GTi Drivers Seat Issue

[NAS23]

Hi, I am hoping someone can help or maybe shed some light on an ongoing issue that I am having with my 2019 7.5PP drivers seat.

I've owned the car for 3 months and get persistent numbness in my entire right side. It starts with my right ankle, then calf, then under-thigh and ends up in my right arm. Every journey is the same and symptoms start within a couple of minutes to leave me with varying degress of pins & needles at the end. The seat is standard manual adjustment that I've adjusted umpteen times, read the owners manual recommendations, looked at YouTube seat position tutorials but all to no avail. A foam cushion wedge has also been tried and this does alleviate things a bit but makes the driving position ridiculously high (even on the lowest seat setting) and just looks so OAP. I'm gussing that something, somwhere is compressing blood flow?

I'm 6'2" and only 70kgs in weight with no underlying physical problems. My previous daily car for 6 years was a mk2 Leon Cupra so I'm no stranger to firm bucket-style seats and drove it without a second thought to seat comfort. For comparison I've recently had extended use of a 2019 Astra and a 2020 Skoda Scala, both of which I drove without any discomfort or spending ages on seat adjustment.

It's really frustrating because I cannot otherwise fault the GTi and spent ages looking for the spec (manual gearbox, Indium grey and Art Velours interior).

Any ideas or suggestions welcomed. Selling the car is an absolute last resort but one that I'd reluctantly consider if need be. Thanks for listening.

[fredgroves]

I would say its unusual to hear someone say a Golf isn't comfy, but its not totally unheard of.

You say you are 6'2", but do you have something like longer than normal legs or shorter arms? A height on its own is rarely indicative on its self.

Where is your steering wheel position, have you got that pulled all the way out or all the way in?

The seat, is it all the way back? Does this make your legs straight or not?

The seat height, is it set by where you desire to be (on the floor presumably) or where its comfortable?

It sounds like you are twisting your lower back somehow, compressing the sciatic nerve?

[Rudedog]

Sounds silly but wallet in right back pocket??

I try and remember to remove mine when going on a long motorway trip.

[CS#303]

Hi NAS23,

Mine has been causing me the same problem for the last 8 months or more, and its driving me crazy.

I thought it was my aging back (I'm 48), then I had a 2019 BMW 330D Estate to roll around in for 6 weeks and that was really comfy.

Then I thought it was my bed casing me problems, but I moved house and stayed with friends, 5 different beds over the same period.

I've tried adjusting it all from one extreme to the other which makes very little difference.

As fredgroves suggests I think it's my sciatic nerve, but its strange that only driving my CS40 affects me so bad, with the problem coming on within 10min of starting to drive and drives over an hour become agony.
In every other part of my life I only get less than 5% of the problem, So I figure the problem is caused by the car and the non-car symptoms are just left over from that.
Like you, I'm not a unusual shape, 5'11" and 86Kg, so pretty average.

It's shame as I LOVE the car!

[baka]

It might not be the case for you guys, but it's probably worth ruling out Piriformis. Which is closely related to sciatica, and impinges on the sciatic nerve.

I've had it for years, I'm a big guy both in actual size and being a bit of fat f%^k. Almost all sports seats will trigger it for me, including the ones in the GTI. I keep it in check with daily stretches.

Stress and muscular tension will exacerbate this (and I'd image other related conditions), and we've all had plenty of that lately.

[NAS23]

Thanks for some great and quick feedback to those below. In response:

My arms and legs are all in proportion to my height.

Steering wheel is roughly mid-way on rake and reach to ensure arms bent naturally at 3-9 o'clock positions.

The seat position is probably slightly further foward if anything and the back-rest more upright than inclined, all based on my left leg being almost straight when clutch is depressed but legs otherwise naturally bent at knees.

Seat height is roughly 3 lever pumps off the floor because I prefer not sitting too low.

Nothing in back pockets (least of all a fat wallet  )

The almost-immediate symptoms are numbness, mild pins & needles and mild aching rather than pain - basically like driving 200 miles without stopping for a rest. No other activity or movement/sitting causes this to happen. I read about Piriformis but the symptoms look more severe

My longest single drive in the car has been 70 miles after 4 weeks of ownership (no issues) and the problems only really manifested themselves after a couple of weeks in a Skoda Scala hire car when the GTi was in for warranty work. Might be coincidence because the Skoda seats (much like the rest of the car) were so unremarkable and generic that I struggle to remember other than they didn't make me ache.

I'll probably now try a purpose-made gel sciatica cushion to see if that alleviates the problem (or, failing that, a trip to the chiropractor) but any other suggestions would be much welcomed. The very last thing I want to do is to be posting a for-sale advert in the classifieds  .

Thanks again.

[fredgroves]

Ok, have you made sure you've got the lumbar adjustment fully deployed and are sitting up straight enough to have it in the right place?

If you have got it all the way out, try it all the way in.... its counter-intuitive but if sh1tty unsupportive Skoda seats were ok.... maybe its that.

Other advice about seating to avoid this sort of pain (and I know exactly what that pain feels like btw):

   Ensure your bottom is at least as high as your knees
   Try not to have either foot hovering
   When a vehicle is stationary, try wobbling/shuffling from cheek to cheek in your seat
   Have back support at approx. 110 degrees to the seat surface
   Try to sit centrally in the seat, rather than slightly twisted

One of the things with the Golf's seat height adjustment is that it adjusts the tilt of the seat base as well as the height.... can be annoying.

[baka]

Just a side note, in case you get desperate enough to sell the car.

Almost every VAG seat made since 2005 will fit in your GTI, including the Skoda and the MK2 Leon. There are literally about 30 different seats you can drop in there and try.

[joe6]

Just bought a 2019 gti and was surprised that the seat is not as comfortable as the mk6 gti we also have. Have some sympathy for the issue you raised. Have just sold a 2016 polo gti and was able to get that adjusted eventually. Not found the gti bad enough to think about selling and gradually changing seat height, lumbar setting and steering wheel seems to be solving the problem.

[SRGTD]

Just bought a 2019 gti and was surprised that the seat is not as comfortable as the mk6 gti we also have. Have some sympathy for the issue you raised. Have just sold a 2016 polo gti and was able to get that adjusted eventually. Not found the gti bad enough to think about selling and gradually changing seat height, lumbar setting and steering wheel seems to be solving the problem.

I found the seats in my mk6 GTD (same as the seats in your mk6 GTI, apart from the colour) to be the most comfortable of the seats in any of the five VW’s I’ve owned, although all have been good.

Having had back-related issues spanning 40 years or so, a supportive, comfortable seat is really important to me, along with regular trips to the chiropractor. Fortunately, I’m the only person who drives my car, so once i find the optimum position for me, the only time it might get altered is when it goes to the dealer for servicing / warranty work - I try and remember to tell them not to adjust it! My current car has DSG transmission which I’ve found helps as there’s no (sometimes painful) left leg clutch work to contend with - I did prefer the more involving driver engagement of a manual gearbox though.

@NAS23; I hope you do manage to find a driving position that works for you. I have found in some cars I’ve owned that it can take a few weeks to find that sweet spot of comfort and support. Good luck - it’d be such a shame if you had to sell your car.