WTB: Black E46 M3 Front Seats w/ Heating and Power (Lumbar and Bolster)

[BMWCurves]

Congrats and welcome to the club!
The M3 seats are on another level with the added adjustment capability.
Enjoy!

Thanks! I plan to swap out the front seats tomorrow even though I'll remove them again if I put in the rear seats/cards. I figure I want to double check everything's in working order, plus I can't wait to have them in AND there will be some delay between having the rear seats inspected/detailed and when they'll be swapped into my car.

[BMWCurves]

So...first, the driver's side seat swap went off without a hitch. It's comfy, and looks great in there.

Bad news is that the side bolster support on the passenger's side isn't working, despite the seller having said he had it specifically repaired. The button is broken on the release side (I didn't notice it was this bad when I first inspected it). By broken I mean when I push the button on the side facing the rear of the car to release air, I don't feel any resistance. After pushing it that way, it will actually stay "pushed" because it's loose. Pushing the button in the other direction to increase the air in the side bolster results in a click and then nothing, but it has resistance like the button should. I removed the button. Notice how it sits leaning to the left because there's no spring or whatever is in there to provide resistance:



Given that the seat position and the lumbar support all work, do you guys agree that the most likely culprit for my problem is the switch? The part number is 52102695396, seems to be about $40 depending where you look.

I'm texting with the seller now.

[slater]

hey william,

an easy way to test is to swap over the switch from the passenger seat (they don't need the bolster adjustment anyway ) to see if it's working.

they come apart easily and you will be able to see where the issue lies. there's a piece of molded rubber in there to keep the button 'in place' and actually make the switch work. i bought a spare one on ebay for about $15 (my passenger side one wasn't working 100%). if you need that part, let me know, i should have a spare.

[BMWCurves]

Duh, should have thought about that...

I'm assuming they're interchangeable? They are different part numbers for right and left.

[slater]

Duh, should have thought about that...

I'm assuming they're interchangeable? They are different part numbers for right and left.

really? they should be interchangeable.

[BMWCurves]

So after the setback of the passenger seat side bolster not work, I opened up the side bolster switch for the passenger seat. It revealed that the little rubber spring had collapse and then ripped, so it was no longer useful. I went ahead and followed Peter's advice and pulled the side bolster switch from the driver's side which was a real big pain in the ass because one of the clips on the side trim of the seat refused to let go. I swore at that fucker for what had to be 30 minutes but it finally gave up the goods. Thankfully I didn't have to remove the seat in order to remove the trim like I had initially feared.

Unfortunately, swapping the functional driver's side side bolster switch into the passenger side revealed that the switch is not the issue. With the driver's side switch installed, the passenger seat side bolsters will fill the bladders with air, but won't release them. So now I'm not sure if it's a pump issue or a bladder issue. In either case I assume it's a release valve that's broken somewhere. It's really frustrating since I paid for the interior with the understanding that this issue had been repaired. Speaking with the seller I'm not sure how much financial help I'll get from him. Sigh.

That said, side bolsters for the passenger aren't incredibly essential so I'll order a new switch, (or slater, if you're willing to sell me your spare I will gladly take it off your hands), and wait for it to arrive. In the mean time I'll leave the front seats installed because OMG they're comfy as f*ck. I have yet to go out into some twisty roads to feel the new lateral support but I can already tell I'll be pleased. It'll also give me time to locate a good leather upholstery guy to see what it'll cost me to detail the remainder of the M3 interior and to gauge if it's worth installing.

really? they should be interchangeable.

Yup, they're definitely side-specific. You can plug either switch into either side, but they'll be backward: pushing on the left side of the passenger button releases the air, while pushing on the left side of the driver's button increases the bolstering. I was further annoyed because I attempted to swap over the button cover from the passenger side button since the driver's side button is a little smudged (the headrest portion of the seat icon is wiped away), but you can't. I got both switches apart but all the parts are mirror images and you cannot swap out the parts. So very frustrating.

[BMWCurves]

Ordered a new side bolster switch for the passenger seat (52102695396) and two trim pins to sell with the aluminum M3 trim (2x 51458266808).

[slater]

sorry man, i didn't realize they were different. at least you can get them!

does the lumbar support bladder deflate properly on the passenger side?

[BMWCurves]

It's really surprising, you would think BMW would make it so parts were a little more interchangeable, but then again...it's BMW haha.

I think you might have it backwards, the driver's side seat works perfectly, no issues. The passenger's side is the one with the broken side bolster button and non-deflating side bolsters.

As always, thanks for the help everyone!

[slater]

I think you might have it backwards, the driver's side seat works perfectly, no issues. The passenger's side is the one with the broken side bolster button and non-deflating side bolsters.

i did initially; i've got it straight now. glad the driver's seat works - how do you like the bolster adjustment on the driver's seat?