Front to Back Seat Sliding <------ ------>

[wingFeather]

You hit the gas, the seat slides back. You hit the brakes, the seat slides forward. Just enough to annoy you every day, or potentially cause a safety hazard. Let's come up with a solution!

This thread will be a collection of investigations & solutions on how to remedy/resolve the seat slide issue once & for all. Note: This is a different issue from the seat rocking issue, where the seat pivots back like a rocking chair, or pivots toward the center console.

My initial investigation under the seat unfortunately opened up more questions. I thought I had the solution in hand after reading a post by another member about a replacement gear at http://www.odometergears.com/products/I ... Present/98 Sadly, there is no mechanism with a cover that can be unscrewed - at least on the 2006 M35. The motor drives what looks to be a metal gear, which turns a long grooved rod. I can't see any way to get to the gear without removing the entire seat, and even then it is encased in a metal frame. Also, I rocked the seat forward & back while watching this gearbox, and I'm not convinced this is the source of the play. It looks taught. The play looks to be in the rails themselves (if that makes sense).

Here is a video to aid in understanding the gear, and how it is different than the replacement piece from the link above. This video is shot from the driver's footwell, where your feet would normally be. Nothing has been removed from the seat, it is simply all the way up.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PsbTI1kVAg[/youtube]

Hopefully this thread will inspire others to come up with solutions.

[Poirot]

At least for my 2007 there was a TSB for the issue, and the dealer fixed it for free. Nice and tight now.

Poirot

[wingFeather]

At least for my 2007 there was a TSB for the issue, and the dealer fixed it for free. Nice and tight now.

Thanks! I'd be highly interested in getting my hands on that TSB. Putting it here would help a lot of owners out - right now when you search NICO you see a ton of people looking for a solution, but no real answers.

[Poirot]

Giving credit where credit is due :

extended-warranty-coverage-of-seat-rail ... b#p5507857


Poirot

[wingFeather]

Thanks! Wow... 31 pages of instructions in that TSB I might have to pay the dealer to fix since it's out of warranty. Either that, or find a used seat to try & disassemble in my spare time. No way I'd want my M to be off the road for a week if I screwed something up. I think jet fighter seats are less intricate!

[M35 Sport]

WingFeather, your seat frame is just getting weak and will eventually break. Search it out. I replaced mine last year for $1200 out of warranty. It is a design flaw in the early model year of our car. 06-07 I think

[MaxBolus]

Yeah, that looks way different than mine, sorry I couldn't help

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0[/youtube]

Good luck

[wingFeather]

Thanks, Max. I think you originally directed me to odometergears.com... the previous gen M definitely has an advantage in this area. You would think that Nissan would have improved the engineering this time. But NOoooo. They went from a simple three screws to take off, to taking the entire damned seat apart. Who is the genius that made this decision??? Rube Goldberg???

Well, the quote is in from the dealer (for those of us out of warranty) - about $400 in parts. I might just make a bolt-down clamp to lock the seat in place & turn off the entry/exit sequence. Fix it in a few years when the price of used seats comes down at the scrap yards.