2006 V8V Drivers Seat Too High

[VR6VR6]

All

Recently acquired a mint 2006 V8V manual for the other half and she loves it.

I am 5ft 11" (she is petite), but I find that the drivers seat doesn't adjust low enough even though the passenger seat does (both seats are electric).

Is it me or does the drivers seat sit higher than the passenger seat?

Not that I am planning on tracking the V8V but there is no way I could drive the car with a crash helmet on - is this normal as I have seen other Vantages on track days?

[bullet7]

Doesn't sound right at all. Presumably the electric height adjuster does work at least a little?

[LTP]

VR6VR6 said:

All

Recently acquired a mint 2006 V8V manual for the other half and she loves it.

I am 5ft 11" (she is petite), but I find that the drivers seat doesn't adjust low enough even though the passenger seat does (both seats are electric).

Is it me or does the drivers seat sit higher than the passenger seat?

Not that I am planning on tracking the V8V but there is no way I could drive the car with a crash helmet on - is this normal as I have seen other Vantages on track days?

Questions to clarify:
Do both seats power up and down, or is the driver seat stuck on "max up"?

I assume that by "adjusting low enough" you are sitting in both sides and noting how close you are to the headlining?

Have you tried playing with the cushion tilt? The 8-way adjuster in a Vantage is odd in that tilting the front of the cushion also alters the backrest angle

Stupid question (and not treating you like an idiot, but I have to ask) you are trying both the front and the rear of the "cushion" part of the seat switch? Pushing the back of the horizontal bar (cushion) of the switch up and down raises or lowers the seat; pushing the front of the horizontal bar does the cushion tilt. Sliding it backwards and forwards obviously does the seat fore-and-aft.

I'm pretty sure that the seats, tracks and height adjuster mechs are the same on both sides as they don't make drive-handed seats. If you appear to have the identical travel from both seats but one sits consistently higher than the other then perhaps the previous owners was short and has raised the seat on spacers? The vertical movement on a Vantage seat mech isn't that much and as a car they are tight on headroom - I'm just over 6' 3" and there's no way I could drive in a crash helmet - I have to have the seatback reclined against the rear quarter trim and can barely wear a cap in mine

As far as Vantages on track days goes - have you ever stood next to a racing driver? They're all manlets (with the odd exception). Lewis Hamilton may be far faster and have much better car control than I'll ever have but at least I can reach the items on the top shelf at the supermarket

Edited by LTP on Friday 12th March 15:21

[bullet7]

There might not be height adjustment on the passenger seat. IIRC it was an option in 2006

[VR6VR6]

Ok, have done some messing about (in both seats) and found that:

The passenger seat is only powered for moving forward and back, plus adjusting the backrest. There is no option to adjust the base height as the horizontal switch only moves forward or backwards.

The drivers seat has much more movement so does forward and back, plus adjusting the backrest (as per the passenger seat) plus it also tilts the base forward or backwards (by pushing the front part of the horizontal switch up or down) but NOTHING happens when i move the rear part of the horizontal switch up or down.

Does this suggest that either I have a faulty motor or a faulty switch on the drivers seat?

Hopefully this is my issue.

[LTP]

bullet7 said:

There might not be height adjustment on the passenger seat. IIRC it was an option in 2006

Ah, I did not know that. Filed for future reference

VR6VR6 said:

Does this suggest that either I have a faulty motor or a faulty switch on the drivers seat?

Hopefully this is my issue.

This does seem likely. I assume that the rear of the switch is moving up and down as though it's trying to make contact?

As far as a diagnosis goes then you could be right that it could be a switch or one of the motors, but it could be that someone has had the seat out and has damaged a wire or the plug. If I were in your position I'd be looking to take the seat out (which I believe isn't a difficult job mechanically as I think it's only four bolts, but I believe they are awkward because of shape/weight and you have to be careful to avoid damaging sills or other trim) so that you can apply power direct to the motor terminals to see if it moves. You could also check the power supply to the plugs under the seat.

Only one other word of caution - at some point AML put a side airbag into the seat, so if your car has them you'd have to be careful to avoid triggering that if you start messing with the seat connections.

One last question. Did you buy privately, or from a dealer? Because if you've only just bought it from a dealer you might be able to twist their arm to fix it.

[NickXX]

bullet7 said:

There might not be height adjustment on the passenger seat. IIRC it was an option in 2006

Yep- you had to delete ISOFIX to get the height adjustment. The easy way to tell is if you have the passenger airbag switch on the side of the glovebox.

[TR-Spider]

Getting the driver seat out is rather fiddly.
Its quite heavy and there is little room towards the steering wheel.
For your purpose it may be sufficient to loosen the bolts and tilt the seat towards the codriver side.
Make sure you unplug all connectors underneath first.
Then you can easily access the 3 motors underneath the seat.
The rearmost motor operates the rear lift, middle motor front/aft movement.
You could try to change the connectors between the motors to find the error.

[paulrog1]

Have you tried to carry out a seat calibration? When the battery is flat or disconnected and when powered back up the seats need to be recalibrated.

https://aston1936.com/2016/02/07/performing-a-seat...

[JACK6284]

I'm 6' tall and my other half is just 5'6 so we are changing the seat position quite often.I've had a similar problem with my 2008 model DB9. Despite it being a long car the interior space and seat movement is quite small. I had to "play" with the driver's seat for ages to find a low position the wasn't too close to the steering wheel but suddenly it went lower down quite a bit and is now perfect.

[VR6VR6]

I will try the recalibration routine later (my GF is out in the car at the moment) and see if it works.

Baring that, will get the wiring, switch and motor tested.

Cheers

[VR6VR6]

Did the recalibration and it looks like the rear motor in the seat base is either duff or not getting power.

The car is in next week for fitment of a new gearlever and gaitor (it's a bit worn and I have OCD!) so going to check everything with the seat at the same time as the centre console will be in bits anyway so easy to check the wiring and switches etc.