m3bim

Last week, I bought a 2008 550 LCI. I knew that the driver's thigh bolster driver was broken, but a PPI (at Dryer and Reinbold of Indianapolis) revealed that the car is otherwise excellent.

While taking the long way home (400 miles from Northern Indiana to Nashville), I found that I didn't want to fully extend the thigh bolster all the time. And I don't mind that it requires manual operation, because that is how my (deceased) E36 ///M3's thigh bolster was operated.

I got a 36K/3Year Rt 66 warranty, so maybe I'll make them fix it sometime.

Jim165

LOL..I would've been pissed!
I'm having a problem keeping the leather on the thigh bolster tucked into the groove on the front underside to keep it taught...it keeps popping out. Anyone else have this problem?

audiophool

I thought I was the only one. Mine kept popping out of the seam over and over. Then one day I put it back just like always and it's stayed for months. No idea if or what I did differently.

tonyb635

Mine too. Maybe it was magic!

tpaxadpom

Do you mind sharing what type of epoxy you end up using? I have bought some epoxy for plastics when I repaired the bolster plastic in my wife's seat. Today I decided to use thigh support (never use it) and when I extended it all the way it probably broke the gear. Now my 5 series turned in 3 series with manual thigh support.
Nevermind. Glueing was not a good option (superlued and then had to brake the joint). The two parts would not fit together on the shaft, creating a gap between the adjacent teeth. Instead had buddy create a molded part.

nv550

Unfortunately, after a few months, the glued part broke again. Interestingly, not where I glued it - that actually held. But at another point.

Probably a proof that the plastic / polymer itself simply can't hold together for so many years.

plowery21

Same here on the leather popping out. It lasts a few months before popping out.. Only passenger side for me.

methodsound

Both thigh support motors were broken in the 06 M5 Comfort seats I bought for my 04 545i. I took the motors out of my 04 Sport seats and was able to install them into my 06 M5 Comfort seats with active backrest. The gears in the Comfort seat are plastic and the gears in my Sport seat are metal. The mounting and wiring were identical but the motor housings look slightly different. I don't know if this is new information for everyone or not but it might help everyone out.
-Michael

Stuboski

My '07 530xiT has (I think) premium and cold weather packages, so I have the power/memory seats with the adjustable lumbar support and heating. My wife's '09 X5 is a non-sport package vehicle, but it has the seats with the adjustable head rests. Are these the "comfort" seats I've read about? They are heated/power/with lumbar adjustment but they do not have the adjustable thigh support. I love the seats in her SUV vs. my wagon, mainly for the adjustable head rests. I've read some posts about people wanting to swap head rests, which doesn't sound do-able as the head rests in the "comfort" seats are apparently powered as well. The adjustable headrests in my wife's X5 are manual, which is just fine with me. I also don't care about having adjustable thigh support, as it sounds from this thread that it's just something else that breaks. Can anyone direct me to a thread concerning swapping seats, or is that more hassle than what it is worth? Were all of the seats with adjustable headrests in the E60/E61 powered, or was there a manually-adjustable version? Thanks.

txag_530i

It sounds like you have the standard electric seats. You can swap seats out with another E60 and code the car for the new seats. The bolt holes are identical, but you'll need to see if the sport or comfort seat wiring is present in the existing car.