Thunderbear2002

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Help! The seats on my new (used) 2005 SLK350 have absolutely no lumbar support. Didn't notice it when I test drove the car, but after spending a hour driving my back was killing me. Wife is bitching about it, too. Any suggestions? Rolled up a towel? Buy a cheap pillow at Target? Any suggestions are appreciated.

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I agree, the seats on the SLK aren't the best. Overall, I feel they're uncomfortable. The non-powered seats are even worse because they only have a limited number of manual adjustments. The SLK 55 seats are much better and the powered seats have unlimited adjustments.

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---------SLK 55 ///AMG---------
TOP D0WN-URGE 2 DRIVE GOES UP

mtiede

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I find the power seats are very adjustable and can manage to find a position that is comfortable without the lumbar by adjust tilt etc. But you would think for what they cost they could have put a lumbar in there. I drove from Western New York to Florida and found the seats surprisingly comfortable considering how rigid they are. The fact that they are leather and I sweat on them in the 95 degree heat was far more annoying than the lack of lumbar.

alroumi

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I used to have a 2006 SLK280 and let me say that the feel of both seats are vastly different, the texture of the leather on the 280 is not as soft as the nappa leather on my SLK55 and the fact that it feels like it has less cushioning. Lumbar support only has been recently introduced to the SLK product line for 2009.

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Ikarus

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Perhaps I'm just lucky, but I have the power seats and I managed to adjust them such that they fit me like a glove. I couldn't be happier.

mcat

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I have done 14 hr long journeys with no problems. The secret is to have the seat more upright than you would normally.

I looked at the lumber support option on my new one. never managed to find a test car with it though. Reports from other members sggest it is an option best left off.

SLKCop

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Try this product. Heard about it on another forum and seems to be pretty good.

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/4wayelunlums.html

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Mike

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Tummy

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We use a pair of horrible little pillows from IKEA which cost $1.49 each. Very embarrassing that such a premium car has uncomfortable seats. We sometimes put the seat heaters on to numb the pain!

The SLK is actually an improvement over my previous Audi TT roadster. I thought I was going to die driving down from NYC to Washington DC in the TT, but in the SLK it wasn't too bad at all. Overall though, seat comfort has a lot to do with your size and weight. I think smaller people are much more comfortable, while larger overweight people, like me, might have some problems.

In August, we're going to try driving from NYC to Chicago, central Illinois, then Cincinnati to visit family and friends. Myself, a passenger, and my dog. Around 2,100 miles round trip.

richard_leeds

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I found the same when we first bought our SLK, a sore back after an hour. Fortunately it was a weekend car. After a couple of months (thats about 6 trips, maybe 500 miles) we got the seats just right and they are comfortable for a 4 hours drive. The trick is to sit upright .. and have memory seats!

By the way, I'm 6'7", so most lumber support is in completely the wrong place anyway. (Just like adjustable steering wheels that only ever go down .... grr)

Dolebludger

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As alroumi says in his post above, I found the seats on our '07 SLK 280 to be a bit hard. The leather was also so dull in appearance that it actually looked "dead", as I posted previously elsewhere on this board. I have back problems, so a degree of seat firmness is good for me -- but these were over the line.

I softened them to an acceptable degree for me by spraying on a considerable amount of 303 Aerospace Protectant and letting it soak in before buffing. This was followed by application of Meguiar's Gold Class leather conditioner. Now, the 280's seats are fine with me.

Let me emphasize that 303 is NOT to be used on soft leather, as it has been known to "soften" the leather to the point that it can split with pressure.

alroumi

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Glad that my recommendation of the gold class rich leather cleaner and conditioner worked well, it really does work miracles on cars with lighter interiors. I clean the interior of my sand beige leather on the cayenne at least twice a year so it sustains well and is soft.

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Dolebludger

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Yes, the Meguair's Gold Class Leather Cleaner and Conditioner is the best I've found so far. I find it to be more of a conditioner than a cleaner, so I I use a dedicated cleaner before applying it.

One word of caution about it. If your car is one with perforated leather, this product is thick so it gets in the perforation holes and won't wipe out. I tried it on our '04 C 320 and had to use a shop vac to get it out of these little holes.

Thunderbear2002

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Thanks everyone for your replys. I guess I will just keep "tweeking" the electric seats and sit up a little straighter to see if that help.

F111F

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For the wife, bought a small pillow for the small of her back.
Real trick is to sit up straighter. Also, adjust the seat during long trips so your back does not gets sore from being stuck into one position.

UK-C200

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Yeah, pretty much agree with the general theme of "sit straighter" than you would expect, and adjust the seats a bit over time. I drove ~380 miles to and then from Houston to New Orleans, and the combination of the crap state of the roads and the stiff suspension in the 350 was more of a pain in the back than the seats themselves. I'm 6'2", and it did take some adjusting, but both the wife and I managed to find positions that were very comfortable.

Dolebludger

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I think that this thread brings up an important point. It is to drive the model and year car you are thinking of buying before buying it. Though the seats may be different in the '05 SLK 350 than our '07 SLK 280, I must say that we drove a number of '07 280s before buying one. The power seats in it "fit" us, without the need for a lumbar support. But this may not be true for all. Not all cars "fit" all people. Here's an example.

Back in late '03 we were in the market for a new sedan, with RWD. I drove the Mercedes C Class, the BMW 3 series, The Jaguar S type, and the Infinity G 35. I recommended the G 35 to my wife, who is 5' 2" tall. She was unable to drive the G 35 because when she got the seat up far enough to see over the rather tall hood and forward far enough to reach the pedals, her knees were banging against the lower part of the dash. As I am 5' 10" tall, the G 35 fit me fine. But as my wife would have to drive the selected sedan as well, I rejected it in favor of the MB C 320. It fit us both fine. An example of a problem turned into and advantage, IMO -- and now we own two Mercedes!

The OP on this thread may have different seats than are on our SLK, or perhaps the same seats but just a different body size and proportion. But what is to be learned from my experience back in late '03 is that the car must be tested to see if it fits the bodies of all who will drive it -- as some cars just don't.

In May '08 we drove our SLK 280 about 600 miles over a weekend on a Mercedes Benz Club road trip. I have a chronic back ailment. I personally could not have been in a more comfortable car -- for me and my body size and shape. But we all come in different shapes and sizes, and buying a car is somewhat like buying clothing. You have to try it on for size.

mtiede

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Although I didn't mind my SLK 320 seats too much (drove from Western New York to Yellowstone and back), I find the SLK 350 seats (electric) a vast improvement. It is surprising that such a rigid seat is not tiring at all (for my body size etc.)

FallintoCouture

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I loved the seats in my '01 320 and found my '05 350 to be much more rigid. But after adjusting them, and like others have mentioned, adjusting them over time, they are pretty comfortable. I usually run my heated seats, too, so I think that helps.

Dolebludger

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Personally, I find the leather seats on the SLK 280 (and 350?) to be too rigid only because the leather in which they are covered is way too hard. It is as if the seat cushions were covered by 1/4" plywood. I softened mine by spraying on a liberal amount of 303 Aerospace Protectant, and allowing it to sit for a good 12 hours before buffing it off. (Note: there is probably a better product to soften "hard" leather, but I don't know of it.) This made a big difference, both in appearance and comfort. Indeed, I sprayed down my whole interior, leather and MB Tex, in this manner, because it was so "flat" that it looked and felt "dead" before this treatment.

If you don't think upholstery stiffness can impact comfort, consider this. Last Sept. I was one of those in the Mercedes booth at the major car show held at our governor's mansion grounds. I was the rep. from MBCA. The then-new W204 C Class was featured. Some folks sat in a new W 204 that had the standard all-MB -Tex seats and said "the seats are too hard". I directed them to a W 204 that had the optional leather, which is quite soft. They loved it! Unfortunately, the leather in our SLKs is not the same as that used in the C Class -- it is much harder. More like the hard MB-Tex mentioned above.

If anybody knows of a better leather softening product than 303, please post about it -- as I'd like to know.

richard_leeds

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hmm... my leather is as soft as .. well ... a very soft thing. I guess I've got the Nappa option. Is there a definitive way of working it out, what was the option code?