chart

I have owned several Audis and have allways enjoyed the comfort and adjustability of both front seats (as long as they have the full power seats). My most recent Audi is a 1996 A6 Avant, and after owning it for ten years and 100K miles I still feel that the seats are more comfortable than just about any other car - in that the rear of the seat bottom drops way down to the floor while a separate motor will drive the front of the seat bottom way up to a level that fully suppports the upper leg.

I am about 6'2" and have long legs, so this has meant that long trips are extrmely comfortable - if I am driving or someone else is driving.

Here is my problem...

I just bought an 01 Allroad, and am now finding that the front seats do not adjust anywhere near to the full range of my 1996 A6 avant seats. When adjusting the old A6 seats there are three motors that will operate to adjust the bottom section of the seat (one to move the whole seat front to back; one to drop or raise the back of the seat bottom; and one to raise or drop the front of the seat bottom. When adjusting the new (to me anyway) Allroad seats, there appears to be only two motors for the bottom of the seat, one for front to back and one to "tilt" the bottom of the seat - but tilt only slightly compared to how much I can tilt the old A6 seat with the three motors.

Did Audi skimp on the seat adjustments between 1996 and 2001? I used to think that if I saw the full power adjustments on the side, then I would get the full power and comfort I am used to. Is there something wrong with the way my allroad seats are functioning? perhaps a blown fuse that would allow more motors to operatre and give the full adjustaibility? (or am I dreaming?). My legs are falling asleep while driving for only short distance, and am afraid I may have to re-think owning an allroad. (that would not be good, as I really enjoy the performance).

please help. any advice is much appreciated.

thanks!

ArchAudi

Allroad seats are not the best in my opinion. Much better before and after the C5 days.

2002ar

Bentley shows the power-seat-with-memory having adjustment motors for longitudinal seat adjustment, seat height adjustment, seat angle adjustment, and backrest adjustment. Other seats just have motors for longitudinal seat adjustment and seat height adjustment.

chart

Thanks for the reply. I guess we have the same opinion on allroad seats. Pardon me if this is a stupid question, but I am new to forum and do not know what you mean by "C5 days". If I were to have bought a 2001 A6 avant, it would have the same seats (in terms of comfort and controls) as the allorad?

I am thinking perhaps I should have gotten a used A8 instead of the alload. The two things I am not exactly thrilled with on the allroad are the seats, and the stiff ride. (must be the air shocks?)

thanks

chart

Thanks for the reply.

yes I have the memory seats and yes four motors. I just went out to see again the difference (I still own the 96 avant) and while they BOTH have four motors, there is a major difference in how the "seat hight" is structured. in the old A6, there are TWO seat hight motors, one for the front and one for the back of the seat, resulting in a very big height difference in both, and high comfort for my thighs.

In the 01 allroad, they have aparently combined the height into one motor for the entire seat, and a "tilt" into a second motor and the result is not as much height adjustment in the font of the seat (as high) or in the back of the seat (as low).

bummer. Any fixes you can think of in terms of a aftermarket bushing to raise the front of the seat, (or replace with Recarro seats?) DO you know if all newer A6's are like this? I like the size of the A6 / Allroad.

Am I just too picky?

ShowMeData

The air springs are not inherently stiffer than coil springs - the suspension engineers design the spring rate to be whatever they want for a given vehicle regardless of the spring technology.

I don't know if any new seats have the separate height adjustment for the bottom cushion and back rest - that could be a victim of toughening crash standards requiring seats to be more structurally sound (but this is purely speculation from my experience in the auto industry).

chart

it takes to bumps easier, but I am sure at a lower level of performance.

actually the two seat height adjustments are both for the seat bottom (front and rear portion of seat bottom). the backrest rides onthe rear bottom portion.

I guess this is a case of "it is what it is..."