I'm a new RX-8 owner and have noticed the seats sway from side to side very easily when making a quick steering change. The seats can moved just by pushing the tops of the seats. I don't think they are broken or defective because both seats do this.

Is this normal? If so, is there any known fix other than different seats? Thanks.

 

not normal at all.

never heard of it before, so no fix i know of.

if its a brand new rx8, take it back to the dealer. if he says all rx8s are like that, request to check the rx8s on the lot to disprove him.

if you are under warranty, get the seats fixed. if you arent, uh.. buy some bride seats.

 

your a funny troll

Seats are not bolted down

 

There are no bolts loose. The bottom is bolted down just fine. It's the flex of the top portion of the seat.

Check yours-- if you grab the top of the seat and wiggle it, does it move or is it very sturdy?

I would be surprised that both passenger and driver's seats are defective or loose. I'll check some others on the lots and see what I find.

Can someone go out and check their seats? Only the Sport model, not the GT...maybe those are stronger.

 

Mine move side to side with enough load. Always have, it's a bit annoying, but you get use to it. About 3,000 mile from new, my drivers seat started to make a loud squeak when this motion happened. Dealer replaced seat track, no more squeak, but still moves as much as before.

 

not to be mean or anything but how much do you guys weigh? I weigh 180 and my seats did nothing of the sort.

 

I weight about 185 (about 10 more than when I got my RX8 4 yrs ago, lol). My mechanic weighed 150 and could not get the original seat to squeak. I only notice the flexing on really aggressive cornering like when I brace my left knee against the door and feel the seat move relative to the rest of the interior, nothing is broken the seat structure is just flexible (sport, manual seats).

 

I'm 210, but that should not matter. I can move them by pushing the top of the seat and pushing side to side. Major sway. If it's normal, then that's okay. The seats are definitely flimshy compared to the VWs seats. But the RX8 weighs less.

 

try dieting. your car will go faster too.

 

Yeah ... the seats flex, because Mazda chose a lightweight seat design to save weight and provide more leg room for rear seat passengers. If you're used to the hefty, overstuffed seats in a basic sedan, then the seats in an RX-8 feel downright flimsy. It's all part of Mazda's concept of adding "lightness."

 

You know, I have my seats up front set all the way back and tilted back some. But when I'm riding low and dirty lol and when I'm in a drive through reaching for my wallet, the top part of my seat that it tilted back will sway to the left with me. I have noticed that if my seat is more up right it will not do this. I dont have leather seats so I cant say the same for them.

 

I noticed that with the seat hight adjusted up the seat will move but when it's all the way down it doesn't move.

 

I have noticed this in my '04 RX8 and it bugs the crap out of me. I'm 6'1" with broad shoulders, so it may be more pronounced in my case. In a performance car, I would expect more stiffness out of the seat. If my shoulder moves back in a hard corner because the seatback is twisting, that moves my hand relative to the steering wheel. Not acceptable. I thought of getting a racing seat, but then I came up with an easier solution. I unzipped the seat trim from the back, and it looks like I can make myself an X-brace for the seat back very easily. Two pieces of flat aluminum bar about 20"x2" should do it. As long as I'm careful with the seat's airbag assembly, this should be very simple. The seat won't even have to come out of the car. It just requires drilling into the seatback frame at four points and bolting up the aluminum bars. I plan to do this soon. When I do, I'll post a DIY.

And if anyone else has tried this, please let me know.