Hello Panda fans,

I bought a secondhand white Panda 1.2 and I've been very happy with the little handy car EXCEPT one thing - the driver seat. It's totally uncomfortable and without lumbar support - makes my back hurt. I tried to repair it - bought a used seat in a very good condition and used the foam parts from it, but it didn't get much better. Not worth the money for repair.

So I decided to buy a used seat from the new model - Panda III 312 and installed it into my 169 and ... the seat is sooooooo much better. Very good back support. The seat has a proper height adjustment, the whole seat moves up and down, not only the rear part as on Panda 169. It can be set lower than the original seat. I recommend this upgrade if you find the 169's seat crappy.

Installation is not a big deal. 3 of the 4 bolts fit exactly in place. The fourth is different so I used a piece of thick metal angle between the original hole and the hole in seat.

Imagine that Panda 312 can have heated seats (mine is not) so there's certainly a way to make them work also in 169 .

Photos below. Yes, the seat is a bit dirty, but it cost me only 60 eur plus transport

The Fiat 500 uses the same structure so based on this, the 500 seats may well fit the 169 Panda.

Yes, seats from 500 would also fit. But I would say that seats from the new Panda are a better choice because they have better inner frame construction, including solid metal support on the back part. Seats from the 500 have a frame quite similar to the original panda 169 seats. I haven't tested them though. You can compare the seat construction of Fiat Panda 169, Fiat 500 and Fiat Panda 312 below (images taken from catalog at fiatdalys.lt )

SkAtPanda said:

Yes, seats from 500 would also fit. But I would say that seats from the new Panda are a better choice because they have better inner frame construction, including solid metal support on the back part. Seats from the 500 have a frame quite similar to the original panda 169 seats.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

On at least the pop and lounge 500 variants, the seats are no better than the Panda 169 seats. I've owned both for the past eight years.
I find that either are good for about two hours; after that, I get backache. I'd describe them as 'adequate for a city car".

It's good to hear that someone finds the Panda 312 seats are an improvement.

Now I'm wondering about fitting a 312 seat into a 500 .

It's an interesting point about seat comfort. I find the standard Panda 169 seats more comfortable than my 100HP seats. I feel less perched in the 100HP but need a lumbar cushion to be comfortable.

It's possible later cars have different seat structures. The seats evolve as crash protection develops.

jrkitching said:

Now I'm wondering about fitting a 312 seat into a 500 .

Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother. They still feel short on seat base/under-thigh and the lever to adjust the backrest angle is annoying compared to the cog in the 169.

AB100 said:

They still feel short on seat base/under-thigh and the lever to adjust the backrest angle is annoying compared to the cog in the 169.

Click to expand...

True, they are a little short, but the backrest feels more "anatomically correct" which for me meant an upgrade from "my back hurts after 20 min" to "the seat feels fine". If you have a local dealer with a new panda in showroom, you can try how the seat feels before you decide to upgrade - I did it like this.

I have been calling breaker this afternoon to do the exact same thing
I found a pair of front seats for 80€ so that s not bad at all if it can help save my back

You mentioned that 3 out of the 4 bolts will fit 'normally'

Do you think it would be an option to drill a new hole in the new seat's rail in order to get the 4 bolts in?

If you're willing to destroy the old seat, I would try to use the complete rail from it (marked blue, see pic, for a LHD car) - it seemed quite similar to the rail on the new seat. Or at least try to separate the part marked red from the old rail and use it on the new rail.

I haven't tried any of this because I wanted to keep the old seat in case I needed to mount it back some day...

The force involved in an accident are horrendous.

I got hit from behind and it turned my chair into a sun lounger by snapping the back off.

I don't want to be a kill joy. But please just make sure its at least as securely fitted as the original.


Thanks to the original poster for the valuable information.

My mother had her driver's seat raised (little old lady) by a professional automotive engineer. To be honest it was little more than some spacer blocks with longer bolts but he was legally qualified to say that it was strong enough.

If a modification fails, the insurance can get into all sorts of hassle.

I think we can argue the newer model seat is stronger than the 169 seat but that additional bracket will need to be built carry a battleship.

Hi guys
I am interested in doing this modification on my Fiat Panda (169)
SkAtPanda can yoube more specific about thickness and dimensions of the piece of metal you used?. Finally impressions? Thanks

mechanicaf said:

Hi guys
I am interested in doing this modification on my Fiat Panda (169)
SkAtPanda can yoube more specific about thickness and dimensions of the piece of metal you used?. Finally impressions? Thanks

Click to expand...

Just make it as heavy as possible so it can't be accused of being too weak.

Dear DaveMcT thanks for fast reply..I haven't bought the seats yet so i asked...If this modification is simple and if i can find an angle piece of metal...Is there a plenty of room for thickness, is it a large piece , angle?..You know some small details not need to be accurate.. Thanks

It's just a 90 degree angle that bolts to the car floor and the seat frame. You could also fit the new seats to the old sliding frame. Photograph your seats at the area shown in the image above and check it against the seats you want to buy.

Hello there! Your subject interests me a lot. I have a problem with the driver's seat of my Panda 100HP where the foam is disintegrating.
I saw that you could easily adapt 500 seats (I'm very interested in the 500 Abarth seat) but I can't find any clear information regarding the compatibility of the 500 seat airbag with the Panda type 169. Is it plug & play without fault airbag displayed on the dashboard? Because the technical inspection does not joke in France with the airbag fault warning lights...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bonjour tout le monde! Votre sujet m'intéresse beaucoup j'ai un problème avec le siège conducteur de ma Panda 100HP dont les mousses se désintègrent.
J'ai vu qu'on pouvait adapter facilement des sièges de 500 (le siège de 500 Abarth m'intéresse beaucoup) mais je n'arrive pas à trouver d'information franche concernant la compatiblité de l'airbag du siège de la 500 avec les Panda type 169. Est-ce plug & play sans défaut airbag affiché au tableau de bord? Car le controle technique ne rigole pas en France avec les voyants défaut d'airbag...

There are automotive upholsterers out there and they are a very clever and resourceful lot. I had a Citroen BX GT! seat fitte din my base model and had the cover of my car refitted to this and it was a superb job. Its also often not particularly expensive, so cetainly for the Panda 100 seats its the way to go. For standard seats more lumber padding and increased side bolsters are an easy mod for these guys. Worth a thought for many I think.

The Panda Nut said:

Il existe des tapissiers automobiles et ils sont très intelligents et ingénieux. J'avais une Citroën BX GT ! le siège s'est installé sur mon modèle de base et j'ai fait remettre la housse de ma voiture sur celle-ci et ce fut un superbe travail. Ce n'est souvent pas non plus particulièrement cher, donc c'est certainement la voie à suivre pour la Panda 100 places. Pour les sièges standard, davantage de rembourrage en bois et des renforts latéraux accrus sont un mod facile pour ces gars-là. Cela vaut la peine d'y réfléchir pour beaucoup, je pense.

Click to expand...

Seeing a saddler was the first thing I did. But in France they are very (too) expensive... it takes €800 to rebuild the seat while 2 used Abarth 500 seats cost barely €500...
The choice is quickly made if you can install the 500 Abarth seats!
-------------------------------------------------- ----------
Voir un sellier est la 1ère chose que j'ai faite. Mais en France ils sont très (trop) cher... ils prennent 800€ pour refaire le siège à neuf alors que 2 sièges de 500 Abarth d'occasion coute à peine 500€...
Le choix est vite fait si on peut y mettre les sièges de 500 Abarth!

Foggy78 said:

Voir un sellier a été la première chose que j'ai faite. Mais en France ils sont très (trop) chers... il faut compter 800€ pour reconstruire le siège alors que 2 sièges Abarth 500 d'occasion coûtent à peine 500€...
Le choix est vite fait si vous pouvez installer les 500 sièges Abarth !
-------------------------------------------------- ----------
Voir un sellier est la 1ère chose que j'ai faite. Mais en France ils sont très (trop) cher... ils prennent 800€ pour refaire le siège à neuf alors que 2 sièges de 500 Abarth d'occasion coute à peine 500€...
Le choix est vite fait si on peut y mettre les sièges de 500 Abarth!

Click to expand...

That sounds alarmingly expensive! Have a long weekend in the UK!

Has your 100hp already got the Side & curtain airbags as here in the UK although it was an option. 99% didn't