Golf 4 driver's seat has play - Solution, Cause?

Hello everyone,

My Golf 4, model year 2001, suffers from the common problem of a wobbly seat.

I have the original. Highline Sportsitze with adjustable height, not heated, and not electrically adjustable.

When starting the car, there's always this "click" sound, and the seat seems to have moved a few millimeters backward. This means the seat's longitudinal adjustment has too much play. This is frustrating in the long run.

Does anyone know what's causing this damage to the seat here, and how to possibly fix it?

In other forums, I have already read about seats that have worn out due to uneven pressure or worn-out roller mechanisms. However, I can hardly imagine this as the cause of my problem, since the seat has longitudinal play but not vertical play.

I am very grateful for all the information.

Greetings

I actually know of two different phenomena related to this, and I'm not sure which one applies to you.

1. A click, where the seat moves back a few mm: I know this, when the seat has been adjusted on the seat rail, but the locking mechanism hasn't engaged because no hole has been hit at the moment. Then the seat slides to the next hole, and comes to rest there.

2. A distinct clicking sound, in which the seat actually does not move (approximately 1 mm). I occasionally experienced this, and it occurs repeatedly during driving, corresponding to changes in load. This can be caused by worn rollers in the seat rails, but it can sometimes be fixed by cleaning the seat rails and lubricating them with grease, followed by repeatedly moving the seat back and forth. (This was the case with me).
Somewhere on the internet, there was a case posted where a part of the seat frame or a weld had broken (in the front area). This resulted in the entire seating area becoming bouncy, and the seat creaked like an old rocking chair.

Cause: Could your body weight have anything to do with it?

Seriously, I think Holger247 has already described it (and it also matches my understanding). To test, I raised the seat completely, had a person sit and rock, while also checking the tracks to determine the exact location of the movement. Likely, due to the elevated seating, you also have the opportunity to easily reproduce the problem.

By the way, I had experienced similar issues with another vehicle before. You can now talk to me about my weight

bafische wrote:

When starting, there is always this "click" sound, and the seat seems to have shifted a few millimeters backward. This means that the seat has too much play in its longitudinal movement. This is frustrating in the long run.

Hi Bavarian,

If the seat keeps sliding backward, it must eventually reach the end of the tracks (although I can't really imagine that happening).

If not, he must return to the starting point between trips (even without his own click). Then, the most frequently used long-range sensor might be malfunctioning, but in other sensors, there might be no issues - unless the wear and tear is only affecting the sensor itself, which would then require all sensors to have play.
Can you also provoke the noise 1-2 meters further forward or backward, or in all height and tilt positions?

If you are driving with the "full lowered" setting, the relaxed damping mechanism can also make clacking noises. Then it's often enough to simply raise the seat slightly.

Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for the numerous suggestions and assistance. But I can hardly read or even look for the cause of the problem in the car anymore.

It's similar to what Holger described in point 2: a click that follows the change in load, the movement of the seat is actually very minimal and can only be sensed with a stethoscope.

The seats were reupholstered, the tracks were cleaned and lubricated, which I can confirm.

While my body weight is steadily increasing with age, I am currently at an average weight of 80kg, so I should not experience any excessive strain. I plan to conduct the wobble test as soon as possible.

Ulf, the seat doesn't always move further back. The backward movement when starting is only noticeable through the clicking sound that isn't present when braking.
The game is independent of altitude and the seat attachment-alignment.

I will soon be testing the chair with another person, expanding it, and investigating the cause. Results can be found here.

Best regards,