Mystery button - side of front seats

[thenorthster]

Both the front seats in my Mk5 GTi have a four-way rocker switch on the side (see picture below). Neither switch seems to do anything. Should they?

[Kai96]

That's for the adjustable lumbar support, should feel a lump squirming around in  the seat when you mess with that button

[thenorthster]

Thanks - no response on either seat, not terribly surprising on a ten year old car, but a bit of a shame. Ah well.

[markrtw]

Maybe they are not plugged in? Could the seats have been swapped over at some point in the cars life?

[thenorthster]

All connectors present and correct under the seat, but the fuse for that circuit appears to be missing, so I'll get that swapped and perhaps that'll fix it...

[splashalot]

The electronic lumbar mechanism is notorious for failing - I had mine replaced under warranty.  The mechanism relies on a small nylon gear to drive the physical lumbar support.  The gear strips easily, leaving the motor whirring but no movement nor support (it collapses back into the seat). 

If you do manage to get it working, probably best to take all body weight off the backrest when positioning the lumbar support so as not to overload the flimsy nylon gears.

[Shoduchi]

That button controls 2 electric motors, 1 controls the height of the lumbar support and the other controls the dept of the frame that makes the lumbar support. The motors seem simple electric motors so they must be very reliable.

If you can't listen to them working, the problem must be just electric connections or a fuse. If you hear them working, the nylon gear that splashalot mentioned is very weak and can break if you push too hard against the seat back.

[Ant b]

Mine works and I can hear it but doesent do anything,is it a hard fix

[Shoduchi]

Mine works and I can hear it but doesent do anything,is it a hard fix

You need to get the whole lumbar support frame with electric motors or an used seat with electric lumbar support from a mk5 Golf, preferably. It's better if you then take those parts to a seat trimmer specialist to get them properly fitted.