bigDlexus

Hello all- Please read the entire post before replying.

Before I get started let me please state 2 things 1) This is my 2nd LS and I have owned my 05 for a year now and have tried every adjustment available 2)PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not use this thread to tell me how much you like your seats and I just need to fiddle with the adjustments and that I am "picky". I am sure many, many of you are very happy with the seats- please visit another thread. Thank you... read on.

Can you all let me know if you have any discomfort with the LS430 seat bottom (NOT seat back) being very uncomfortable?

I am 6'1", about 225 pounds- on the larger side of average. No special needs, no injuries

The seat bottom of my 2005 LS430 is so dramatically "bucketed" that the side bolsters are seriously irritating my sciatic nerves on the back of both legs. After driving my car, I start to get a needling, burning pain in the back of both legs. I will feel this for about 1-2 hours after leaving the car, then it fades. I drive ANY other vehicle (Including my wife's RX400h) and I feel NO pain or discomfort. If I fold up a thick towel and put it in the bucket of the seat I am fine but I feel like I am in a highchair. My friend bought my old 99 LS400, and when I sit in it and I am fine.

Please post back with any similar situations you may have. PLEASE do not post back with suggestions- I know what my options are.

Thank you all so very much for your time-

Big D

lkirchner

I found the seats in my wife's '04 LS430 very uncomfortable after driving it for about 15 minutes. The problem is that the seat bottoms are way too soft and do not provide the proper amount of support. Many people equate soft to comfortable but in essense it is the other way around.

MikeP

I have an '04 LS430 and my build is the opposite of yours. I'm 5' 6" and 150 lbs. I cannot drive more than an hour without the sciatic nerve in my right leg and butt starting to hurt. I have also tried different adjustments without finding a solution. I don't know why the pain is only on my right, except that is the leg/foot used for the accelerator. BigD, I feel your pain. I know you didn't ask for solutions, but I use a foam throw pillow to put under my right butt cheek and thigh. That doesn't solve the problem completely, but it helps a lot.

PHX ATC

I love my seats...oh wait, that's for another post.

Not to be offensive, but are you carrying 25 of your 225 lbs where your legs are? Maybe it's just your build/frame/God's way of placing your goods that doesn't match up with the seats? It sounds like (said above kinda) that you are sinking into your seats and the side bolsters (if you can call them that) are bugging your body.

I wouldn't think there is a solution to that, other than overstuffing and firming up the seat bottom.

bigDlexus

Huh?

PHX ATC

OK, I was trying to be politically correct and not embarrass you or be rude.

Are your legs disproportionally large as compared to the rest of your body?

Down and dirty...do you have fat legs?

My thinking is that your legs are overpowering the seats, grooving them down beyond their normal resistance spot. Then, they are concave, your legs feel pinched in the newly formed "bolsters" and you feel like crap. It's kinda like sleeping on your mattress for 8 years and you've cut a nice groove where you sleep, like a hollowed out log!

No offense intended.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

No problem for me on my '03 -- they seem to be the hands-down most comfortable car seats I've ever sat in, waaay more than the Multi-Contour seats in the MB we just sold. I've noticed that if I run the seat bottom all the way forward (not the entire seat, just the seat bottom) that it feels significantly softer than with the seat bottom retracted rearward, but even with it in the "softest" setting (where I always keep it), it feels wonderful to me. <shrug>

I've found over the years that some cars' seats just could not be made to fit me, no matter if they had 14 different adjustment directions. I've driven some that made my butt go to sleep after an hour or two. Sucks too. I'd have to sell any car that did that to me.

lnguyenh

I had the same problem when driving the toyota. I tried to lower the front part of the seat as much as possible and it helped.

bigDlexus

I wasn't offended- it just didn't make any sense. This post does. I would consider myself rather average build for 6'1" 225-230 pounds. If anything, my legs are a little longer than "proportional"- but I don't think they are freakishly big by any standard.

Still- the point I am aiming for here is that my 99 LS400 did not do this, and my wife's car doesn't do it, nor does any other car I've driven. If I put a folded up towel in the seat, I'm fine for hours. But I really don't think that somebody should pay 60k for a car and have to fold up a towel in the seat, or use a foam pad, whatever. If I had special needs, sure, BUT I DON'T.

Thank you so very much for your input.

stanatl

I have had a problem with the seat in my '04 from the day I picked it up. The outside of my right leg rubs on the seat bolster and it is very uncomfortable. I feel it for awhile after I get out of the car if I've driven any significant distance. After I realized the issue (when I first got the car) I spoke to the Service Manager at the dealership and they, to their credit, sent the seat to out to have the foam adjusted to try to make it less uncomfortable. It got to the point where I was working directly with the guys doing to the work, but nothing helped. My dealership actually replaced the seat with one from an executive car that they ordered in my color. They really went above and beyond. By the way, the new seat was just like the old one. I tried all sorts of adjustments without success.

I drove the SC and GS and did not have the problem. I drove the MB E500 and did not have the problem. I drove the M45 and did not have the problem. You get the idea.

I love the car, but hate the seat.

PHX ATC

Whew, that was close...I would have had to haul my 170 pound butt out of here in a HURRY, if you were running after me, about to throw a Lexus seat at me!

You're right though, you shouldn't be uncomfy in a big bucks car. I don't know of any solution, except for aftermarket seats or an upholstery/seat shop making the towel insert standard underneath the leather.

Damn shame you've got an 05 and it doesn't fit. I bet if you pressed the issue, politely up the chain of command at Lexus, somebody would at least try something to help out. I would scribe a letter or make a phone call to at least try it...what's it going to take a couple of minutes a week? Give it a whirt and let us know.

Heck with it, just make your wife drive you everywhere...sit in back!

bigDlexus

Ride in the back all day? I wish.

I called Lexus in Torrance and the said the same thing the dealer did- "that's the way it was designed". He didn't seem to understand that if a specific design caused someone pain, maybe it's not a real "good" design. You would think they never heard of a bad design.

I found a guy that is going to open up the back of the seat ond put some thick foam inside. This will interrupt the ventilation in the seat, so once again I'm paying top dollar for something I can't fully enjoy.

Thanks-

BigD

j three

Hey big d maybe since those seats are too uncomfortable maybe you can swap from another lexus , gs maybe. Try to find a wrecked one and investigate. I heard gazi is the man to talk to if you need parts. Good luck

rjm

I am 6' tall and 180 lbs. and the LS430 seats fit me great. I moved up to the LS430 from a Mercedes E-430 and the change in comfort was dramatic. The Mercedes seats are rock-hard and are very uncomfortable for me. I tried the 2006 Mercedes on a test drive and they are still hard. Mercedes just has a different philosophy regarding driving comfort. The difference is night and day. If you prefer the harder support, and can tolerate your car being in the garage for freqrent repairs and recalls, I would recommend the Mercedes.

bigDlexus

I was about 5 signatures away from an E350 AMG about 2 weeks ago I was so mad about the situation.

It's just not worth the 4k or 5k to get out of this mess and into a real drivers car. I had Alfredo at Auto Interiors of Texas put about 1" of foam in between the metal seat bucket and the bottom of the butt cushion. It feels WAAY better and the very bright side is- doing it below the foam padding didn't block the ventilation holes so the seat acts just like new, except it works.

Very funny you mention the mercedes- when he put the seat on the ground for me to test it, that's exactly what I said- "Now it feels like a Mercedes!" No kidding....

Anyway- this is the last lexus I buy unless they pull their head out with a resounding POP and don't make the same mistake on the LS460.