2021 Model 3 drivers seat

[Carm]

I just brought home my brand new, highly anticipated, model 3. Took it for some short drives and realized I was getting really painful sciatic pain on my right leg, ie. the driver leg.
I tried adjusting the seat, up and down, back and forward, but nothing helped. I have it set on Sport Mode so that the brake is never used. I am wondering if thats the problem. Has anyone else felt this intense pain? How did you solve it? I am completely terrified that I wont be able to drive this gorgeous car for longer than 10 minutes. Once I'm out of the car I am just fine. I am heartbroken. Anyone have any ideas.

 

[Vawlkus]

Hard to tell from your description. Have you checked the seat cushions, to see if anything is poking up? Make sure you push down as hard as you can to simulate sitting.

If nothings poking up (doubt there is, but ya gotta rule out what you can), then it’s definitely a seat adjustment issue, and I can’t really tell how to adjust it for you. I just played around with mine until I got it how I wanted. *shrug*

You can ask an expert (doctor, chiropractor, etc), but past that I’ve got nothing.

 

[ecarfan]

@Carm do you have access to another Model 3(friend, co-worker) that you could drive to compare?

Sciatic pain is due to nerve root compression at the lumbar level, usually L4-5. ”Leg pain” is not necessarily sciatica. I suggest you consult with an orthopedist to determine if the pain you experience in your car is from the seating position or some other cause. You didn’t say if you only experience it when sitting in your car or not. More information would be helpful.

 

[steven_oc]

I just brought home my brand new, highly anticipated, model 3. Took it for some short drives and realized I was getting really painful sciatic pain on my right leg, ie. the driver leg.
I tried adjusting the seat, up and down, back and forward, but nothing helped. I have it set on Sport Mode so that the brake is never used. I am wondering if thats the problem. Has anyone else felt this intense pain? How did you solve it? I am completely terrified that I wont be able to drive this gorgeous car for longer than 10 minutes. Once I'm out of the car I am just fine. I am heartbroken. Anyone have any ideas.

I have the same problem. I think it’s because the seat is low and when we sit, our knees are above our hips, which puts pressure on the nerve. I raised the seat as much as possible, but it’s not nearly enough to help. I haven’t found a solution yet either. Still hopeful, maybe some kind of cushion.

 

[Nyuzva]

I have the same problem. I think it’s because the seat is low and when we sit, our knees are above our hips, which puts pressure on the nerve. I raised the seat as much as possible, but it’s not nearly enough to help. I haven’t found a solution yet either. Still hopeful, maybe some kind of cushion.

Same here. My M3 is 2019, and I am 186cm. Worst seat ever for me...

 

[McFlurri]

I just brought home my brand new, highly anticipated, model 3. Took it for some short drives and realized I was getting really painful sciatic pain on my right leg, ie. the driver leg.
I tried adjusting the seat, up and down, back and forward, but nothing helped. I have it set on Sport Mode so that the brake is never used. I am wondering if thats the problem. Has anyone else felt this intense pain? How did you solve it? I am completely terrified that I wont be able to drive this gorgeous car for longer than 10 minutes. Once I'm out of the car I am just fine. I am heartbroken. Anyone have any ideas.

Memory foam seat cushion?

 

[electrique]

I just brought home my brand new, highly anticipated, model 3. Took it for some short drives and realized I was getting really painful sciatic pain on my right leg, ie. the driver leg.
I tried adjusting the seat, up and down, back and forward, but nothing helped. I have it set on Sport Mode so that the brake is never used. I am wondering if thats the problem. Has anyone else felt this intense pain? How did you solve it? I am completely terrified that I wont be able to drive this gorgeous car for longer than 10 minutes. Once I'm out of the car I am just fine. I am heartbroken. Anyone have any ideas.

Just bought a Model S Plaid and am experiencing the same thing. After only a week of owning the car and only a few drives, I have excruciating pain in my right glute (driver leg). Totally wrecking my life. I'm limping all over the place (not an exaggeration). Finally found a stretch that hits the spot, but every time I hop back in the car it gets bad again. I can't wrap my mind around how the seat could be so different from other car seats. I'm sure it isn't. All the top manufacturers must be making seats that are relatively similar to each other, right? A seat should be a seat, plus or minus some minor details. So what the hell is happening here?

The last time in the car I did a lot of adjusting. Tried every possible position. All the lumbar options but nothing worked. My theory is that the sloped side supports of the seat are compressing my hips and glutes and keeping them in a tightened, pressurize position, which, when combined with keeping your driver's leg tense and ready to accelerate or break, can cause pain. The thing is, I take full advantage of Autopilot. I'm often in a very relaxed position. I'm using my driver's leg way less than I did in my last car, which didn't have Autopilot. Half the time I'm just sitting there chilling, whereas in my last car I had to keep my driver's leg active and hovering over the pedal at all times for safety, as drivers often do when they're not using assisted driving features. And yet I never had pain.

So again, we come back to the seat itself. What's going on? Help please!

 

[electrique]

I have the same problem. I think it’s because the seat is low and when we sit, our knees are above our hips, which puts pressure on the nerve. I raised the seat as much as possible, but it’s not nearly enough to help. I haven’t found a solution yet either. Still hopeful, maybe some kind of cushion.

I think this could be it. I have a herniated desk, but in my last car I never had back pain. That car happened to be an SUV (ICE, so even more vertical leg space because no battery), and maybe that makes all the difference? Then again, I've also had people complain about back pain with the Model X.

All I know is that I've barely had my Model S Plaid for a week and I'm in a world of pain. (Note: I say this as someone who is trying to sell it for unrelated reasons, so you know this is genuine. Literally undercutting my own sale to try to fix my poor effing back.)

 

[Soul Surfer]

Interesting. Everyone is "built" differently. I am 69 yrs old and I must say that I find the seats of my 21 M3 LR AWD to be awesome. They remind me of my 6th gen Corvette, for comfort. In both cases, my hips were slightly lower than my knees, but the "ham" support was what made it comfortable for me.

 

[McFlurri]

Interesting. Everyone is "built" differently. I am 69 yrs old and I must say that I find the seats of my 21 M3 LR AWD to be awesome. They remind me of my 6th gen Corvette, for comfort. In both cases, my hips were slightly lower than my knees, but the "ham" support was what made it comfortable for me.

Nice

 

[SuperiorBimmer]

After 2 days of driving my much anticipated Model 3 LR, My sciatic pain is back on my right glute and right knee. The seat quality and adjustments are far inferior to any car that I have driven from Civic to BMW 340. I regret buying Tesla, such a let down. I know most of the Tesla loyalist won't like this but this is the worst quality car that I have owned in my life.

 

[SuperiorBimmer]

After 2 days of driving my much anticipated Model 3 LR, My sciatic pain is back on my right glute and right knee. The seat quality and adjustments are far inferior to any car that I have driven from Civic to BMW 340. I regret buying Tesla, such a let down. I know most of the Tesla loyalist won't like this but this is the worst quality car that I have owned in my life.

 

[gyozaman]

I had the same type of pain on and off for the first year and when driving around the 40 min mark. I haven’t had the issue in a while but try to keep both legs straight, slightly bent and not spread open when driving. I found if I had my left leg spread and leaning against driver door, my right hamstring would hurt. I tried using cushions but I found thick cushions made it even worse. The seat in the Model 3 are super nice and comfortable but it takes some adjustment to avoid the pain that may occur.

 

[Goodtohave]

This is interesting, my wife has been having more back pain then usual for over a year that won’t go, and I wonder if the m3 may be part of the problem

 

[M3_Nitro]

My wife and I are trying to figure this out as well. She has a slightly herniated disc in her back and we think something with our 2021 M3SR+ driver’s seat is causing her terrible hip pain. She’ll go 1-2 weeks without driving the Tesla and the very next time in the car, her hip hurts again. We’ve tried a seat pad to no avail. We need to try different seat positions next. I have zero issues with the seat comfort but if we can’t figure this out, we either need to find an aftermarket seat or sell the car. We LOVE it aside from this issue.

 

[M3_Nitro]

My wife and I are trying to figure this out as well. She has a slightly herniated disc in her back and we think something with our 2021 M3SR+ driver’s seat is causing her terrible hip pain. She’ll go 1-2 weeks without driving the Tesla and the very next time in the car, her hip hurts again. We’ve tried a seat pad to no avail. We need to try different seat positions next. I have zero issues with the seat comfort myself, but if we can’t figure this out, we either need to find an aftermarket seat or sell the car. We LOVE it aside from this issue.

 

[Carm]

OK- since I posted the original observation- I had to find a solution=otherwise I could not drive this gorgeous car. So I patiently worked on adjusting the seat in such a way that the pain no longer appeared. Seriously, you have to move the seat back and up to fit individual needs for this. I also noticed that the pain was associated with the "one pedal" driving- that I enjoy so much. Its the fact that your right foot just rests on the accelerator pedal the whole time as opposed to moving back and forth to the brake. It means that the hip joint and nerves, ie. sciatic nerve, are being irritated. Driving with two pedals means you lift the leg up more often than now. Believe me, I was determined to relieve the pain and spent lots of time observing what caused the pain. Find the right seat position. It makes all the difference with this new way of driving with the single pedal.

 

[Soul Surfer]

OK- since I posted the original observation- I had to find a solution=otherwise I could not drive this gorgeous car. So I patiently worked on adjusting the seat in such a way that the pain no longer appeared. Seriously, you have to move the seat back and up to fit individual needs for this. I also noticed that the pain was associated with the "one pedal" driving- that I enjoy so much. Its the fact that your right foot just rests on the accelerator pedal the whole time as opposed to moving back and forth to the brake. It means that the hip joint and nerves, ie. sciatic nerve, are being irritated. Driving with two pedals means you lift the leg up more often than now. Believe me, I was determined to relieve the pain and spent lots of time observing what caused the pain. Find the right seat position. It makes all the difference with this new way of driving with the single pedal.

Bravo! Great news! I knew you'd figure it out. Just takes patience to find that "sweet spot".

 

[Goodtohave]

Modifying the seat is helping me.

I put a small pillow between the air bladder and seat in the lumbar and so far so good.

Next is more padding on the base