General Panda Seats - Repair.

Currently reading:
General Panda Seats - Repair.

Joined
Nov 21, 2012
Messages
36
Points
11
Hi all
A while after getting my Panda (last summer) I noticed that the foam side support has collapsed / torn. Although not noticeable cosmetically, I do find the seat lacks support especially when cornering. I have attached a picture below to show the types of seats I have. (2009 MultiJet Cross)

What I would like to do is get an old drivers seat which is sound and re skin it with my covers. (fiddly but I'm sure its possible.)

My question is, do all Pandas have the same seats but with different upholstery / trim levels? This would make my search easier on eBay / scrap yards. (I guess the 100HP would have more supportive seats as standard) If anyone is selling a spare front drivers seat in the South East, please get in touch.

Panda Cross Seat.jpg

Many thanks :)
 
According to ePER, there are three different types of Panda mk3 seats, plus another version of each type for cars with side air-bags. The Cross (and a few other versions, mainly 4x4 models but including the Alessi), apparently, have different padding in the back of the seat to the standard Panda Active, Dynamic and Eleganza etc. There's also the 100HP which, as you correctly said, has seats which are unique to that model.

If you're interested, padding for the back of a Cross RH seat (assuming you don't have side air-bags) is £172.25. If you do have side air-bags, the cost goes up by a huge 6 pence :p. However, the Cross with side air-bags doesn't share its seat padding with any other models, unfortunately.
 
Thanks for such a detailed reply, never knew that there would be so many variations. The chances of finding a second hand one would be slim. It looks like the way to go is to get one from a dealer, or have a look to see if the foam could be repaired. (y)
 
Hi all
A while after getting my Panda (last summer) I noticed that the foam side support has collapsed / torn. Although not noticeable cosmetically, I do find the seat lacks support especially when cornering. I have attached a picture below to show the types of seats I have. (2009 MultiJet Cross)

What I would like to do is get an old drivers seat which is sound and re skin it with my covers. (fiddly but I'm sure its possible.)

My question is, do all Pandas have the same seats but with different upholstery / trim levels? This would make my search easier on eBay / scrap yards. (I guess the 100HP would have more supportive seats as standard) If anyone is selling a spare front drivers seat in the South East, please get in touch.

View attachment 134667

Many thanks :)

You would be far better off looking for a passenger seat - less wear usually - by far -
Any furniture / sofa restorer should be able to sort it - getting the cover off is the hardest thing, but not too bad.
You could also do it yourself, there are loads of articles on eday about repairing and bostering the foam.

Its a shame you cannot drive to portugal (maybe you can ? :) ), Base and back restuffed - including removing seat and covers and refit - now all as new - 30 euros..(y)
 
Forgot to say. I couldn't find a second hand one at the time and didn't want to cause any more damage but still a pain in the arse to sort out - the foam and the back seat assembly took 3 months to arrive at the dealers from Italy so I was driving round making it bloody worse in that time. The only saving grace was a warranty..but that was it.

Just after I had the seat all sorted I found a 100hp drivers seat for sale online. I could have shot myself.
 
Hi all
A while after getting my Panda (last summer) I noticed that the foam side support has collapsed / torn. Although not noticeable cosmetically, I do find the seat lacks support especially when cornering. I have attached a picture below to show the types of seats I have. (2009 MultiJet Cross)

What I would like to do is get an old drivers seat which is sound and re skin it with my covers. (fiddly but I'm sure its possible.)

My question is, do all Pandas have the same seats but with different upholstery / trim levels? This would make my search easier on eBay / scrap yards. (I guess the 100HP would have more supportive seats as standard) If anyone is selling a spare front drivers seat in the South East, please get in touch.

View attachment 134667

Many thanks :)

Gilbie, the base has gone too ! - if you look at the gap between the base cushion and back, that should not be there. - compare to passenger side.
Thats what mine was like, the lumbar support was also knackered - so base soft, base wings soft, back wings soft, and lumbar ker-nacked.

Guy just took off covers after dismantling seat - cut cushions, inserted new pieces, reshaped where needed, glued pieces in and then applied some material then the cover - superb now. I think base re padding was 35Kg M3 foam - but that was just section under the original shape to bring them back up.
He used the passenger seat (which is hardley worn) as the template / guide to judge how firm it should be and the proper shape.
 
Last edited:
Cheers guys, thanks for all your comments. It looks like the foam structure of the seat seems like a weakness on many Pandas. I would like to get it fixed, not only for the support but the uneven wear marks it may cause. My other car (VW Touran) popped a spring which really bugged me, it was wearing the fabric so stripped it down and is good as new now. Cant be that difficult to tackle a DIY repair so will give it a go and let you know how I get on.

I'm the second owner of the car, purchased from a dealer with only 39K miles. Surprised the seat hasn't lasted longer. Loved to have known what driving position the previous owner had or perhaps it was too much "parked up in a lay-by action" :rumour:

boozyjay - That must have been a shock of a repair bill!?
captainslarty - Sounds like a bargain to get the seats repaired for 30 euros, shame I'm not traveling to Portugal. The big gap you see does look odd but its a height adjustable seat with a lever by the handbrake. This seems to move the back up (or lower the base) but kinda works.

Oh, and one other point is that its got air bags fitted, what could possibly go wrong ;)
 
Hi mate, the height adjustment moves all. Mine has the system. With the seat repaired properly the gap will be gone.
Next time you are in fiat ask them to look at the efi ECU milage compared to the dash .......

Unless the previous owner was built like a brick sheet house, I wouldn't normally expect that kind of wear until around 80 -90k

Musta been a sumo wrestler lol :)

Get over here, its cheap for the seat, and u get a holiday :) :)
 
Well decided to tackle the seat repair today - went a lot easier than expected.
I got some good contact adhesive, the type that you let dry before pressing together - stuck really well, I would say as strong as the original foam.
The only real tricky bit was the 3 x crimps that had to be loosened off before the outer skin could be removed / re fitted. Attached a couple of pics to show how simple it was. The seat is far more supportive now - job well done and a few quid saved. (y)
 

Attachments

  • 20140513_142341.jpg
    20140513_142341.jpg
    2.5 MB · Views: 254
  • 20140513_142348.jpg
    20140513_142348.jpg
    3.3 MB · Views: 261
  • 20140513_142952.jpg
    20140513_142952.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 230
  • 20140513_144321.jpg
    20140513_144321.jpg
    2.8 MB · Views: 269
  • 20140513_151120.jpg
    20140513_151120.jpg
    3 MB · Views: 257
Back
Top