Broken drivers seat in Saturn Ion

[pbm]

While leaning to get something from the back seat of my 2005 Ion the upper right side of my seat snapped. (I'm only 190 lbs. hardly a heavyweight).
Something inside the seat is broken and my right shoulder and side is not straight or properly supported while driving.
Besides a used seat from an Ion (which are not plentiful) what are my options for replacement? Would a Cobalt seat fit?
Are there any INEXPENSIVE upgrades available?
Thoughts?

 

[GMBoy]

Take the seat cover off and check the seat frame...you may simply just need to weld it back together. I had a friend who's seat snapped in his car...we took the cover off, welded it and it's fine every since.

 

[pbm]

GMBoy: Thanks.
I don't see a zipper...how do I remove the cover?

 

[earlyre]

used to work w/ a guy who had something similar happen, he just tossed the drivers seat, and moved the passenger seat over. course then there was a big empty space where the passenger seat should be...
depending on your situation this may, or may not be a problem

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
used to work w/ a guy who had something similar happen, he just tossed the drivers seat, and moved the passenger seat over. course then there was a big empty space where the passenger seat should be...
depending on your situation this may, or may not be a problem



I prefer GMBoy's fix.
If I can't fix the existing seat I'll try to find an inexpensive replacement. I'd like to find a Recaro out of an Ion Redline. That's why I'm wondering if a Cobalt seat would fit since it would quadruple my options....

 

[daves87rs]

Yes, they will fit.

I've seen Ion seats go into a Cobalt, and SS seats go into an Ion...

 

[Bluestream]

Auto Wreckers sell seats for about $25. They don't sell a lot so the price is cheap as most seats don't break. Often it will be a newer/better seat that what you have. Just have to match the color

 

[eagle23]

If you haven't already, try Car-part.com with the zipcode in your area for an easy search of salvage yards and what they have. Some yards will specify the color of the seat, but then it's an easy phone call.

Hope this helps

 

[zeezee]

I always felt that the ION seats were poorly made (I owned one). If I recall correctly, the seat cover looked like it could somehow be removed. Since the Cobalt is essentially the same guts there is a good chance that the Cobalt seats would work.

 

[NHGUY]

Just think of the damage if you were rear-ended in those seats.Cost cutting should not take place in a safety related item.But,alas,this has been going on for far longer than the average consumer realizes.For this reason I would NOT try to re-weld the seat frame.If that breaks in a collision you could have a jagged end of a "Lance" poking thru to injure you or your passenger.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Just think of the damage if you were rear-ended in those seats.Cost cutting should not take place in a safety related item.But,alas,this has been going on for far longer than the average consumer realizes.For this reason I would NOT try to re-weld the seat frame.If that breaks in a collision you could have a jagged end of a "Lance" poking thru to injure you or your passenger.


A properly welded joint will actually be stronger than the steel it joins.

 

[GMBoy]

Here is one on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-04-SATURN-ION...094&vxp=mtr

 

[pbm]

I finally took the seat out and examined under the cover.
The frame wasn't broken but the foam had somehow rolled off the frame. I worked it back onto the frame and so far...so good.
The seats are poor (cheap) but we'll see how it holds up.