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'97 528i power seat problem

11K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  witeshark 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I have a 1997 528i. The power seat on the driver side has 3 memory positions but for some reasons they seemed to stop working about a year ago. Since my wife is the primary driver of the car and the problem is not that big of a deal, we just ignored it. But yesterday a strange thing happened. After my wife started the car, the power seat (driver) pulled itself all the way forward and the back also folded all the forward then quit working. We can still use the control to move the seat back and forth, but the control switch for the back of the seat is completely dead. I can't do anything to make the back of the seat fold back.

Anyone who might have ran into a problem like this and can shed some light on it, i would appreciate it.

Also, the volume control knob on the radio stopped working about a month ago. Since then, the only way we could control the stereo volume is by using the steering wheel control. I would appreciate it if anyone can share the fix for that also.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
quite simply put you need to take it to a professional to sort out the problem. its quite common for power seats to do something, ive seen some that have tried to move forward only half wants to move while the other half stays. quite a mess and a difficult fix if the motor is out or if you have a botched wire somewhere. if you need it fixed asap , than a good trusted mechanic is what you need.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. the local dealer wants $150 just to look at it. So i was hoping that there is an easy fix that someone may know. But you are right; I've better bring it in.

I talked to a friend yesterday who used to have a 328is. He said he had problems with his driver seat too. The last fix costed him over $800 because the whole frame had to be replaced.
 
#4 ·
ebotdm, the seat memory (and steering wheel) positions are resident on the Drivers Seat Controller (61.31-6 910 717, $55). Most commonly the lower plastic trim piece on the drivers seat breaks at the outside rear, putting a strain on the wiring harness and eventually works the connector free, possibly shorting it out along the way.

Before you take it to the dealer, remove the lower trim piece on the seat and check the connector that is going to the seat controller that is mounted to the back of that trim piece (connector has a sliding lock). You may only need to re-seat the connector.

If you find a loose connector due to the rear trim piece mount that is broken, you can purchase a new trim piece (must buy drivers and passenger as one) that will break again, or simply zip tie the connector to the control box.
 
#6 ·
Originally posted by kowached@May 27 2004, 10:06 PM
ebotdm, the seat memory (and steering wheel) positions are resident on the Drivers Seat Controller (61.31-6 910 717, $55). Most commonly the lower plastic trim piece on the drivers seat breaks at the outside rear, putting a strain on the wiring harness and eventually works the connector free, possibly shorting it out along the way.

Before you take it to the dealer, remove the lower trim piece on the seat and check the connector that is going to the seat controller that is mounted to the back of that trim piece (connector has a sliding lock). You may only need to re-seat the connector.

If you find a loose connector due to the rear trim piece mount that is broken, you can purchase a new trim piece (must buy drivers and passenger as one) that will break again, or simply zip tie the connector to the control box.
Kowached and 02bmw540i,

Thanks for the tip. That was exactly what it was, the trim piece being loosed. Heeding your advice, i took that piece of trim off and reseated all the connectors. To my delight, not only did all seat controllers work, but the memory part of it seemed to be working too.

The whole job took me less than 10 minutes. Compared that to the trouble of bringing the car into the dealer and paying whatever they wanted to charge for it, i was very happy. Thank you guys.
 
#7 ·
he power seat (driver) pulled itself all the way forward and the back also folded all the forward then quit working. We can still use the control to move the seat back and forth, but the control switch for the back of the seat is completely dead. I can't do anything to make the back of the seat fold back.
Same type of electrical problems have happened to my Moms 98 528i. She took it to BMW and they needed to change fuses and something else that I cannot exactly recall that cost about $1400...
 
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