BOLT SEAT ISSUE - no DATA thread

The above post is by a spammer who is trying to earn posting privileges here, to spread more spam. Flag these when you see them.

Good eye for SPAM. Post was deleted, so I've replied to acknowledge your correct concerns.

I think a sadist designed the seats in the Bolt. I've had mine a week and I'm really miserable. I haven't had this much back pain in 35 years, when I was disabled by a back injury. Between the flared seat cushions and the too far forward head rest, they couldn't have designed a more uncomfortable seat if they tried. I'm 5'2" and slightly above average weight. If I can't find a solution, I'm going to have to bring the car back.

Somebody in desperate straights like you needs to try substituting a used Leaf Driver's seat for the Bolt driver's seat. I doubt that both front seats could be swapped, but maybe the one, at least...? The best way to try it would be to find a sympathetic Leaf owner willing to allow or even try doing a temporary swap first.

cperlin said:

I think a sadist designed the seats in the Bolt. I've had mine a week and I'm really miserable. I haven't had this much back pain in 35 years, when I was disabled by a back injury. Between the flared seat cushions and the too far forward head rest, they couldn't have designed a more uncomfortable seat if they tried. I'm 5'2" and slightly above average weight. If I can't find a solution, I'm going to have to bring the car back.

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Good luck with that! I've asked GM and the dealer to repurchase the car because of how terrible the seat is and both have refused. At first, it started out as pain in my left hamstring, then began in my left hip, left leg, and back. I've NEVER had back pain in my life. My dealer in Glendale, CA has said that unless Chevy/GM does a recall, then there is nothing they can do. GM says the dealer states that they found no difference in operation and feel between my seat and the seat of 2 other models, so there's nothing GM will do. Funny how after driving the Malibu for a little over 2 weeks all pain went away! Oh... and my neighbor's Bolt that has leather seats is fine. He sat in mine and felt exactly what I felt immediately.

I'll never ever buy or lease a GM car again.

Don, take GM to small claims court. Getting an MD to vouch for your troubles may help your case. Prepare your case with due diligence and you could win. Copy all complaints from this site as proof of systemic problem with the seats.

Small claims is a workable strategy to take on big auto based on a Honda precedent a few years ago.

Small claims court in NY State, where I live, is for claims under $5000, far less than the cost of a Bolt. A better strategy would be a class action lawsuit. I believe it only takes a couple of plaintiffs representing a class, and would be likely to get media attention. The threat of one would be sure to get GM's attention and would be much more likely to motivate them to address the problem than going to small claims court. Did you know that low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States and worldwide?

Update: I spoke with a GM customer care representative (contacted at [email protected]) and my dealership. GM says they know they have a problem with the Bolt seats and they are working on a solution. In the meantime, they have forbidden my dealership from making any modifications to my vehicle. I had asked that they change the angle of the headrest or replace it with one that is not so bent. Because they will not work with me on a modification and I am so miserable in the car, I told my dealership that I didn't want the car. Right now I am waiting for a Volt to come in and if it is more comfortable, I am going to trade out my Bolt for the Volt. My dealership is willing to work with me on that. It's too bad because the Bolt is otherwise a very cool car and I liked the idea of all electric.

Asking them to change the headrest angle is essentially asking them to defeat a safety feature, so they won't do that. Asking them to add padding under the bottom of the seat may well have gotten better results.

Adding a cushion to the seat is something I can do but it just pushes me further into the headrest. The angle on the Bolt headrest is extreme--much worse than any other car I've seen. It's not necessary for safety.

The Leaf headrest is the same - Leaf drivers just keep their heads away from the cushion. They are that way because it works best to stop whiplash in a severe rear-end crash.

Some cars used to have head restraints that could be adjusted forward or backward, or angled to effectively give that adjustment. But probably most drivers did not adjust them properly, so they are now taller and more forward for whiplash protection (very close to your head is optimal). But some drivers may find them too far forward.

If that applies to you, then perhaps adding a pad to the seat backrest can move you forward relative to the head restraint.

cperlin said:

Update: ... GM says they know they have a problem with the Bolt seats and they are working on a solution.

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Well, that's encouraging... GM is listening. I wonder how many sales did it cost them.

Here is one solution idea: How about a break on my lease, GM? Like upgrade my miles to no limit? That would be a nice gesture to offset the $900 I had to spend to fix your messed up seats.

Ilectric, what did you find for $900 that worked for you? I've tried everything I could find. I've grown otherwise attached to the Bolt--it is a cool car--while I'm waiting for my Volt to come in (which hopefully will be more comfortable). You might want to ask GM to compensate you for your costs.

cperlin said:

Update: I spoke with a GM customer care representative (contacted at [email protected]) and my dealership. GM says they know they have a problem with the Bolt seats and they are working on a solution. In the meantime, they have forbidden my dealership from making any modifications to my vehicle. I had asked that they change the angle of the headrest or replace it with one that is not so bent. Because they will not work with me on a modification and I am so miserable in the car, I told my dealership that I didn't want the car. Right now I am waiting for a Volt to come in and if it is more comfortable, I am going to trade out my Bolt for the Volt. My dealership is willing to work with me on that. It's too bad because the Bolt is otherwise a very cool car and I liked the idea of all electric.

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Cperlin: Will the dealer charge you a lot for swapping the Bolt for the Volt? My dealer was going to charge me $455/month for the Volt as opposed to the $299 I'm currently paying for the Bolt. They said they could not resell my Bolt as a new car and the credits had already been taken on my bolt, etc.
It would be nice if Chevy had told that to EVERYONE who owns or leases a Bolt instead of doing nothing. Did they say anything about timing of the swap?
Thanks!

cperlin said:

Update: I spoke with a GM customer care representative (contacted at [email protected]) and my dealership. GM says they know they have a problem with the Bolt seats and they are working on a solution.

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cperlin - are you sure they are working on a solution? in my contact with [email protected], I got almost opposite of a response. Here is exactly what I was told:

At this time, as this is a complaint with the design of the seat and not with a defect in the seat manufacturing, I have no knowledge of a repair plan being created to address these concerns. Our teams are however, tracking concerns specific to the seats and documenting them for review by our internal engineering teams. Rest assured that I've included your concerns within this documentation. This will give them a better scope of how many customers are affected, and determine how to best move forward. Please know that this does not guarantee that a repair or change to the current seat set-up will be created, but rather an assurance that we'll look into this further.

The way I interpret this is that at best they are aware of this issue and looking into it, but there is no promise of a solution yet!

DoninLalaland, I have not yet talked finances with the dealership, however it seems to me that the tax credits/rebates could just be applied to the Volt instead. The new owner could apply the credits to the Bolt. It is probably true that the Bolt could not be represented to the new owner as a new car, since the car would have a few miles on it, however, since your tax credits would be transferred, they should still be able to apply the credits to the Bolt. I have told my dealership that I believed that any losses they have on the car should be compensated to them by GM, since the problem is GM's fault and they would not let the dealership make modifications to the car. I'll post an update when I know more.

scbolt, here is the email I received from [email protected]:

"Thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear that your Bolt seats have been causing you such discomfort, and I can certainly understand your frustration. This concern has been brought to our attention, and rest assured that we're constantly documenting customer comments in regards to this complaint for the awareness and review of our internal teams. If an adjustment does become available for these models, dealerships will be made aware and that information will be associated to the affected vehicles within our systems."

"In the meantime, I would be happy to contact your dealership to see if there is anything temporary that can be done."

I took this to mean they are aware of and working on the problem.

cperlin said:

Iletric, what did you find for $900 that worked for you? I've tried everything I could find.

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Here is the answer to what I did...



Man at work.






The final visual test.






After. Notice the before--after rise against the right bolster. It's almost gone!







Before. Oh, that sunken feeling.






After. The lower back extra inch is barely visible, but my back knows better.






Before.





It's not an elegant solution, but it is a functional one. Be prepared for a few days of smelling foam glue.

I recommend to look for a high-end shop that SPECIALIZES in this. The price should be comparable. I chose the shop out of convenience and I like the owner.

I am wondering what is wrong with the people posting about bad seats. I picked up my Bolt May 8, 2017 and find the seats very comfortable. The worst seats for me is our 2000 Subaru Legacy. For this Subaru, after a short while, my butt becomes very painful. The wife uses a thick seat pad.

Commenters talk about the sharp tilt of the headrest. I assume it is that way to protect a person if the vehicle is involved in a crash. I think those commenters are focused on a feature that is actually good. They are not enjoying the many other good features of the Bolt EV.

People often add pads to car seats to adjust them to their preferences. Instead of playing amateur car designer, I think these people should concentrate on adjusting the environment to suit their special requirements as one commenter did (a little far out for me, but to each his own). To be fair, my seats seem to be different in the area between the horizontal and vertical portions.

I love the Bolt EV. It is a fine car, a delight to drive, has many neat features and goes over 200 miles on a charge.

Perhaps my opinion will change after driving on a long trip, but for now the seats in my Bolt EV are far superior to the seats in my Subaru.

GeneHG