4Runner seating suggestion

S

sire

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Traded in 99 Jeep GC for 04 4runner sport edition. No leather or power seats on 4runner.

Spouse upset now as the seats are very uncomfortable and manual positioned. She really misses the bells and whistles on the Jeep.

She is thinking we should purchase Recaro seats. I am thinking we should try and locate a factory drivers power seat and see if a shop can soften them up. (better cushions)

Any suggestions or ideas? Trade it in, lose alot of $$$ and buy a Lexus is not a solution. Thanks. Great Board

Mike
 
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Sign her up for Marine Corp boot camp. When she gets home she will bitch less about the little things in life. I know I did. :)

I own an SE and I am 5'10" and weigh 220 lbs (pump a lot of iron :) ) My wife is 5'3" and around 110 lbs and both of us think the seats are fine. Traded in a Landcruiser with electric adjusting leather seats and I don't see a problem. I think she is just wanting to bitch at you because she does not understand how much better the 4runner is compared to the Jeep. Most women just see wood and leather, they don't understand build quality etc.


JMHO
 
I also have the sport without the power and leather. I did not see a problem with them. It may have taken a little bit longer to get comfortable in, but I have not changed it in 8 months and I am very comfortable. Also, I was used to riding around in my parents X5 which has the leather and power seats, but I was able to adjust without any problem. Leather is nicer, but I am not complaining about my Sport seats!!
 
I am not trying to be a smart a_ _ but didn't you test drive it (and the seats) before you purchased it?

My wife and I traded an Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer w/ leather and power seats on our new 4Runner (which has manual seats). It is sometimes a little frustrating to adjust the seats manually sometimes -especially when they rattle- but we are happy with them in general.

Some of the seat covers (which happen to look pretty cool) seem to have a fairly thick pad on the back side which would probably soften out the seats. You could take a look at those.
 
I know you're not getting an answer to your question, but I just have to say I'm very surprized. We too traded in an 01 Laredo Jeep Grand Cherokee (cloth seats) for an '04 SR5 4Runner (cloth again, we don't like leather), however we are MUCH happier with the seat comfort in the 4R over the Jeep. In the Jeep, the cushions were ultra-mushy crap, you "sank" into them making it VERY uncomfortable, especially on long trips. In fact, this very problem has been heavily discussed on the Jeep forums as a major design flaw. Maybe you had the leather seats in your Jeep and perhaps they were better. In the 4R, the seats are nice and firm. You have space to shift around a bit 'cause you dont "sink" into them like you're sitting on the open end of a 5 gallon bucket! We've noticed a HUGE difference in the way our butts feel after those longer trips. Night & day.

As for electric controlls, my wife and I are fortunate to be very similar in height (I'm 1" taller, and she's not allowed to wear heels). So...we don't have to move the seat when we change drivers. That sort-of eliminated the need for electric adjustments.
 
I was looking at a 4 wheel magazine at the grocery store and got a laugh.

The magazine was turning in the 2001 GC they had been testing for about 25k miles.

They were high on the vehicle abilities but slammed the factory seats for being too soft. Yes the spouse asked why I was laughing and I told her.

I may have to go to the dealer and see if they can get a complete power drivers seat (or at least the frame with all the power stuff) and then see if a shop can soften the seat up and of course match leather.

Yes, we test drove the vehicle.

I am making the house payment, utilities, etc. She is making the car payment.

Hopefully she will get used to the seats. I am not real confident of this happening.

I was looking for a capable SUV with good reliability and actually keep it awhile. She misses the creature comforts. We did test drive a limited with the leather and power seats and she thought they were not any better than the cloth ones in the sport edition.

I am close to taking the vehicle back to the dealer and taking it in the shorts for $$$ already spent for down payment, adding a compass mirror and purchase of leather seat covers from the dealer. Actually I already said it once but she did not want to give up on the vehicle. I predict we probably won't be owning this vehicle too long. I give it a year at the most.

The adventures will continue I am sure.


Spouse is more important to me than a vehicle in the long run.

Mike
 
Before you take it back to the dealer for leather, you may want to see if there is a Classic Soft Trim shop near you (http://www.classicsofttrim.com/). My wife's 98 Accord was fitted with their leather at the dealer and I think they looked better and felt better than the factory leather. My Sport came with leather at the dealer, but I am not sure where it was installed (port or dealer). See the below post for a pretty detailed discussion of aftermarket leather (photos of my seats are the 10th post in the string).

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?threadid=2986&highlight=aftermarket+leather

Hope that helps.

Lee
 
Forgot to add that it may be cheaper to get it installed at Classic Soft Trim or another similar shop since your dealer will vend it out and mark it up as well. You may be able to call the dealer and inquire about pricing and ask who is supplier so you can go direct and get a quote yourself without the dealer's markup.

Lee
 
The Leather Seat covers are installed. I asked the installer to add additional cushion if he could. They feel better to me than they did.

The spouse gets back in town tomorrow night. Crossing my fingers.

Mike
 
I traded in a '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee with all the bells and whistles(after tons of problems), my 04 4Runner SE is manual, and my girl does not have any problems. But then again I got her a 04 RX330............
 
Spouse has good camera and the lighting was terrible. Here is the drivers seat.

Mike
 

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And another. The dealership screwed up as the wife told them she wanted black so in case we have to buy Recaro it would be an easier match. The intallers screwed it up as the correct kit was ordered.

I told them I will wait on bringing the vehicle back in depending on the wifes opinion of the seat.

Mike
 

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Not so bad

I think i understand how he feels. My 16 year old daughter first said the passenger seat was a bit uncomfortable. But after 3 weeks now she hasn't said anything. I just asked her ans she said she likes them now. These are new seats, give them a little time to wear in a little i say.
 
I take it you originally had graphite cloth seats in your sport? That's an interesting combination, the tan (or is that gray) seats with graphite trim. It looks suprisingly better than I would have expected.
 
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