Hi folks,

2005 E60 530D

The thigh support adjustment on the front passenger seat (sports seat) has broken. When moving the control the motor can be heard, but the thigh support doesn't move. It can be adjusted manually. I noticed the thigh support fully extended when I picked it up from the local car care center. It was months before I realized there was a problem and have no recourse with the company.

My gut feeling is simply a broken part between the motor and the ratchet. Any ideas? Is there a schematic available for this?

I'm having trouble finding help on the internet for this one.

 

Chances are that only a small plastic gear is broken, which cannot be fixed or replaced on its own. The whole thigh support actuator unit has to be replaced:

https://www.ecstuning.com/ES137983/

I did my own installation. I found various helpful tips online and usually people mentioned that it took them from 30 minutes to a couple hours. I found the job frustrating and time consuming. No need to remove the seat. Also take care of not breaking the plastic trim parts.
Since it just involves the passenger seat you might want to consider leaving it alone altogether.

 

Hi baveagle,

Thanks for the prompt reply and thanks for the link. I put the part number into Google and came up with a few interesting results.

Firstly, there's a couple of "How-To's" that I can follow which look helpful.

Secondly, I found a "How-To" where the guy actually repaired the broken nylon gear.

Finally, I found several vendors selling the nylon gear on Ebay.

I'm pretty sure you're right. Having had another look at it I can't see anything broken or damaged externally, and the motor turns. It seems the broken nylon cog is a common problem.

I'll investigate over the Christmas break.

 

virgil,

you have nothing to loose by first trying to just replace the nylon gear. I took the motor and gear assembly apart and found the gear snapped in half. Be super careful separating the housing since it is just held together by 4 (?) plastic tabs which can quite easily break off. Let us know how you make out.

 

Have you guys seen or heard of this: https://vanos-bmw.com/gear-repair-se...45-52100309476

 

Not that vendor in particular, but I bought one off of ebay about a year ago, it looks to be the same part, mine came from somewhere in China, and has worked flawlessly. Hope it works for you.