2018ES

1000 miles into new 2018 Lexus ES 350 and I need a chiropractor for my neck and lower back. The forward pitch of the headrest is horrific and no seat adjustments correct the angle without compromising my back. I can't be the only one. Please help!

Knucklebus

Wrong forum I suspect. I have 18 way adjustable seats and my headrest is just right in my GS 350 AWD.

2018ES

Glad you are happy, but I am not and hope someone has a solution short of replacing it thereby voiding the factory warranty. The pitch forces ones head forward and alternative adjustments to avoid it puts strain on either the sacrum/coxis or having to shift ones shoulder forward to accomodate.

bclexus

Once again - you have posted on the wrong forum. You have asked a question about an ES 350 on the GS 350 forum.

2018ES

thank you for the clarification!
Have a good day and enjoy your GS's!

GES

Not sure if you know that the headrest has at least 3 adjustment positions. Pull on the headrest forward and you will hear clicks for every forward position. If you pull further the headrest goes all the way back. But in any case the headrest is meant to keep your head and neck straight. This is important to prevent whiplash type injury to the neck in case of an accident. In case of a rear end collision the head moves forcefully backward and then forward. This can result in whiplash injury to the spine. So the forward pitch of the headrest is intentional and very good in my opinion.

2018ES

Perhaps mine is set in the most forward position. Thank you for the tip...I understand the need for a headrest but the current pitch has me sitting forward a good 2 inches. I will try and report back. Thank you!

st1800

jfelbab

I'm 5' 6" and the head restraint can be adjusted to fit perfectly for me. My wife is 5' and she has no issue either. That said, I've read that many very short and very tall drivers often have difficulty with proper adjustment of head restraints in many vehicles.

I find a lot of adjustment available on both the driver and passenger seats as well as the head restraint positions. I prefer to sit fairly far away from the steering wheel and have the seat tilted back a bit. My head never touches the head restraint when I'm driving and I have about 2-3 inches of space between my head and the restraint.

Proper positioning is where the back of your head, at about eye level, is aligned with the middle of the head restraint and there are 2-4 inches of space between the restraint and the back of your head. See Page 121 of the 2018 ES-350 owners manual for adjustment instructions. Note that there are 4 horizontal (front-to-back) adjustment positions.

Just a reminder that properly adjusted head restraints can reduce head injuries by over 40%.

The only issue we have is likely due to us moving from a RX350 to the ES. We moved the seat up high for visibility as we did in the RX and we often bump our heads on the roof pillar when entering and exiting the vehicle. Took a while getting used to sitting so low again.

Albo

I bought neck pillows for the headrest. And it solved my problem . I'm 6foot

2018ES

If you don't mind sharing, what kind of pillows and then what did you do to compensate for the seat adjustment, tilt the seat back further to achieve a straight up head rest? Thanks.

Albo

I went with JDM style VIP pillows. Pair of them cost like $130 so very pricey. There are much cheaper options out there. But since I'm on the taller side j had to lean the seat back a bit and pull the head rest up a little so it's like floating in the sockets not locked in. My girlfriend is on the shorter side so she never even touched the headrest so the neckpillow works very well for her

Jonnywalte

I've was looking for one of these for the wife recently and I know exactly what you mean about it being a mission to find one with black leathers and JDM style VIP pillows.
For some stupid reason they all have the ****ty cream or grey trim.
Jon