Hi, On my recently purchased 550, the lumbar support adjustment on the driver's seat does not work. I can hear the motor running but it does not meet its mechanical stops as is the case on the passenger's seat where the lumbar support works fine both ways. It seems the cushion on the seat back is held on by "coat hanger" steel needles - has anyone on here successfully removed these and got access to the lumbar support by removing the cushion, and/or just gone through this issue and fixed it? Thanks in advance.
Fixed. The grease supposed to lubricate the mechanism had gone hard, probably from not being used often enough.
Timmo - how did you access the inside? I've got a manually adjusted lumpar. The threads on my plastic handles have been stripped. I purchased a new handle from Ferrari ($70US), but I need to figure out how to prevent the purtruding adjustment pin ffrom getting depressed into the seat. Thanks!
I was not even aware that some 550 seats had a manual lumbar adjustment. Do you mean the inside of the back seat housing the mechanism?
The cushion in the back rest must be tilted forward to get access to the mechanics of the lumbar support, which look like a back bone going all the way up with its lateral ribs. At the base of the mechanism is a gear that is linked to the motor with a small shaft. The motor is held onto the outer seat structure with 2 small bolts, 8mm if I remember correctly. The upper bolt is a pain to access as this requires manipulating a small spanner behind the "ribs", but the lower bolt is easier to reach from behind the back seat, and this involves untrimming the lower part of the rear leather cover to get access to the bolt. Before taking the motor off make sure to check that it's not just the grease applied at the factory that has not hardened, as taking the motor off and putting it back in is not lof of fun. Again I have no idea of how it works on seats where the lumbar support is not adjusted electrically - btw are you really sure you are refering to the lumber support rather than the lateral support with its manual adjustment?
