4 Months in- still having seat problems

R

Rich83

New member
2015 SR5P bought new in June. I am still having major seat problems where the lower edge of the lumbar plate and active headrest plate dig into my lower back causing severe back pain.

The truck has 2700 miles on it and every time I drive it, even for 15 minutes I can't wait to get to where I'm going so I can get out. I really like everything else about it though, no complaints ... however I can't stand driving it.

I know there are several other threads on this topic, however no real solutions. When I get out of the vehicle I can clearly see where my belt pressed into the softex and foam underneath (there is a slight indentation. If I press on that area with my hands, the foam compresses about an inch or so and I can feel Metal.

Is this normal? I've had the seat unzipped, I've seen how the lumbar plate frame and active headrest plate all are connected together and come down from the top at an angle. I can post pictures if anyone wants. Why did Toyota make the bottom of the backrest stick out 3 inches farther than the rest of the backrest? It makes no sense. I understand if you sit with good posture, there is a natural curve in the spine but not at your waist, where your belt is.

Can some of you check this out on your seats? if you press into the backrest right around where your belt would be, is hard metal/plastic easily felt?

I would think something is wrong with the seat if the vehicle wasn't basically brand new, and there are several other posts on here pretty much describing the same thing.
 
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How much do you weigh? I sure don't feel metal through the seat cushion/cover. They arent the most comfortable seats by any means but I am not experiencing what you are describing
 
I'm 5'11" 200lbs and do not have any kind of metal pieces jamming into my body at all.

I do wish the seats were more like my 2014 WRX I had though. Those things were like being in a cradle.
 
I had the same issue, at first I just took off my belt but of course that becomes a pain every time I needed to do that. I had a similar issue in a Honda Fit and did a mod that helped out, so I did the same on the T4R. I removed the two bolts in the front of the two front seats and added some washers to lift the front of the seat up at a better angle. I did play with the height before putting the bolts all the way back in, adding and removing to comfort. My issue was that the pitch on the seat made me feel like I was sliding in to the floorboards or that the seat wasn't sitting high enough to feel comfortable. Coincidentally, the belt issue pressing in to the back of the seat was resolved as a side effect. Not 100% sure this will fix the issue for you, but it has made a world of difference to mine. The seat is also more broken in now and is actually comfortable. I bought mine in April and it has 13K miles now for reference. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm 5'10 200lbs, certainly could get in better shape...but it's not like I weigh 400lbs. Maybe I should let them break in more I guess? I've driven a lot of vehicles and never had this problem before.

I've looked at other seat designs on various other forums, and they don't appear to stick out at the bottom like ours do. My work car is a Chevy traverse and, again the seat back is flat. So as soon as I get in the 4Runner it feels like something it stabbing me in the spine. Even riding in other people's cars that I'm not used to seem fine to me. If it was just lumbar or something I would rip it out, but it's a safety feature so I don't want to mess with it. It just seems really unnecessary.

As far as raising the front, I have the 8-way power and I lowered the front all the way down and raised the back arc up to get the seat bottom as flat as possible. With the front up and the back lower, I felt like it was putting even more of my weight on the lower back.

Maybe I should go to the dealer and check out some of other 4runners if they have any on the lot. However I do believe it just the design.
 
Rich83 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm 5'10 200lbs, certainly could get in better shape...but it's not like I weigh 400lbs. Maybe I should let them break in more I guess? I've driven a lot of vehicles and never had this problem before.

I've looked at other seat designs on various other forums, and they don't appear to stick out at the bottom like ours do. My work car is a Chevy traverse and, again the seat back is flat. So as soon as I get in the 4Runner it feels like something it stabbing me in the spine. Even riding in other people's cars that I'm not used to seem fine to me. If it was just lumbar or something I would rip it out, but it's a safety feature so I don't want to mess with it. It just seems really unnecessary.

As far as raising the front, I have the 8-way power and I lowered the front all the way down and raised the back arc up to get the seat bottom as flat as possible. With the front up and the back lower, I felt like it was putting even more of my weight on the lower back.

Maybe I should go to the dealer and check out some of other 4runners if they have any on the lot. However I do believe it just the design.
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Maybe you need to pull your pants up higher or a buy smaller belt? Hahaha, I kid I kid!!! :laugh: It could be that it broke in more, or the mod, who knows. All I know is it stopped feeling that way because I no longer notice it. Good luck.
 
[MENTION=127299]Rich83[/MENTION] have you sat in another 4runner to see if maybe your seat is just screwed up?

we are basically the same size, and I have zero complaints about comfort.
 
mcarey86 said:
[MENTION=127299]Rich83[/MENTION] have you sat in another 4runner to see if maybe your seat is just screwed up?

we are basically the same size, and I have zero complaints about comfort.
Click to expand...

I am a little taller and a little lighter, but I have no complaints either. My 4Runner is the most comfortable vehicle I have owned.
 
I think I feel what the op is talking about. I am 5' 10" and 150 lbs. It does not cause me pain but I always feel like something is hitting my back even with the lumbar adjusted in various positions. I kind of got used to it but it is not the best design. The seats are very hard unlike cushy GM seats. My forth gen took many miles before they finally broke in for me, maybe the 5th gen seats are the same.
 
Thanks for all of the replies so far, I really appreciate them. I really don't think
I would ever even consider replacing seats, due to the air bags and non OEM look, resale, etc.

As far as the belt goes... Wake, maybe I should just take it off like you did, it is noticeably better without it on.

I've attached 2 pictures, in the first I'm pressing on the seat, and that's as far as I can go before I hit something hard, I'm assuming it's the lumbar frame and the headrest actuator. All of this can be seen in the second picture.

This shows about an inch of padding to be compressed before my belt is against something that wont move or deflect, causing it to deflect into my back instead.

Thoughts?

View attachment 178211

View attachment 178212
 
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Does this look normal to everyone? I was hoping some people with 2015 models could chime in. I just find it strange that this has been brought up in other threads, but is seems that it's only a very small percentage of people that have this problem.

I'm a little reluctant to go to the dealer and say hey can I look at a new 4Runner so I can poke around at the seat? Around here dealers act like you're wasting their time even if you buy a car.
 
Food for thought.... I, like many others have taken motorcycle seats to various businesses to have foam either removed, added or upgraded to make the ride more comfortable.

I wonder if you could have an upholstery shop add a thin strip of memory foam or something to that area? They likely wouldn't have to alter the seat covering and it would add more cushion or support to the affected area. You could retain OEM look and materials that way...

Cost would likely be sub-$100.
 
Rich83 said:
Does this look normal to everyone? I was hoping some people with 2015 models could chime in. I just find it strange that this has been brought up in other threads, but is seems that it's only a very small percentage of people that have this problem.

I'm a little reluctant to go to the dealer and say hey can I look at a new 4Runner so I can poke around at the seat? Around here dealers act like you're wasting their time even if you buy a car.
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Just go sit in several new 4Runners at the dealer. Try the LE. Try the TE. Try another SR5. Compare them to yours.

Every single person on the face of the earth has different dimensions. Some don't vary much but some do. I am 6'4" 250lb and my dimensions are quite different than yours I'm sure. Bottom line is not every single person will be comfortable in the same seat. Ergonomic engineers design for the masses and you might just have a posture, dimension, body type or something that is outside that 98%. Who knows. I know that most home recliners don't fit me. I know that whenever I go over to people's homes I am careful where I sit because I broke an antique chair once. Anyway good luck.
 
kingofZroad said:
Food for thought.... I, like many others have taken motorcycle seats to various businesses to have foam either removed, added or upgraded to make the ride more comfortable.

I wonder if you could have an upholstery shop add a thin strip of memory foam or something to that area? They likely wouldn't have to alter the seat covering and it would add more cushion or support to the affected area. You could retain OEM look and materials that way...

Cost would likely be sub-$100.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, an upholstery shop should be able to add some foam to the seat if it bothers you that much. I would recommend as others have said going to the dealer and verifying that there isn't an issue with your specific seat.
 
A friend of mine, who is heavier than you broke one of my kitchen chairs not that long ago... it happens and it was funny. He felt bad though.

I guess the next stop would be the dealer to look at another 4runner. I have to find out if something is wrong, or if it's just they way the seat is supposed to be first.

I've tried adding all different types of upholstery foam up to 1" thickness between the black lumbar plate and the backside of the backrest foam.

The backrest foam has sort of a hard backside to it. So adding anything between the foam and the lumbar frame doesn't really work. Might be a little softer, but it feels like the backrest is pushing you out of the seat more. I think I would have to have a shop add the foam directly under the seat cover to make any difference.

The other problem with adding any type of material is that area of the seat already sticks out, which is probably what is causing this problem in the first place.
 
Rich83 said:
Does this look normal to everyone? I was hoping some people with 2015 models could chime in. I just find it strange that this has been brought up in other threads, but is seems that it's only a very small percentage of people that have this problem.

I'm a little reluctant to go to the dealer and say hey can I look at a new 4Runner so I can poke around at the seat? Around here dealers act like you're wasting their time even if you buy a car.
Click to expand...

I have a 2015 SR-5. I’m puzzled that no one has mentioned the lumbar adjustment feature. It feels like an inflatable bag at the lower part of your back that is controlled by a switch on the side of the seat.

And, by the way, I cannot feel any metal in that part of the seat.

ellis
 
Thanks for the reply, I understand about the lumbar. I, am not a fan of lumbar in most vehicles. I am still having this issue even with the lumbar all of the way off. this is the bottom edge of the lumbar frame, so changing the lumbar makes no difference.
 
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