I'm glad I found this thread, having once initiated a long discussion about this topic on freshalloy.com. Like some here, I had the TSB applied to my sedan, with some - but far from complete - relief.

I just pulled out my copy of the seat TSB, which contains a diagram showing the seat control brackets. Wouldn't it be possible to simply bend them away from the seat a little bit, rather than cutting them off completely?

By the way, the TSB also says to disconnect the battery for at least 3 minutes before removing the seat, and not to bump the seatback, which contains an airbag module.

 

Let me tell you, these are not some flimsy thin gauge metal brackets. The thickness must be near the metric equivalent of ~3/16" thick, and to top it off they are welded into place. Trust me, I did consider just bending the brackets, but once I was inside of the seat and observed the construction of the brackets it was obvious that they will eventually wear a hole right through the rubber like padding and through the leather cover and eventually through my jeans and into my thigh. I have read some posts where people say "they will wait and see if the seat will break in", I can tell you in my situation with every minute I spent in the car the situation became more and more of a problem. The pain I experienced was becoming somewhat chronic and would last for hours, I began to wonder if it would cause permanent nerve damage. If you have experienced the pain like I did, then it was an obvious decision to remove the brackets completely. I suppose that you could bend the brackets away, perhaps 1/4” to 3/8” ” but I believe that the pain in my leg would have traveled with the bracket movement of 1/4” to 3/8”. I can tell you that today I made a serious left hand turn and never felt any pain in my right thigh. I can not confirm with 100% certainty that the issue is completely resolved, however I can tell you that I have driven the car about 100 miles since I removed the brackets and the pain is gradually diminishing, similar to when I was on vacation and was not in the car for 5 days. Also, I no longer have sharp shooting pain emanating from my right thigh during the day and night. I suppose I could also inform Infinity of my modification, but I am not interested in being on hold with consumer affairs and being treated like some kind of looser. I prefer to take matters into my hands. I have attached more pictures from the operation.



110891-More.jpg

 

wow, I give you props for fixing the chair. Although the chair does not hurt me a bit, I tried to push my thigh against the controls and indeed it was not a comfortable feeling. Glad to see you take this matter to your own hands and help the memebers who suffers resolve the problem.

04 G35C 6mt/aero kit/nav/premium

 

G35Mark,

Thanks for posting the pics and describing your experience. It sounds like you were suffering more than I am, and I'm glad to hear that your pain is diminishing. Nevertheless, I'm seriously considering this mod.

Could you also please post a picture showing what the seat controls look like with only the forward bracket remaining, with the seat and cover in place? How much do the controls "flop around?"

Thanks again.

 

Won't the seat in the 350Z fit in the G? The seat in the Z fits me perfect while the one in the G is uncomfortable in the thighs.

 

Thanks for being a pioneer AND for posting pictures. I would like to second the request for an "after" photo so we can see how the finished product looks. I am not sure I want to cut mine loose, but I may try to get in and bend the brackets outwards with a tool of some sort. From your pictures it is apparent that even if I do move the controls elsewhere the seat brackets will need to be cut as that metal part appears to be an integral part of the seat frame. : (

 

This is pretty disturbing.

I'm looking to upgrade from a Subaru Outback. Love the AWD in the hills of NJ. Am considering an '04 G35x but not willing to put down 35k+ to develop a pinched nerve in my thigh. Will definitely check out the A4 and 3 series.

Wish you luck and see a doctor!

 

Mark, I have had my coupe 1 week tonight, my commute to work is around 15 minutes and it is uncomfortable but not painful. Tonight I drove it for an hour and it actually started hurting, I noticed the 1st night I owned it just how incredibly uncomfortable it was, but only on the right side, and I have adjusted the seat endlessly, wiggled around etc... to no avail. I just traded in a Z28 which I just drove for a 2500 mile vacation, it was not very comfortable, but did not cause pain. I absolutely love this car except for the seat, I'm going to my dealer tomorrow to find out if they will be proactive or just be weasels.

Please follow up with any observations or results from your fix. I'm not even sure I can do the whole break-in without doing something about this, and thanks once again for being a trailblazer.

 

Well, I was experiencing minor discomfort with the controls digging into my side. It wasn't that big of a deal for me, but I saw online that there was a TSB posted to address it. So when I took in my car the other day, I had them add that to the list.

Now that I have it back, the result of the TSB just made things much worse! I totally feel the stupid thing digging into me now. Grrrrrr. I'd like to undo what they've done, but I'm not sure how to get into it without messing things up.

My question is to whoever has the full copy of the TSB, do you think you could scan it and post it for the rest of us? Any other documentation on taking the seats apart would be helpful, too. Thank you!!!

 

My initial view of this topic was that it was probably a problem limited to a small minority, since I was perfectly comfortable in my car. Now, at nearly 3000 miles, I'm starting to feel some right leg pain.

I have a theory I'm working on. I believe it may be possible the seat is collapsing inward (becoming narrower) due to the material (leather) pulling the frame inward, causing the right side to push against my right thigh, in turn causing the pain. Today, I tried to bend the frame back out by putting my hand on the right edge, sitting on it and, bracing myself against the door, pushing down and to the right on the edge of the frame, forcing it toward the center console. The right edge of the control switches is now closer to the console. At least for a time, it has felt better. The next step is to make a more permanent solution, like a spreader bar. Any thoughts?

'03 G35/6MT Sedan Black/Black

 

I just drove a 350z touring this weekend, which has the leather seats. BIG Differernce -- MUCH better. The 350z leather seat is a much better design, and should be in the G35. Even my wife commented on the better feel, and how the design just appeared to make much more sense. Basicly the side bolsters are a bit farther apart, and most of the bolter goes OVER the seat control when pushed hard. This is in contrast to the G35 that always pushed directly against the side of the seat control and frame -- so there is no give at all.

I need to do something quick, as I just took a 16 hour round trip, and I actually thought it would be a relief to amputate my leg after about the 1st hour. ANYBODY KN0W IF THE 350Z SEAT WILL FIT THE G35, and not interfere with any electronics or safety features like airbags? Now that I think about it, the 350z probably does not have the side seat curtain airbags. Anybody confirm these questions?

By the way, I called the infiniti hotline again, and they said they can do nother because it interferes with safety features and seat warranty. They assured the engineers do look at these complaints. OTHERS THAT ARE HAVING LEG PAIN, PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE so they understand the significance of this problem.

 

Seat width is the problem. The passenger's seat (manual adjustment) is 20.5 inches, the driver's (powered) is only 17.5 inches wide, measured with the ruler stuck firmly in the right thigh bolster. An ordinary executive swivel office chair is 20.5 inches. My Nissan 300zx seat is 21.5". No wonder my right leg tingles and becomes semi-numb in the G35, and no other chair I've ever sat in does that to me. Infiniti goofed with the placement of those seat switches. When do you think they will change things?

 

After owning my G35 (I love this car) for about 4 months, I started having the same problem. After reading the posts in this group I decided I wanted to try something a little simpler than the surgery g35mark performed (hats off to you, though). I went and bought a $50 seat massager. It's like a seat cover, but includes vibrating discs. I've only had it a couple of days but it is making a difference for me. I think the fact that the padding is raising me up over the sadistic brackets is doing the trick. I'm not so sure the massaging part is needed (although I'm certainly enjoying it).

I can't say much for the aesthetics (even though the cover is black) and it's not as nice as sitting in a pure cozy leather driver's seat. However, my leg isn't hurting any more.

If it continues working for the next week I'll post what exactly I bought (you can get them on Amazon or at Fry's or Bed n' Bath).

 

If you are gonna go the seat massager (also heated) route then Wal-Mart has them for like 20-25 dollars. I bought one for my first return trip from the beach (4hr. drive) or I would have had to leave the bitch in S.C. There was NO WAY I was gonna suffer the pain on the return trip that I did going down there!! It did help a good bit, but who wants to pay extra for leather and heated seats and then cover them up with a damned seat cusion?!?!?!?! Not me!!

The seat TSB #03018 did help my situation a good deal, but it still is nowhere near as comfortable as it should be, especially for a $35,000 car. Infiniti whiffed bigtime on the driver's side seating!! This is my one MAJOR complaint with the G35......hope they step up and do something to REALLY make things right. It wouldn't surprise me if someone develops nerve damage and sues Infiniti over this poor design. Time will tell........

 

You know the cloth seats don't have any power controls, just a few old school ***** (kinda like our lumbar ****) on the lower left side of the seat. My dad got a model with cloth and has no leg pain since there are no controls / sadistic bracket in the way. I don't know if anyone would be willing to try cloth seats as a fix, because putting those as front seats, even in a willow leather car, can't look that nice. Maybe you could buy a coth seat and switch its "outfit" with your leater seat's.

As for my skinny *** self (6'2" 165lb) I haven't noticed any leg pain in my G w/ leather, but I can now know what you mean. I slid my leg over to the right while driving after reading this thread, and it's not pleasant.

Drew
2003 G35 Sedan 6MT / Black / Graphite / Aero