One more continuing issue is with my driver's seat on the 2005 Ram 2500 4X4. This seat is by far the worst seat I have ever had in a vehicle. The seat cusion crumbles away leaving a daily mess under the seat. And once again, I have the frame rails of the seat pushing right up into my butt making more than 15 to 20 minutes behind the wheel pretty uncomfortable. And the manual lumbar has stopped functioning again (2nd time). This seat has been taken apart and rebuilt 3 times. New foam 3 times, and new seat cover 3 times. Back cover twice. 82K miles and it needs it again. Dealer says they aren't fixing it again. Opening a complaint with Chrysler.
Now that the blabbering is done, anyone had any luck getting their seat totally replaced? Everything I have seen or read says this is a design flaw and so many people are having issues.

 

Seat cushion crumbling to pieces in only a few years and a few thousand miles. I'v driven cars that had seats 20 years old and the cushions were not crumbling apart. Something's wrong there.

The question you have to ask is, why is the seat falling apart so quickly? You need to solve that riddle before having the seat rebuilt again.

 

Laying a piece of carpet on the frame before putting the cushion on it apparently will help keep the cushion from ripping or crumbling.

 

not trying to be a a$$ here.
These seats arnt made to handle 350+lb people. If folks fall into this catagory, then there isnt much that can be done. the carpet mod mentioned above would help.

 

also not trying to be a a$$ but if you are going into the dealership and going to try to get the seat replaced DO NOT go in with an attitude first of all and secondly DO NOT say "well i read on the forums etc......". That right there will get you laughed out faster than obama starts stuttering without his teleprompter. I work at a dealership and when people come in with a keyboard diagnosis its quite comical. even the dealer can not buy a seat as a complete unit. It has to be bought in sections and assembled. Take it to a professional shop that does interior, have them use a heavier foam, pad the seat frame and use a heavier material for the cover.

 

Thanks for the replies. As far as the seats not being made to handle 350lb people..that is absolute horsecrap. My 95 and 96 dakota's seats are fine. My old 99 and 2001 diesels never had any seat problems like this. My 2003 isn't doing this. Only the 2005. There is something wrong with this seat design or what foam they are using. Like I said, my 2003 isn't doing it. I've seen pics people have posted showing the sharp edges on the seat base frame digging into the foam and the person used heavy burlap glued into the foam to prevent the frame pieces from cutting into the foam. As far as attitude, I've always been more than cordial with the staff at my dealer. Even after 3 attempts/separate trips to get my power steering pump correct. But this seat is pissing me off. I'll see where the arbitration goes.

 

i wasnt trying to be rude at all brother. Just giving .02 since I work for a dealer and see people coming in with a chip on their shoulder and that puts the dealer in a bad situation and to be honest I have seen them deny anything and was told if the person came in all nice etc they would have gotten assistance.

 

i have a early 06 and my seat bottom is the same, crap, probably going to sell because i cannot stand to drive to uncomfortable, wish there was a correct fix not a homemade hack job

 

Yes the seat is just plain junk. The "leather" might be worse than the cloth. Of the 40 or so vehicles I have owned this seat is the worst POS. Mine was damaged when I bought it with 60K miles and I spent $450 on Chrysler foam, bottom pad, and some other stuff. Then I had an upolstery shop that does quality muscle cars put it together, and replace the side of the back panel on the seat too. They did the carpet trick and everything else they could. This was not the first Dodge Ram seat they have seen, nor the second..

Next time around, if I have issues with the repair I am going to try to install different seats of another make.

In addition, the joints wear on the track and linkage and the seat starts to rock slightly back and forth when accelerating and braking.

So I do not slide off the seat. I use the handle and my step bars.

Done venting... PS, I weigh 210 - 220 lbs.

 

I found on another forum a guy who had similar problems. He bought a new foam cushion and reinforced it with spray adhesive and burlap. Then added some additional foam to top sides of seat base.
In the 1st pic, you can see the metal rail that runs from top right of pic to lower left. You can see how sharp part of that is. That is cutting thru foam leaving you with sitting on that bar just under your seat cover.

 

I did the above mod and it helped alot. I bought some better foam from a foam shop then cut it to fit. I even took a few extra pieces and put them under the side bolsters to build it up where it collapsed from entering and exiting the truck. I have to agree these seats are terrible, but I knew that when i was test driving these trucks. I just figured I'd have to have an interior shop rebuild it eventually. The foam fix has lasted me about 15k miles and it seems like it should last another 20 or 30k of driving. In my dream world I sure would like to find some SRT V10 seats... they are some serious $$$ however and rare.

 

Oh yeah, I'm a soft in the middle 210 lbs ....

 

Something as simple as adding some step rails to your truck may fix this issue. it's the sliding in and out that the seats can't handle.

 

Wow, my 06 seats are very comfortable. I have 84k miles and zero problems. I wonder if they got foam from different suppliers.

 

I performed the repair to my seats in a similar fashion. I only removed the covers in order to install additional memory foam for extra comfort during long trips. Upon removal of the covers, I got lucky and found that the cushions were in great shape, showing no damage.

At the time, I also figured that the metal rail as you mention in the first photograph may be a contributor to the seat related issues for many dissatisfied third gen owners. In order to avoid future discomfort and seat damages, I made a few additional improvements to the seat rails. I used a body hammer and tapped across the entire metal seam on the metal rails. This was done in order to flatten the sharp edges (where the welds are shown) as well as the sharp corner in the rear. At that point, I taped a sheet of Bear Bond (NASCAR body tape)over the metal rail. As an alternative, wide duct tape will work as well. I then applied two strips of rubber underlayment on top of the metal rails, making sure to overlap the sharp corner at the rear. I then applied Bear Bond over the rubber and adhered it to the sides of the rail. Finally, I cut and added memory foam to the center section and side bolsters of the original seat cushions and secured a strip of foam to each of the metal rails prior to reinstallation of the cushions and seat covers. I am very pleased with the results.