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Thread: MKV GTi Leather Lumbar Support not working

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    UMG Brisbane
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    MKV GTi Leather Lumbar Support not working

    (repost since the GVWWCC)
    OK, so the Electric Lumbar support on my 01/07 GTi's leather drivers seat has stopped working - it has never been as good as the passengers seat (but I never sat there until after the drivers stopped working). Made a clunking noise like something popping out of place, and now I can hear the motor whirring but it doesn't do anything.
    I know someone else was having similar issues (in the post before the crash, and a quick qoogle search revealed that it is not an isolated problem. Would like to know if anyone has had the problem, and how much is involved in the fix before I work out what to do about it.
    Thanks, Al..
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  2. #2
    Yeah I'm the one with same problem, booked in for a service on the 29th and also getting them to look at the lumbar support. Will post once I know what the deal with it is.
    MY08 2007 Tornado Red MkV Golf GTI DSG 5dr Anthracite Leather RNS-510

  3. #3
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    Mar 2009
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    Thread Starter
    Thanks - I take it from your sig (noice, btw) you are just out of warranty??
    Cheers,
    Al..
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Thread Starter
    OK, so after a bit of a wait to get my car in for service, and them actually getting back to me while in for service, I got the following back from VW Parts department. Are you sitting down? Good.

    Inc fitting, to repair the seat, what is basically the mat and the hardware kit, costs $1650. Can't find the right schematic, but basically looking at parts 6 and 7 above (if anyone can find the parts references that would be greatly appreciated)
    My tits-on-a-bull warranty (through the lease company) doesn't cover anything that the driver can touch basically, and lumbar support is in that category. Useful to know what the "extension of factory warranty" they provide actually covers.
    So, reckon I'll wait and see if I can find another leather drivers seat, maybe a R-Recaro?? Or one that I can get the parts out of.
    Al..
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    UMG Brisbane
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    Thread Starter
    Progress!
    Part numbers are
    1k0-881-879A for the lumbar support; quoted $1123
    100-898-955 for the accessory (hardware) kit. Quoted $71
    Rest must be labour.
    Can get them for $400 US + P&H from vwpartsdepartment, might be a better option...
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Brisbane
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    I just sent in my car for a checkup due to having a squeaky seat and was informed that lumbar support was broken. I thought it was a cheap job getting it replaced. Just blows my mind how even the little things can end up costing so much!
    MY09 Golf GT TSI

  7. #7
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    Thread Starter
    Been a while since I updated this, but have been flat out working and haven't had time to do anything about it. Until today.
    I have been keeping an eye on Ebay for the servomotors, and last week came across a "OEM VW GTi Leather Drivers Seat skin" with some pictures - can not find it now, but it showed how the parts of the OEM seat cover fit together, so today I had a go at pulling it apart. SUCCESS.
    There are three "hook" fit plastic tapes (not velcro). These are two plastic tapes - one on each seam, and the idea is they interlock - kind of like the way the VY ute tonneaus fasten (if you know what I mean) - if you don't, there is a pic of one side of it here:

    There is one of these seams on each side, and one on the base of the seat. Start on the bottom of one side to loosen it.
    Inside there are two clips that retain the rear cover of the seat (one on each side - see pic 2) - these need to slide off towards the centre of the seat. You should now be able to lift up the rear cover completely. Underneath there is a peice of slick backed foam - this just prevents any of the lumbar mechanism from catching on the leather. At the top of the lumbar frame the seat cover is again held on with two small clips over the wire frame - these slide up and then you can remove the piece of slippery foam. The cover I just held out of the way with the seatbelt (flipped up).
    Underneath is the lumbar support mat (oh, and a bit of foam at the base too - hope it isn't important cos its in the boot)

    The lumbar support mechanism is a complex beast, but quite clever at the same time.
    There are two motors - an up/down, on the right hand (airbag side in Aus) and an in/out (for lack of a better description) (LHS - centre in Aus). The wire hanging loose in the middle is the "up down" and goes to the RHS motor, whilst the wire on the left goes to the motor on the LHS motor, the third wire on the right is a fixes length one and is used to provide leverage to the back of the seat. As it is compressed the frame moves or bows out and voila, lumbar support. It is this RHS motor that was not working for me.
    So I set about removing the servo-motor, and had to drill the rivets on the mount out from the wrong side. If you were to remove the seat (which I will have to do when I reinstall the servo-motor) then it would be possible to drill them out from the outside.
    Once it was out, straight into the shed for disection. As soon as I open up the case (three rivets drilled out) I can see what the problem is. See if you can:

    So the wheel is what winds the cable up - not the greatest design IMO as it has failed where the hole to hold the cable in place is. Gonna try and craft one out of alu - shouldn't be too hard - and will update on how I go.
    Failing that, I now know what the problem is, and know I can get the parts at least and exactly what I need. Can't believe how much they wanted in labour to replace this (took me 30 minutes to remove seat cover, remove servo-motor and re-fit seat cover).

    Oh yeah - this is also useful information for VW Golf GTi Leather Seat Cover Removal too.
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    UMG Brisbane
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    Thread Starter
    Damn double post
    Last edited by 99_FGT; 01-06-2011 at 05:06 PM. Reason: DDP
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    UMG Brisbane
    Posts
    507
    Thread Starter
    So I had no luck with the Ally cog, as there was just too much torque out of the reduction gearing and motor and it would just wind completely past its stops tearing the cog pins right off (screwed and glued to the ally, but the torque from the reduction gearing tore them straight out)
    I ordered a new servo motor a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday it turned up fresh from the US of A. Ordered through a mail forwarder, and I was a little worried when they told me how big it was that they had ordered the wrong parts, as they needed more money to cover postage due to the size of the box.

    But as it turns out it is the complete assembly that they provide. Both servo motors and the mat is included in 1k0-881-879a, plus the "Mountparts" kit that is seperate. All of a sudden the cost seems a little more reasonable.
    I'll be installing it this weekend, and will doc as much as I can so people can refer to if required.
    Al..
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    UMG Brisbane
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    Thread Starter

    Lumbar Support Working - Resolved

    OK, so I can now put this down as resolved.
    Finally.
    As I said in the previous post, I was not aware that the whole assembly needed to be swapped out, and rather than do that I opted to replace just the single motor. If I was pulling the seat out then I would have opted to replace the whole assembly I think, but I didn't have the triple square tool required to remove the seat available.
    So, looking at the back of the seat, it is possible to undo the back of the seat. The pics below give you an idea of what the fastenings look like, and will help when undoing it. I started from the bottom of one side, and want you want to do is pull the overlapping seam towards the centre of the seat until it releases, and then you can undo it.

    The bottom is similar, but IIRC you are pulling the back down and away from you, as that is the outside overlapping seam here. If you need clarification then I can probably upload a vid...
    Inside the side seams there is a tab on each side fastened to the metal rails. These slide out towards the centre of the seat.

    This part is optional, but it makes life easier. There is a metal rod at the top of the lumbar suport mechanism, and there are two clips fastened to this as well. These slide up and off. Once these are loosened off, you can flip the entire back of the seat up out of the way. I have held it up with my seatbelt. The shiny black mat can be removed once the two horizontal clips are removed.


    As I has already removed the motor, I skipped that step, I had to drill the rivets out from the back (the motors come with the metal brackets to fasten them to the seat) but if you remove the seat you should be able to drill them out standard. Some people may also recognise part of a dremel disc that I used for cleaning up one of the rivets.
    As I also said earlier, I chose to only replace the motor and not the whole assembly. This was difficult, but not impossible, and aved me from drilling out the rivets on the (airbag side) motor. This uses a leverage mechanism best seen in the system below. I took the tension up on the mat (using a small clamp), and unhooked it from the new assembly. In the car, I chose to put the hook at the bottom of the assembly in last - so it looked like it was all intact but hanging there. Again it was necessary to take the tension on the mat up with a clamp.

    Once I had done that, and refastened the motor (using some small screws instead of the rivets - again, had I been able to remove the seat, it would be possible to pull the sides back enough to get at the rivets, but with it in there the centre console prevents this)

    Reverse the process for reinstalling the seat back - don't forget the black mat before fastening any clips up, and the foam at the base of the seat (if it came off that is. I suspect the VW dealer ripped it off where it was glued to the frame when they inspected it) after doing up the tab clips. It is easiest to do the base up first, and then the sides.


    Loving my heated leather with lumbar again...
    Al..

    (ps if anyone wants another motor to replace the up-down motor in their car, with the mat, or to adapt to replace the in-out motor - pm me)
    2013 MY13.5 Passat V6 Highline Wagon. Watch this space
    GONE:2017 MY18 Skoda RS169 Wagon w/ Tech & Lux, 2007 VW MKV Golf GTi

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