Hi, I’ve joined this forum as a last resort. I have a 2019 Fiesta Zetec which I like very much except for one thing - the driver’s seat is really uncomfortable to sit on and has been ever since I bought it a few years ago. It’s like whatever is inside the seat, be it springs or whatever (I really don’t know) are not performing as they should. I bought a car seat cushion which helps a little but long term isn’t the answer. The car is now due for a service but I hesitate to mention this issue as the only solution I can think of is replacing the seat which seems very drastic (and probably expensive). And if I do have to get this done, will the insurers class this as a modification? Have had several other Fiestas and other cars, never, ever had a problem like this, it’s weird! 

Has this happened to anyone else and if so, what did you do to get it fixed? Any ideas gratefully received.

Best thing to do is sit in another Fiesta of the same spec to see whether it's your seat that's faulty or whether all the Zetec seats are uncomfortable.

If it's just your seat, you can get another identical one from a breakers yard.  Shouldn't be too expensive, though they are difficult to find without the drivers airbag having deployed.

If it's all the Zetec seats, you could swap all seats with a set from another trim level.  Technically that would be classed as a modification and should be declared, though as long as you don't go for for seats with a massive ST badge on them, I don't think anyone would ever notice.

Thanks Tom, these are good suggestions and I do appreciate you making the effort to reply. There is Fiesta a few streets away from me which might be the same spec, not sure how the owner would view a request from a stranger to sit in the driver’s seat though! Maybe should try another dealership. I took out a warranty when I bought it so getting a seat from a breakers yard is not an option (had terrible electrical problems with last car, not a Ford) and wouldn’t want to invalidate that. Guess I’ll just have to put it to the dealer when I book the service see what they suggest. If I do have to get the seat replaced is it only classed as a modification if it’s a seat from a Fiesta which isn’t exactly the same model, spec etc? Would you know? I suppose I would really need to check with my insurer first.  Thanks anyhow, hopefully will resolve this somehow.

Although fabrics, leather bits, etc, differ, I don't think there's a great deal (if any) difference between the seats in the Mk 8 other than the ST. If you look at a brochure they're all basically the same shape.

FT-All_New_Fiesta.pdf

11 hours ago, Leaf said:

Thanks Tom, these are good suggestions and I do appreciate you making the effort to reply. There is Fiesta a few streets away from me which might be the same spec, not sure how the owner would view a request from a stranger to sit in the driver’s seat though! Maybe should try another dealership. I took out a warranty when I bought it so getting a seat from a breakers yard is not an option (had terrible electrical problems with last car, not a Ford) and wouldn’t want to invalidate that. Guess I’ll just have to put it to the dealer when I book the service see what they suggest. If I do have to get the seat replaced is it only classed as a modification if it’s a seat from a Fiesta which isn’t exactly the same model, spec etc? Would you know? I suppose I would really need to check with my insurer first.  Thanks anyhow, hopefully will resolve this somehow.

Lol, yes I would recommend testing seats at a car dealership, rather than randomly knocking on strangers doors.   My local Ford dealership used to have rows of cars left unlocked for anyone to just jump in but that may not still be the case now.

If you do need a whole new seat, it will be very expensive brand new from Ford.  And unlikely to be covered by an extended or aftermarket warranty.

Technically any seat that does not exactly match the one the car was built with is classed as a modification.  Unless it's very obviously different though, most people wouldn't declare it.

30 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Although fabrics, leather bits, etc, differ, I don't think there's a great deal (if any) difference between the seats in the Mk 8 other than the ST. If you look at a brochure they're all basically the same shape.

FT-All_New_Fiesta.pdf 1.09 MB · 1 download

I can't see any pictures of seats in that brochure?  I'm not sure you can really tell from pictures though.  When I saw pictures of the Mk7 Golf seats, I thought they looked the same as Mk6.  But actually sitting in them they proved to be far more uncomfortable!  Much too wide for a skinny guy.  And there's something really uncomfortable in the seat base as well.  Assume it's probably the heated seat element but I've had heated seats in other cars without feeling the element through my backside.

7 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I can't see any pictures of seats in that brochure?  

Probably 'cos I clicked the wrong one, lol. 

I don't remember much (any?) difference comfort wise between Zetec and other versions when I first test drove the Mk 8. Funny thing was I never found the Mk 8 to be as comfortable as the Mk 7s we had (could just be because my bum was older) though I think one or two others mentioned the same thing at the time..

It did seem to "bed in" after a few months but I guess if Leaf's is still bad after a few years it may indeed be faulty.

BRO-All_New_Fiesta.pdf

9 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Probably 'cos I clicked the wrong one, lol. 

I don't remember much (any?) difference comfort wise between Zetec and other versions when I first test drove the Mk 8. Funny thing was I never found the Mk 8 to be as comfortable as the Mk 7s we had (could just be because my bum was older) though I think one or two others mentioned the same thing at the time..

It did seem to "bed in" after a few months but I guess if Leaf's is still bad after a few years it may indeed be faulty.

BRO-All_New_Fiesta.pdf 13.22 MB · 0 downloads

Ah, that's better!  

I did sit in a few Mk8's but it was so long ago now I can't remember.  It does look like there's some minor difference in a few of those seats, though it might just be an illusion created by the different materials.

The Mk3 Focus seats were much less comfortable than Mk2.  Mk2 were almost 'bouncy' with a notable convex shape.  But Mk3 were flat and hard, as the Mk8 seats appear to be in those pictures.  It's partly down to 'new' safety regs from around 15 years ago, the seat must be firm enough to prevent people slipping underneath the belt in the event of a collision.

Stick a set of Vignale seats in or buy a Vignale, they're really lovely seats

Mk4 Focus Vignale seats were awful.  I've sat on more comfortable concrete blocks.  

The Fiesta ones do look nice with that honeycomb pattern though I'd have to sit in them before passing judgement.

They're very good.

My daughter has an ST-Line X and my son a Vignale (Fiesta) and the Vignale seats are superb