Mazda RX-8 - Seat problems (painful, wearing, misdescribed)

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Tue 5 Jul 2011 09:17
Mazda RX-8 - Seat problems (painful, wearing, misdescribed) - tt600Man

I have problems with my seats on my RX8 R3 that I want Mazda to sort out and would appreciate advice on what I can realistically achieve, how to go about it (I was intending to start with a letter to Mazda, copied to Recaro), what the legal position is and where I can get cost-effective professional help.

The car: I bought privately (no dealer to strong-arm) 6 months ago, it is 2 years old (one year of the original manufacturer's warranty left to run) and it has the Recaro seats standard on this UK 'face-lift' version of the RX8 ('R3' is a trim level - the US and Japan had several others but the UK only had the R3, which is the 'sports' version and the only one with these seats).

The problems: (1) the lower horizontal bars of the front seat backs dig painfully into the driver's and front seat passenger's lower backs after 15 minutes or so of sitting in them (there is little padding over them). The seats have only rake (forward/back) and back tilt adjustments (no height or base tilt!) so I can't adjust my position to relieve the pressure. The cushions I use as padding look naff and make me fit the seats awkwardly elsewhere (2) The seat bolsters are wearing badly. This is a common problem, see http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=30024 where p13 has nice pictures (3) Mazda claims in their brochure that the seats are half-leather but this is not true - the non-fabric half is vinyl (see p13 of link).

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Tue 5 Jul 2011 09:55
Mazda RX-8 - Seat problems (painful, wearing, misdescribed) - tt600Man

Link should be 'http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3002' - the system here drops off the last bit when I post it as a link

Edited by tt600Man on 05/07/2011 at 09:59

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Tue 5 Jul 2011 10:56
Mazda RX-8 - Seat problems (painful, wearing, misdescribed) - ablandy

I cant see Mazda will do anything - the seat comfort things sound like they are just characteristics of the seat. Unless something has broken, they wont be interested.

And the bolster, well you said it yourself, its WEARING badly. Wear and tear are not warranty issues.

Can you source aftermarket seats that are more comfortable. If not, you may just have to accept that the car will never be comfortable for you and look to something else

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Tue 5 Jul 2011 13:49
Mazda RX-8 - Seat problems (painful, wearing, misdescribed) - tt600Man

@ablandy - thanks.

I see these as combined 'fitness for purpose' and 'warranty' issues where judgement is called for, and IMO the design of the seats is faulty and should be rectified like any other fault: (a) the bars are too near the occupant and have inadequate padding (b) the bolster material is not leather as Mazda claim in their sales material (c) the bolster material is not up to 'fair wear and tear' (not all wear and tear is fair!).

I don't expect Mazda to roll over, which is one reason why I want to prepare my ground. Mazda UK can be pushed into action as I know of one owner who got them to replace the bolster fabric on his seats after several months of argument.

As for replacing the seats, I'm thinking of that. There are plenty of leather interiors from 2003-2008 cars up for sale. The driver's seat is electric, both front seats have the height and base-tilt adjustments that the Recaros lack and both front seats are heated. They should be a straight bolt-on and the wiring looms seem to be there (Mazda fitted the earlier design seats for the Japanese & US markets), so the only technical issue left is the air bags (unlike the earlier seats, the Recaros don't have air bags) where all that may be required is a change of control module (my dealer tells me it's not coded to the car). I'll also need to get a heating switch panel and decide whether or not to get the matching rear seats and door cards.

As for changing the car, I couldn't. I love RX8s to bits and this is my 3rd. I don't think you can get anything like this car for the money; sort the seats and notchy gearbox (the R3 has the gearbox from the lower-powered MX5) and it would be perfect.

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