Valueguy

MY 4 Runner seats are no award winners either. BMW, Mercedes and Audi all have better driver's seats than this GS. I need some padding behing my back for support. THe GS has little. When I use a simple pillow behing my back the pain is minimal. The GS is lacking in lumbar support throughout the back area. The cushion could use some more support as well but I can live with that because my a@@ has a lot already. My back is another story altogether. If I drive the GS too long without a pillow I get back pain- something I never experienced in any other vehicle I have ever owned. These vehicles include Mercedes, BMW, Acura, Honda, Toyota and Ford.
A 2008 Lexus GS should NOT have the worst seat I have ever owned. Yet, in my opinion it has the worst back support out of every car I have ever owned.

Valueguy

AS much as I like my GS 350 the seat issue would have caused me to buy elsewhere. Most likely a fully loaded E550 with MSRP of $71,000. The E350 while adequate is NO GS 350 and stickers at $64,000 when similarly equipped like the GS 350 RWD (no back-up camera but you get the pano roof).

I most likely will trade for a fully loaded E550 or BMW 550 in about one year if the seat issue doesn't improve to my 100% satisfaction. Those cars have a LOT of their own issues but good seats are not one of them.

memasterac

I have a small pillow in the GS and I use it whenever my lower back suffers the pain from the seat. I don’t like to put the pillow behind my lower back because I feel like I am a pregnant woman but it actually helps to reduce pain. My Highlander has the same "seat -> back pain" problem which made me believe in general, Toyota doesn't design comfortable seats for my use. I understand this is a subjective topic but my hurting lower back constantly reminds me about this problem.

steverhode

My wife's 2001 Toyota Sienna van, just like her previous 1998 Sienna van, has extremely comfortable seats with lots of padding. I can and have driven for hours and hours in it without any discomfort whatsoever. On the other hand, driving in my GS350 after about 15 minutes makes me want to stop and get out, so I can stretch and rest my back, legs and seat for a minute or two. My 1998 GS300 did not have this problem (but was never as comfortable as my wife's vans).

ek9vboi

iTrader: (3)

wow, u guys are old. lol

flipside909

What does age have to do with what we're talking about here?

steverhode

I think it is reasonable to expect a $50K car's seats to be as comfortable as a $35K van's seats. After all, they aremade by the same company.

And I think it is reasonable to expect a new generation of the same car to be at least comfortable as the one it replaces.

My theory -- for it's worth -- is that the 3GS designers wanted a lower and sleeker look, so they took padding out of the seats, otherwise the already tight headroom would gotten rediculously low. Thus form won over function, as they traded off comfort for looks.

But regardless of why they did it, it was, in my opinion, a bad decision as the many complaints about seat comfort on this form attests. And, don't forget, the average driver of a GS is about 20 years older than the people on this GS forum and hence much more likely to find seating comfort an issue, so the complaints here are probably the tip on an iceberg.

flipside909

I have no complaints about the seats in my GS. If anything, they provide more comfort for me especially during long distance driving. I'm coming from a 2004 IS300 with seats a lot smaller than the GS'. It does sit a little tighter as the bolstering is a bit thicker in the lower sides of the seat.

steverhode

I would never drive my 3GS more than a 1/2 hour at a time. But for around town on short trips, it's great. 1/2 hour or more and I'd be very uncomfortable. Luckily for me, most of my driving fits in the 30 minutes or less range.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well, what can i say, that's you and your comments. unfortunately lexus can only design one type of seats for the gs and that's the one on the 3gs. it's a sport sedan and i am thankful the seats are like this.

your "expectation" is wrong that seats in a 50k car should be as "comfortable". it depends on what you are looking for. if they put the sienna seats in the 3gs then i will be shooting someone. this is a SPORT sedan, having sporty seats should be the expectations. that's why i don't like the 2gs seats coz' i found myself sliding left and right all the time. and to me the 3gs seats is a big step up

if you want comfortable, es350 is your car. or spend more and get the ls460

and boy, the m5 seats are even stiffer than the 3gs and that car is also a sport sedan costing 90-100k, so how should we go about that

i had just taken a 1 1/2 hour trip (3 hrs round trip) this past weekend in the gs350. absolutely no problem, and i have pretty bad back problem. in my gs400? i would feel the stress already

flipside909

I'm sure you would drive it longer if the seats were to your liking.

Kroozin

I've been looking into getting custom-leathers with additional lumbar padding and possibly better materials then go to a professional installer locally. Not looking to do anything fancy - just something that looks factory but is tailored to my tastes. This would be MUCH cheaper than replacing the car and taking that financial hit...

Here's a few vendors to consider:
Katzkin
Autoleathers
Roadwire

Valueguy

I appreciate all the input. But, I need to move on and get another car.
I have posted my GS 350 for sale in the classified section. The deal can't be beat on a 2008 GS 350.

Valueguy

I want to add that my back is not good and that is the primary problem. The GS seat may just be compounding it.

Do you find that raising the end of the seat (which elevates your legs slightly) helps? I need to keep adjusting the seat because my current "trade-value" is $42,000 at the Lexus dealership and $41,500 at Acura. This is on a brand new GS with 500 miles and an MSRP of $52,000. I figure 3-4 more months in this car won't cause me much more financial pain but I am not sure about my back.

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

Maybe thats it. Coming from my IS300 the seats are not that bad. Perhaps after 7yrs of sitting in those seats I grew immune to the lack of support. I will admit, that even in my older VW car projects, the stock recaro seats were leaps and bounds better. (I wont argue that!)

Perhaps Lexus needs to partner with Recaro (or another seat maker) for their sportier or higher end models seating (if not all)?

Perhaps make it optional? Sport Seating Package?