jck9890

I just recently gave my 2014 base model ES350 to my sister in law. I loved that car, but it was time for an upgrade. Had the dealer find me a new 2021 Ultra Luxury in Caviar with flaxen interior. I picked it up yesterday and I love everything about it except for one thing. The driver's seat feels like I am sitting on a bar. It is as if they forgot to put some padding in the seat. I would liken it to laying on a pull out bed from a couch when that thin mattress doesn't cover the bar. Same concept. Not sure if this is due to the thigh extender and it has to have a "box" or something to retract into? I am not sure of the reason but I'm almost embarrassed to go back to the dealer and ask if they forgot padding in the seat. Anyone else had this issue? It doesn't exactly hurt, but it is too firm and not comfortable for a long drive. I believe a seat cushion from Amazon will fix the problem so it isn't a deal breaker. I'm just very surprised this is an issue. Any thoughts are appreciated. Or if nobody else has noticed this, maybe they really did forget to include some padding? Thanks for your responses.

Wait4Vtec

Yup they are not very supportive and flat. The area where your tailbone is lacks support and padding. The rest of the front seat is fine. Problem is the front does not go low enough to fix the issue, it always will be curved and your tailbone on the crease.

MikeP

This just proves different size people feel the same seat differently (unless there is actually some defect). For my body, short, average weight, these seats are probably the most comfortable I have experienced. Does the passenger seat feel different than the driver's? Have you sat in another UL at the dealer? Have you tried adjusting the seat extender? Good luck finding a solution to your problem. Please keep us posted.

mcomer

Do you have the seat extender run all the way out? I am '6 "1 and when experimenting
with all the toys discovered that that mechanism felt like a trapeze bar under my knees.

jck9890

I have tried it both ways. It doesn't seem to be an issue with the extender, but the center of the seat. But it is where i imagine the extender portion "connects" with the rest of the seat?? The extender itself isn't really an issue fully extended or fully retracted. I'm only 5'9". Average build. Passenger seat felt fine. I am really starting to think they left out some padding. But I don't have another vehicle to compare it to. However, the loaner vehicles I drove didn't have this issue.

Thanks

grp52

Get yourself a light and mirror so you can lookup from underneath the seat(s) from the front floor level and see how the seat bottom components are situated. (You probably won't be able to see a lot but enough to see if something might be missing or wrongly installed.) Then look underneath both the driver's and the front passenger's seats and see if there are any major differences. Unless something has drastically changed between the 2019 and 2021 model years, you shouldn't see anything significantly different between the two seats' construction in the underneath seat limit view your looking at.

Or at east I didn't see anything different in looking at and examining the front seats in my 2019 ES350 Ultra Luxury with the semi-aline leather seats with the seat extender on the driver's seat. Both seat cushions/bottoms are pretty firm without much give. You can press really hard with your fist and you don't get much depression. Keep this in mind while reading the rest.

On the underside, you can see quite a bit of what looks like white padding material. [Underneath] on the front portion of both seats there is a sheet metal plate that appears to extend the full width of the seat bottom that the padding material rests upon. There didn't appear to be any difference between the passenger and driver's seat (with seat extender extended) in how that metal plate was installed. From the rear/visible edge of those metal plates toward the rear of the seat cushion there was a section where the padding had no additional support other than the materials (e.g., padding, leather) making up the seat bottom. It wasn't easy to judge but I'd estimate that section extended no farther than farthest toward the front side-to-side sown seam in the set cushions. Looking toward the rear of the seat bottom after the unsupported padding section, as much as I could see the padding was supported by heavy gauge U/S shaped wires like you see used for flat furniture cushioning springs.

On both seats, mounted about 1 inch below the unsupported padding section and about 3 inches toward the rear from the back of the metal plate, there is a straight, round metal bar that looks like the ends are attached to the metal side frame found on the each side of the seat. It looks like the bar is somewhere around 3/4 inch in diameter. In either seat, the bar doesn't come closer than the afore mentioned 1 inch to touching anything other than the side frames where the ends attach.

Based on your descriptions of the problem, that bar is about the only thing that could match your description but if you can't feel it in the passenger seat I don't see how you would feel it in the driver's seat (assuming the driver's seat was properly constructed). Also, given the firmness of the seat cushions, I don't see how you could put enough weight on the seat cushion to close the 1 inch gap without utterly destroying the seat in the process.

Tootsall

I recall several posts about this problem with the seat extender, going back to Gen 6. I used to think I’d benefit from it (extender), but now I know I’d want to test a few samples out thoroughly before signing anything. BTW, here's a shot of the bottom of the 2014 non-extender seat:

CJS57

To the OP, I felt the same "bar" like thing under the seat. Very annoying. I even considered removing the seat extender mechanics, but found it too difficult and invasive to the safety system. Funny thing is that over time from 2019 to now that feeling went away! Don't know why? Feels great now. Good luck and hope you have the same experience.

jck9890

Thank you everyone for all the feedback. If others have more, keep it coming. I hope CJS57 you are right and it goes away eventually. I will also look up under the seat and test with my fist as others have suggested. My $20 Amazon cushion came in yesterday and totally solves the problem. Drives like a dream. However, I am struggling with the thought I paid 55K for a car and have to use a seat cushion in it for a comfortable ride. Also, the cushion prevents full utilization of the heated seats and it is 25 degrees at Night now in NC. Thanks again to all. Please keep additional feedback coming and I'll keep you updated. This is a great forum.

E46CT

Try letting the seat break in.

FWIW my non luxury seats feel great. And I come from a 3IS F sport which is known to have great seats (best i've ever used) and I've had $70k+ BMWs with $8,000 comfort seats

Blisman1

I had the same issue when I purchased my ES350 w/o the leg extender. Driving home from the dealer I noticed and my wife noticed it also. Same feeling that you had that it seemed like a hard bar was poking into you 1/2 up the seat bottom. I did take it back to the dealership and they agreed to put more padding on both front seats. When I picked it up it was about 50% better and my wife felt the passenger side was 90% better. I took it bad the dealer and they agreed to put as much more padding in that they could fit. Now it is much better, but I still feel like I can feel it slightly. I wonder if it could be part of the air conditioning unit under the seat?

What padding did you buy from Amazon?

jck9890

[QUOTE=Blisman1;11000012]I had the same issue when I purchased my ES350 w/o the leg extender. Driving home from the dealer I noticed and my wife noticed it also. Same feeling that you had that it seemed like a hard bar was poking into you 1/2 up the seat bottom. I did take it back to the dealership and they agreed to put more padding on both front seats. When I picked it up it was about 50% better and my wife felt the passenger side was 90% better. I took it bad the dealer and they agreed to put as much more padding in that they could fit. Now it is much better, but I still feel like I can feel it slightly. I wonder if it could be part of the air conditioning unit under the seat?

What padding did you buy from Amazon?it wasn’t really any padding per se. just an auto seat cushion I put in the drivers seat.

brianjay

I just have a few hours in my new ES 300 h ultra luxury, but I'm concerned the driver's seat is less comfortable than the base model. I'm 6'4 and a key reason I paid extra for the upgraded trim was the promise of a better seat, but so far I'm wondering if I went the wrong way. In a brief test drive the base model seat was very comfortable but my head said the extra adjustability would pay off on longer drives. After a couple of hour long drives however I'm wondering if the cooling or extra mechanisms some how detracts from the seat structure and support. I the feeling of a bar underneath has gone away, but the back just seems lumpy. I'm hoping I just don't have the adjustments dialed in or that there is a break in period but...

703

seat cushions are not safe. In a collision they tend to slip and cause geometry issues between your body and seatbelts/airbags.

detboy

I just got a new 2022 es 300h luxury and having the same issue with the drivers seat being uncomfortable. Wondering if you all came to any other resolution? Did it get better with time?

Thx in advance.