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      05-10-2018, 11:11 AM   #1
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New owner right foot pain

Hi all. First time BMW owner.
Have had the car for a month now, and I've been having terrible pain in my right leg. (foot, heel, ankle, muscles) It's all to do with the brick pedal shape which I'm not used to, previous car was a Citroen.

I do mostly city driving at low speeds with lots of start/stop. On longer motorway journeys this is not an issue. I remember when taking driver's lessons (also in a BMW) having the same exact pain. Have tried to move the seat closer/farther back to no avail.

Has anyone ever experienced anything similar? Would hate to have to sell the car just because of this. I'm 5'6 if this matters.

Thanks
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      05-10-2018, 12:35 PM   #2
ovekvam
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Is there something special about the BMW pedal layout? I haven't noticed, and I drive lots of different rental cars. The only thing I have noticed, is that some other brands have more space between throttle and brake, making it more difficult to do heel/toe when downshifting. Some cars also require less pedal effort than the BMW.
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      05-10-2018, 01:16 PM   #3
eray
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are you talking about the gas pedal or brake pedal? bottom of the gas pedal is attached to the floor in bmw. a friend of mine finds it difficult to get used to.
maybe wearing more comfortable shoes would help.
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      05-10-2018, 01:49 PM   #4
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Hi.

From description you have either a medical issue or a severely incorrect seating position (well, both are possible too).

"Brick pedal shape" - I presume it's the floor mounted accelerator pedal rather than design preference. Notice that you don't have to put your heel close to the pedal: you can press it pretty much anywhere to your convenience, it's just the higher you do the better the response.

Adopt the proper seating position the car is designed for:
. Notice that the effect won't be necessarily immediate, which is a common trap actually: overcoming bad habits takes some persistence (properly applied, of course).

Compared to my previous car I had to finally admit I must sit closer to the controls to feel better (I have not a leg/foot but a back/neck issue). My initial wrong impression was that affected the clutching experience and still I finally found out I had to sit even closer to do it comfortably too. It took a few years only.

If you have sport seats consider increasing the seat (the cushion, not the backrest) angle.

Last edited by No one; 05-10-2018 at 02:03 PM.. Reason: Spelling correction.
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      05-17-2018, 07:31 AM   #5
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Going to a floor mount, I just made my legs a bit straighter and changed my foot to rest on the heel.

Followed the above advice for the seat angle as well. See a doctor mate, might be a medical issue.
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      05-17-2018, 02:27 PM   #6
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Is it even possible to drive without resting the right foot on the heel?
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      05-17-2018, 05:46 PM   #7
emil111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
Is it even possible to drive without resting the right foot on the heel?
Maybe If you have a wooden foot?
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      05-18-2018, 12:45 AM   #8
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Does that happen even with sneakers/ sport shoes?
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      05-18-2018, 04:40 AM   #9
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Hi all, thanks for your replies. The pain is not as bad as before but still present, the improvement due to me using sport shoes and then changing on arrival (not very convenient but works for now).

Regarding having a medical issue, why would it be present only when driving BMWs? I've driven other cars for 10 years now(Fords, Mitsubishi, Citroen, Toyotas) and never had this problem. I'll still follow the advice though and go see a doctor.
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      05-18-2018, 09:22 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoS View Post
Regarding having a medical issue, why would it be present only when driving BMWs? I've driven other cars for 10 years now(Fords, Mitsubishi, Citroen, Toyotas) and never had this problem. I'll still follow the advice though and go see a doctor.
BMWs are demanding. Aren't BMWs acknowledged for their ergonomics, driver-orientation? For me it was one of the reasons to choose. You just have to comply. Say, the lumbar support optional feature. I had to consider it closely due to exceeding my budget too badly. Having put myself in a 7 Series that had it made me instantly feel even worse with my severe swayback issue at that time. I chose to skip it. Now that I've improved a lot I see it differently. Not that much to retrofit but to target definitely next time.

Those other cars mostly let you sit like shit in a toilet if you like to. And if you do - just choose appropriately, of course.

From your description you might have an issue pulling your foot up/back to release the floor-mounted accelerator pedal. Are you a high-heeling lady incidentally? Can you do like this (mind the extreme bending forward: this must be compensated with bending backward appropriately to keep your flexibility in balance!)? Here is an article you might find useful.

Last edited by No one; 05-18-2018 at 10:31 AM.. Reason: Added an explanatory link on high heels just in case.
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      05-20-2018, 01:51 AM   #11
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Well it may be the shoes if they have a wooden sole or they are rather hard or old.
The acceleration and brake pedal arent that hard and is rather surprising that you experience that. however if your trip to work is long and in traffic requiring repetitive motions and in case the shoes are old etc it can do that.
Usually low back pain and or disk herniation (aka slip disk in lay form) has other potential signs though can be hidden depending the damage and the persons ability to cope pain.

Though in your case as already commented you only experience that in the car and not in any other activity. never the less sometimes the way we rest our body we may position a limp in such way and angle that we could be compressing a nerve or squeezing the area preventing blood flow that can provoke some soreness or local pain.

I suggest to keep the sport shoes and see how that goes. Another Q is how many work/formal pair of shoes you have 1?2? does it happen with both/all ? check your foot sole for hardened skin or calus and scrape it. it might help.
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