Tips and suggestions for replacing destroyed E39 driver seat adjustment control panel

Originally Posted by bluebee

...Yes. I'd be interested in your fix.

I was having trouble with the connector coming out of the socket of the switch assembly, so I used a zip tie around the body of the assembly and over the connector.

You have to use a thin zip tie so that the assembly will still snap into the seat cover. The zip tie must go over the flat part of the connector, or it'll just slip off. Also, there are a couple of tabs on the switch assembly that go into recesses of the seat cover. The zip tie must be toward the center of the assembly so that these tabs will go into those recesses.

This "fix" has lasted two weeks now. I'm not really happy with it, but it's better than the duct tape that only lasted about an hour.

I did not take photos, so I edited one of Blubee's photos to show the approximate placement of the zip tie.

A strange one was reported today:

Originally Posted by capntang

OK, I assure everyone that I have searched through all the old info on this issue, but I am still left with a driver's seat and steering column that won't adjust.

It appears as though most folks find a loose connector and a broken plug shroud to be the cause of the issue. Unfortunately, I found the connector to be plugged in properly and no broken plastic after removing the seat trim. As a matter of fact, both the plug and control module look like new.

Fuses all look OK, and a quick check of pin 25 on the plug seems to confirm that the module is getting power.

I thought for a second that it may be the ignition switch as I've seen that mentioned, but I have none of the other common symptoms.

I am about to order a new (used) seat control module, but I'm worried I may be overlooking another cause. Has anyone else had the seat control module just die completely?

See also:
- What to do when both your automatic steering wheel tilt and manual & automatic driver seat control fails (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) & related automatic steering wheel tilt details (1) (2) (3) & what to do if your steering wheel & key cylinder locks in place (1) (2) or if you lose your key and need to program a new one yourself (1) & signs of a failing ignition switch (1) or ring antenna (1) & the BMW TIS for when the ignition switch spins but does not engage (1) & rebuilding a failed ignition switch (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) & how to test your BMW E39 DSC steering wheel sensors (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

can anybody tell me if anything wrong with the controller? i just cant figure it out how to put the knob to the controller. it looks like the little plastic thing (2nd from the left) is blocking the movement fro the big circle (3rd from the left)

To all who did it with the seat in the car, my hat's off to you. I had to take my seat out to make it easy to remove the plastic tabs in the middle and the back. As mentioned, the dealer sells both right and left molding together. As for the switchbox, the top part was also broken but luckily I have a surplus part due to a different problem.(seat rails)