Jesss615

I recently purchased a 2009 ES350. I love the car, except for the fact that the driver seat is giving me terrible back pain. I didn't notice any issue with the seats until I took a long drive the other day. I was in the car for over an hour, and by the time I reached my destination my back was killing me.

I've decided that the seats need either repairing with extra foam or replacement with entirely different seats. I have found a set of bucket seats from a 2008 IS250 for sale that are in decent shape. Would they fit in an ES350 and would they be electrically compatible?

12jimmyjam

Have you tinkered with the lumbar support button on the seat yet? I know when mine is fully extended it feels like I have a 2 liter bottle on my lower back.

jagtoes

I guess I would investigate what is the cause of the problem you have before jumping into another seat. Also what would make you think the IS250 seat would be more comfortable . Another thing to consider is to look at how your adjustments are compared to another car that you have driven in the past. Next would be your physical characteristics . I have a 2010 and only use it for long weekend trips which usually are 3-4 hour rides. I have no problems with the comfort of the seats whether it is the driver or passenger side when my bride drives. By the way I'm 6.3" at 230 Lbs.

Jesss615

I've tinkered with the settings multiple times and no matter what I do, I can't get comfortable. I have the lumbar support completely deflated. Having it inflated just makes it feel worse and I feel like it's positioned too low to provide the desired effect. I think the main issue with the seats is they are completely lacking in lateral support. There's just not a lot of foam in the back of the seat to provide support for my upper back. That seems to be true for the drivers seat as well as the passenger seat. I find the back seat to be very comfortable in this car, but there is considerably more padding in that seat.

I didn't notice a problem when I test drove the car or for the first couple of days cause I wasn't in the car for anymore than 20-30 minutes at a time. But after driving in it for more than an hour, my back still isn't right and it's been 3 days now. I've driven and ridden in all kinds of vehicles and have never had any back pain so this came as a complete surprise to me.

The reason I was thinking about IS 250 seats is because my mother in law has one and I have driven her car and never had issues with back pain afterwards.

I know I can have more foam added to the seats but I am concerned about the cost and I am concerned that it wouldn't fix the problem just because of the way the seat is designed.

jagtoes

OK see if you can trade cars with your MIL for a day and take your bride on a 2 hour drive somewhere maybe to a winery. See how you feel after that. If the IS250 seats feel good I would suspect they are not wiring compatible with the ES seats but you would need to check that out . I also suspect if you but a used IS250 seat they would cost around $500 each and then there is the color match and heated /cooled seat issues. Your other option is to go to a car upholsterer to give you an estimate to repad the back.