine started doing it within 6 months after purchase. I'm a big guy (6', 235) and figured the extra girth put more stress on the mechanism and caused the play (that's what I surmise it is). My dealer gave the exact same reaction (it's normal; they all do that). So I walked over to a new car and demonstrated that it did not have play. The advisor then walked over to a 1 yr old loaner CS which had the click. I said to him "just because the loaner does it doesn't mean it's normal; it may be common, but not normal". I also tried throwing the "safety" card which got more attention. I figure next time the car goes in for service or warranty, I'll make a bigger stink. To those of you who have noticed the problem, do you have standard or power seats?

My seats are standard. I've also opened a case with Porsche by calling [phone removed]. They seemed very interested and concerned that the dealer wouldn't even attempt to fix it but we'll see...

Power seats. Mine does it.

Standard seats. Mine does it on both driver and passenger side. They are as low as possible. I will try to raise them up a bit as suggested to see if that fixes it. It is annoying but not as bad as the roof liner buzz and the famous trunk clunk (both fixed under warranty). However, my Spyder does not have this problem with the sport seats (not buckets). Maybe it's from wear and tear? Dunno...

Mine does the same. Slight click/shift of the seat depending on whether I'm braking or accelerating. Seat is all the way down. I've tried moving it fore and aft, but hadn't thought of changing the height to see if that fixes it. Will try that tomorrow. Mentioned it to the dealer. Said they'd check it out next time I'm in. '08 CS with power seats

No wobble here. At least not on the drivers side. Mechanical tolerance issue? Or perhaps I might feel the wobble if my seat was adjusted differently. For me it is adjusted pretty near all the way back an then up just a bit. Standard seat. And for me it is great.

Got a call from the rep at Porsche North America. Hold on tight... this is what they told me and I will swear to it in court if ever get the chance... "There is a design flaw in the seat. We could fix it but it would just break again and even though it is under warranty, because it's a design flaw and cannot be fixed, we will not even attempt to fix it." Porsche, you're "number 1"... If you're thinking of a Porsche... don't. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Another dealer in my area treated this issue entirely differently. From my first call, the Service Advisor seemed very interested in solving the problem and was surprised that an issue that was clearly covered under warranty was not handled by the first dealer I visited. I can understand running into a sub par dealer, but the fact that I was concerned enough to open a case with Porsche, and had what a Service Advisor told me repeated by the Porsche representative, was very frustrating. There is no reason why you should have to go shopping at different dealerships to get an 'in warranty' issue resolved. So, based on that, I stand by my view that if you are considering a Porsche, a very expensive car, be aware that their dealer service and the help you receive from Porsche North America may not be 100 percent professional, helpful and reliable. Having said that, some dealers are much more professional and responsive than others. If you are in the triangle region of North Carolina, I very highly recommend Performance Porsche for your service needs.

Oh dear... My MY '08 CS with standard seat started doing it at about 15,000 miles. It's gotten progressively noticeable, and appears to originate from the right front portion of the seat. I can make it click by pushing against the floor and then lean forward. Tried small up/down and forward/aft adjustments with no improvement. Would be interested to see if there is any resolution to this problem. Woof

I tried adjusting the height, but no change in the wobble...maybe I'll take it into the dealer and see if they will check it out and see if it's covered under the CPO warranty.

I have the same issue started at about 10K miles

My CS had close to 20,000 km on the clock when I bought it 2nd hand and it already had this problem. I always thought mine was 'cause the previous owner may have been on the heavy side that's why the driver seat ended up that way. Hahaha

cottonPinesap: Do you have the name of the rep you spoke with? I'm thinking a well written letter higher up the food chain exploiting that response backed with the names of all the people on this thread experiencing the same problem might prod them into paying attention. Thoughts?

Yes, It was 'Jolene'... Thanks and good luck.

Hey guys, original poster who started this thread chiming back in. It's a little unsettling to read that so many of you are having the exact same issue I had. Also unsettling to read that a Porsche rep would say, it's a known design flaw, therefore we won't attempt to fix it. Anyway, I started this thread in Spring of 2009. It's now Summer of 2011 and I've got the same problem again. Only now I'm out of warranty. Just to back up for a second and recap... The problem started happening about 2 years after I bought the car. When I would accelerate away from lights (not hard just normal) I could feel the seat shift back or down just a little tiny bit. Just a little 'click' backwards towards the rear right corner of the seat. Took it into Downtown Porsche and after about 4 separate visits and the common "Don't know what you're talking about / Can't replicate problem" I eventually took a different approach and said that when I raised my seat up a few levels it would move back down to the lowest setting - which was true (although not a problem I cared about since I liked this at the bottom.) When I said, this they were able to replicate this problem and said "Alright we'll order you a new seat frame" (not sure what that is exactly) and this time finally the problem of the seat shifting was gone. Now fast forward 2 years and the clicking/movement when I accelerate has reappeared. Curiously, it took 2 years for the problem to develop the first time too. This leads me to believe it is a systemic problem that can't really be fixed and that there's not much chance of them ordering me a new seat/seat frame now that it's out of warranty. Hmmm....

i noticed a loose seat right away. mine is a 2008 base model, delivered 1/02/09. i mentioned it to the service rep, he said they could not find anything wrong with it. it isn't audible, just a slight shifting around, that doesn't seem right in a car that handles so well. my seats are power, but now i notice that that the center pad in the seat back is coming loose. i usually have it adjusted down low, as i am 6'2" and need the head room. when it is dirty again, i'll take it in and let you know what they say.