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2012 Fiat 500: Seat Height Adjuster No Go - Inside Line

18K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  J L S 
#1 ·
Is anyone having problems with the Fiat 500 seat height adjuster?
Haven't been keeping up with the posts/threads on here so maybe this has been discussed before?

The team at inside line finds the seat height adjuster to be an issue since it just doesn't seem to function unless they're not understanding how to go about adjusting the seat.



Apparently I had our 2012 Fiat 500 right after a tall short-torsoed editor because its driver seat was a bit too high for my comfort so I tried to use the seat height adjuster to fix this. But when I pushed down on it, nothing. When I pulled it, nothing. Not wanting to have a repeat of what happened when we first got the Fiat, I just left it alone and moved my seat closer to the pedals.

So I read the owner's manual to see if I was doing it wrong and sure enough it said that the lever needs to be pumped upward to raise the seat height and downward to lower it. I tried doing this instead but still got nothing. Hmf.

In a past Fiat post when we had Tweeps (Twitter people) test-drive the 500, one of them complained about the adjuster, too: "The seat height adjuster didn't seem to raise or lower the seat at all and felt cheap."

So now I'm wondering if any other Fiat 500 owners have experienced this issue. I mean, we just got this fixed.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
 
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#7 ·
I have it adjusted all the way down and I doubt I'll ever touch it again. I'd like to ditch the sport seats for some adjustable racing buckets.
 
#10 ·
Hilldweller is right -- be careful with it. It's a little chintzy. This is one of the few items where MINI's engrg. dept. outdid FIAT. In fact, one of the guys who works for my FIAT dealer snapped off the crank handle (leaving only the plastic hub) by catching his pant cuff on it. I found this out on my first test drive when I asked how to adjust the seat that couldn't be adjusted -- not a very good first impression. TIP: The crank works much more easily if you make adjustments before sitting down and putting weight on the seat. This is a cool for my wife and me because I drive with the seat all the way down while she puts it at the upper limit. But, seems to me the mechanism needs lubrication somewhere/somehow. I'm counting the days until this thing poops out completely; hope it's before the warranty runs out or by recall if after.
 
#15 ·
I'm almost 5'1 so I have no problem at all with the height adjustment.

But you know what I do not like (I think it may just be me). The sport seats have a bump from where your legs hang (the part made of leather ... I think it's leather). This bump is raised too much and my legs feel so uncomfortable. I know in several other cars I am able to adjust the seat to avoid this but I can't in the Fiat. It's like instead of sitting on a flat "L" I am almost sitting on an upwardly tilted "L."
 
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