The latest gen ES, except for the F-sport, did away with the horizontal adjustment on the front head restraints. Only the F-Sport in the current generation has them where they horizontally adjust. The prior Gen ES (2013 to 2018) has the adjustment on trim levels. Another stupid decontenting move from Lexus. Should have the horizontal adjustment on all trim levels. Beats me why they have a feature that people can all benefit, and they take it away. Just like the foglights.....Good move Lexus...If you want to purchase the head restraints from an F-sport that would solve the issue.

 

My daughter has this problem in her Toyota Prius. I don't know if this would work on a Lexus or not, but her solution was to remove the headrest entirely, then turn it 180° and insert the metal pegs in the opposite holes. I've driven her car and tested how my neck would extend if I was rear ended. At my height (5'4") I felt like my neck would actually be less likely to be injured with the headrest reversed. But I'm not an automotive engineer nor a physics buff, so I could be totally wrong.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. I tried reversing the head restraint but alas, it was then positioned so far back as to offer no protection. Also, I question whether insurance company would use flipping the head restraint by 180 degrees as a reason to not cover any related injuries that may occur due to an accident. Currently I am trying different cushions that cover the entire back of the seat. I'm finding that in general they give good full back support and brings my entire torso forward enough to avoid my head, neck and upper back from being pushed forward by the head restraint. I tried neck supports and a back support for the upper and mid back. They worked fine for a bit and then became too uncomfortable due to not having my entire back supported as a unit.

 

Are the headrest posts the same distance / size from the F-sport to the Ultra models? Not sure leather color is the same either but if they are interchangeable, might be worth looking at finding some either from a salvage yard or bought from dealer online.

Maybe see if somebody would let you swap to make sure it's more comfortable first so you didn't buy and have the same issue. Your salesperson you bought the car from should be able to set that up with one on the lot.

 

I know this sounds simplistic, but it has worked for my wife who often has the same issue in many cars. All she does is simply recline the seat a bit more. Reclining the seat seems to have an effect similar to pushing back the restraint as you naturally keep your head vertical. The only negative is that you can only recline the seat so far before that becomes too uncomfortable.

 

Thank you, Woodrow! Any and all suggestions are welcome! Best!

 

Same problem here. It's surprising they never bothered to redesign this. Many complaints from customers. I had to readjust the recline on my seat as well. I'm never comfortable when wearing my hair up or in a ponytail in these seats.

 

I agree, Convert 2Lx. I don't understand how such a good company could overlook something as fundamental as designing a head restraint that would accommodate people of varying heights. I just purchased a gel seat back and gel seat. Haven't used it on long trips yet but it has helped a great deal for riding around town and the surrounding area. I'm no longer in a lot of pain. https://www.onlygel.com/collections/...-seat-cushions What I like about the seat back is that it is long enough to give good upper back support and to also cover just about the entire back of the seat for full torso support. I also like the seat cushion for extra padding/comfort.