What Is A Powered Driver Seat?
A powered driver seat lets the driver adjust the seat’s height, recline angle, fore and aft position and even lumbar support with buttons. Just like a manually-adjustable seat, a power-adjustable seat also allows the driver to reach the controls and find a comfortable driving position.
If the car has the memory seat function, then you can also save certain seat positions, which you can achieve by just pushing one button. This feature is very useful if you share the car with multiple people in your family.
How Does A Powered Driver Seat Work?
In powered seats or electronically-adjustable driver seats, the seat has multiple motors where each motor can handle 2-way adjustment. A 6-way adjustable power driver seat is the most common among mass-market cars and it gets fore-aft, recline and height adjustment. For each adjustment, there’s a specific motor, which rotates in a certain direction to achieve your desired position.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Power-Adjustable Driver Seat?
The pros, or advantages, of a height-adjustable driver seat in a car, are:
- A power-adjustable driver seat makes it very easy to adjust the seat to a comfortable position without physically moving any levers
- A power-adjustable driver seat with a memory function is a very useful feature if you share the car with multiple people in your family
Power-adjustable driver seats have the following disadvantages or issues:
- The electric motors consume a fair bit of battery energy and can drain your battery faster, especially if you don’t run your car all that much to recharge the battery
- In the event of a motor failure, you’re stuck with a seat with no adjustability at all
- Unlike a manually-adjustable seat, it’s not possible to quickly move the seat forward/backward or swing the backrest forward or backward as the motors require time to spin and adjust
- They have a marginal impact on the car’s performance and efficiency because of the added weight; an 8-way adjustable seat has 4 electric motors
Also Read: Height-Adjustable Driver Seat – Detailed Feature Explained
Types Of Powered Driver’s Seat
Here are the different types of powered driver’s seat available in cars sold in India:
Basic Powered Seat (2-way or 4-way):
- Functions: Allows for forward/backward movement and sometimes height adjustment.
- How it works: Electric motors move the seat along tracks for fore/aft adjustment and raise/lower the seat base for height.
6-way Powered Seat:
- Functions: Includes forward/backward, height, and seat cushion tilt adjustment.
- How it works: Adds motors to adjust the angle of the seat cushion, providing better thigh support.
8-way Powered Seat:
- Functions: Adds powered lumbar support to the 6-way adjustments.
- How it works: An internal mechanism moves to provide adjustable support for the lower back.
10-way or More Powered Seat:
- Functions: May include adjustable side bolsters, powered headrest adjustment, and memory functions.
- How it works: Additional motors control the side supports of the seat and the headrest. Memory functions store preferred seat positions for multiple drivers.
Powered Seats with Memory Function:
- Functions: Stores multiple seat positions.
- How it works: Memory modules store the positions of the seat, mirrors, and sometimes steering wheel. Pressing a memory button recalls the stored settings.
Powered Seats with Massage Function:
- Functions: Provides massage to the driver.
- How it works: Air bladders or vibrating mechanisms inside the seat provide various massage patterns.
Powered Seats with Ventilation/Heating:
- Functions: Heats or cools the seat surface.
- How it works: Fans or heating elements within the seat circulate air or provide warmth.
How Expensive Is It To Repair Or Replace A Power-Adjustable Driver Seat?
Given the complex nature of an electrically-adjustable driver seat, repairing one is not easy for a regular mechanic. If a single motor stops working, then you can expect to spend Rs. 6,000 – 9,000 to replace it. If the entire assembly stops working, then you can expect to spend Rs. 20,000 – 30,000 to replace the entire seat. This estimation is based on the OEM-spec part for a car like the Seltos or Creta.
What Is The Cost Of An Aftermarket Power-Adjustable Driver Seat?
Unfortunately, power-adjustable driver seats are not available from the aftermarket. However, various accessories, such as cushions and seat risers, from the aftermarket allow you to increase the seat height in your car. However, we do not recommend these devices as they can prove unsafe in the event of an accident. Unlike car seats, aftermarket seat cushions are not tethered to the car. Hence, they can slide you forward in the event of a crash. This is a risky setup for your safety because, in the event of a crash, the airbags could hit your face and chest at a different point than the manufacturer intended. The quality of seat risers cannot be guaranteed as the metal used in their construction may not be as strong as the original seat mounts that come with your car from the factory.
The only viable option is to replace the original car seat with a power-adjustable seat from the higher variant that gets this feature. Even this is advisable only for manually-adjustable seats. It could cost Rs. 20,000 – 30,000 to get an OEM-spec powered seat. Generally, cars which get an electrically-adjustable driver seat have manual adjustment in lower variants. So, there are good chances that you won’t have to fiddle with installing an electrically-adjustable driver seat just to get height adjustment. So, we don’t recommend spending this amount on a good-to-have feature like a powered driver seat.
How Easy Or Complex Is It To Install A Power-Adjustable Driver Seat?
If you intend to get a power-adjustable driver seat, you will have to ensure that at least the top variants of the model you own come with this feature. If so, then you need to buy the seat from the top variant that gets the power adjustment feature. Then you can get an experienced mechanic to replace the driver seat with the new one and make the necessary electrical connections.
We strongly recommend against installing an electrically-adjustable driver seat after the purchase as it will not only void the warranty but also pose potential reliability problems in the long term. Moreover, this is a good-to-have feature and you can adjust the seat even without this feature. If you absolutely want this feature, then you should consider buying the suitable variant, which gets this feature straight from the factory.
What Cars Get Power-Adjustable Driver Seats?
In India, some cars from the C-segment (Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos) and above get power-adjustable driver seats, at least in their higher variants.
Verdict – Should I Get An Aftermarket Power-Adjustable Driver Seat?
It’s a little tedious and expensive to get a power-adjustable driver seat after buying the car. So, you should consider the variant that comes with this feature from the factory. While you could get an OEM height-adjustable seat from your authorised car service centre, we do not recommend them as they are quite pricey considering that this is a good-to-have feature.
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