NWParker

What do I do about the hard seats in the 2014 Lexus ES300h that I just purchased? I have tried every conceivable combination of seat positions, lumbar positions, etc. and still feel like the mid-back section of the seat is "rock-hard." My friend's much-less expensive car has noticeably more padding in the mid-back part of the seat.

Dave Mac

I guess it might depend on what you were driving. I find the ES seats comfortable and might even prefer something just a little firmer. Nothing like German car seats though.

Give it a little time and you will probably get used to the ES seats. Having said that though, I once had a car that I never did feel right in and eventually sold it much sooner than I had planned. Hopefully that won't be your experience with this car.

Dave Mac

jollick

You have most likely tried this but just in case you have not, try adjusting the lumbar support with the rocker switch in the side of the seat.

Sulu

A seat feels hard if it puts too much pressure where you do not want it.

I feel my ES 300h driver seat to be hard in the rear portion of the seat cushion and lumbar support. The rear cushion would probably feel less hard if I could raise the front portion of the seat cushion higher to support the thighs more. I feel the adjustable lumbar support to be too high; if it was lower, it would feel better.

modad

The lumbar portion of the ES seat IS too high. This was my only seat complaint with my '16 ES. I thought "it must just be me" until I traded for a GS and realized how much closer to the correct 'position' the lumbar area is in the GS seats (actually has a upper and lower lumbar control). The most comfortable I could do with the ES was just keep the lumbar completely collapsed.

MWLex

I had a 2015 ES 350 and also found that the lumbar was too high for my build. Unfortunately, the lumbar on the ES does not adjust up and down, only in and out. In my opinion, all drivers' and passenger seats, especially on luxury cars, should have a 4-way lumbar adjustment. Anyway, what helped a lot for me was to use a well designed seat bottom cushion (I used the nicely contoured TravelLite cushion by Lifeform, but there are many cushions available). It has the effect of raising your back up higher so that the lumbar hits lower on the back (similar to lowering the lumbar with an adjustment). Another option is to use a lumbar cushion such as the Tempur-Pedic LumbarCushion. In fact, I used both of them together. Cushions are not for everyone, but if you don't mind messing with cushions and having to frequently adjust them a bit, it may be worth experimenting with a bottom cushion, a lumbar cushion or both. One drawback of the bottom cushion is that you won't be able to enjoy the heated and cooled seats, so the lumbar cushion might be better in that regard. However, this could be a viable and simple alternative to more drastic approaches such as modifying the seat or finding a new car.

Sulu

I have thought about using a seat bottom cushion but am always afraid that the cushion will suddenly shift while I am driving, causing me to lose control.

MWLex

I understand that concern. In my over three years of experience using the seat cushion referenced in my post, I have not had that happen. It feels pretty stable while driving.

irishbrahm

I bought the following seat cushion two weeks ago for long road trips:


The bottom is grippy so the cushion does not move while driving. The color also matches my Stratus Grey interior perfectly!