Swapping Driver and Passenger Seat

[Styral]

My driver side bolster is starting to show wear, and since it's just me in the car most of the time my passenger side is in great condition.

Has anyone attempted to swap the seats?

I'm somewhat okay with the the rear seat folding handle being on the opposite side. I figured swapping the rails, seat controls, and belt buckle would be fairly straight forward?

[msan]

Originally Posted by Styral

My driver side bolster is starting to show wear, and since it's just me in the car most of the time my passenger side is in great condition.

Has anyone attempted to swap the seats?

I'm somewhat okay with the the rear seat folding handle being on the opposite side. I figured swapping the rails, seat controls, and belt buckle would be fairly straight forward?

Might not want to that since the side air bag is in the seats....

[6ixSpd]

Surely you can find a good upholstery shop locally... This seems like a lot of work just to still have a super worn seat, especially as it'd be visible all the time on the passenger side.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by Styral

My driver side bolster is starting to show wear, and since it's just me in the car most of the time my passenger side is in great condition.

Do some research and find a local auto upholstery place. If it's just the dye wearing off, they can re-dye it. Some places even have a mobile service where they come out to your house and just do it in your driveway.

If it's really bad (tears, deep scratches), just order a new leather seat cover from BMW and have the upholstery shop install it. Not going to be cheap, but it will look factory-fresh.

[kawstik]

Like others have said, find a local upholstery shop. I had my drivers side bolsters reupholstered for $125. Leather color and grain match was perfect.

[deansbimmer]

You cannot swap seats from side to side. Aside from every part inside and out of the seat being specific from left/right, the airbag must be facing outward as msan suggested. The airbag stitching in the leather seatcover also must be on top of the airbag inflator, so you can't just swap seat covers from side to side either.

[Spun Crankhub]

Not to mention the seatbelt tensioners would be on the wrong side. ebay is also an option for either full or partial seats.

[Ngilbe36]

Yeah, no. As others have mentioned this is a terrible idea for safety reasons alone. The seat side airbag is made specifically to work with the door as a reaction surface and you will no longer be properly protected in the event of a collision. Re-upholster it.

[Banana Hammock]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

You cannot swap seats from side to side. Aside from every part inside and out of the seat being specific from left/right, the airbag must be facing outward as msan suggested. The airbag stitching in the leather seatcover also must be on top of the airbag inflator, so you can't just swap seat covers from side to side either.

Oh god. Thinking about getting crushed between the car that T-boned you and the airbag during an accident is some Final Destination nonsense. No thanks!

[BayE30]

seats from BMW are ONLY sold as parts. So you can order just the cover for the top half of the seat new from bmw, FYI.

[OzCoE92]

Personally, I would just buy the new leather covers from BMW and have either the dealer or a competent upholstery shop install them on your existing seats. It will be expensive, but they will be OEM and exact match for the other leather pieces in your car.

[Ngilbe36]

Originally Posted by OzCoE92

Personally, I would just buy the new leather covers from BMW and have either the dealer or a competent upholstery shop install them on your existing seats. It will be expensive, but they will be OEM and exact match for the other leather pieces in your car.

I disagree with this. Generally, all OEM materials are sourced from a supplier. With the exception of maybe fox red, I would bet all of the other colors are very common. All this means that you can go buy a few square yards of the material for a fraction of what a sown up trim cover costs. Just bring the seat to a quality upholstery place and get a quote. If its over $1,000 (which would be insane) then just buy a new trim cover straight from BMW.