Adjust Seat Back Beyond Factory Forward Limit?

[Georgesb2]

if someone has details on how you did this and pics, I'd love to see it. By far my biggest issue with the car.

I meant to but never did pictures and videos of adding foam to the back/upper. I did a lot of Tesla videos on YouTube however. There are some really good videos of people removing the headrest (besides my own videos) and of removal of the black plastic backing from the upper seat back. If you do visit my channel, please say hi.

But to be helpful for this forum and for you I can explain it.

Most anyone with basic DIY abilities can do this for themselves.
First remove the headrest. I have detailed YT videos on how this is done.
This releases the seat upper back panel (black).
It also unhooks at the bottom.
Now you have full access.
I removed the OEM lumbar by moving it behind the support bars/plastic. I left it connected, I used zip ties to hold it behind the yellow plastic instead of in front of it. Easy.
I bought some foam. I found a factory and was able to buy lots of ends and pieces. You can find other suppliers locally and online. There are foam factories that will cut custom blocks for you as well and ship it to you. Or you could steal it from some old furniture.
Cut the foam into blocks. I found cutting is made easy with a high end serrated bread knife. I bought the best I could buy and use it only for foam cutting. You can also use industrial razor blades but that will take much more work to cut through a thick foam.
I used a denser foam and cut a block the width of the back upper and about 4" width and depth.
My goal here was my own lumbar support so I inserted this one horizontally.
You can squeeze it between the stock foam of the back upper, and the combination of the supporting metal and the yellow plastic support piece which is shown in the attached picture.
Do this again with a vertical piece running from your inserted block to the top of the seat. I think my vertical piece was longer than the horizontal piece but not really that much wider. Cut to fit. Cut to "taste". Don't worry, it's all reversible.
I also bend the headrest back. Again there are very good videos on this. I do this so my head isn't pushed forward and down.
I will add pictures of what the frame and the plastic looks like once you get access. You DO NOT remove the seat or anything else from the car. Do not remove the stock OEM faux leather from the front of the seat upper, and don't touch the wiring. There's an airbag in the lower door side of the upper cushion. No need to mess with any of that at all. Just work the back. The airbag and the wiring never got in my way, just the OEM lumbar air bags. It's all easy and right there for access once the black plastic backing is removed.
The picture shows what you'll see from the back, once you remove the large black plastic cover.
You insert your own foam between the yellow and the stock OEM foam.
You could build it any way you desire and you can modify it at any time you want to get the seat and feel you desire!
Go ahead and enter the world of custom seat making for your self on your own and build whatever feel you want for yourself.
Sincerely,
George Borrelli

 

[brooklyn]

Appreciate the write-up! Fortunately for me a solution has been found and it came in the form of a Tesla Mobile Tech. After resolving a passenger side safety restraint malfunction warning I asked the Tech to take a look at my seat issue. He felt pretty confident the seat back should be able to come forward even more. He attempted to recalibrate the seat from the main display but when that failed (twice) and disconnecting the 12v also failed, he grabbed his laptop and manually initiated the calibration. Surprisingly it netted easily 3-6" of additional forward/vertical movement. I won't swear to this just yet, but it feels like a combination of additional vertical/forward movement and possibly the upward tilting of the rear of the seat base as previously suggested here, but the seat is telling me it's at it's lowest setting. Back is definitely more vertical and feels miles more comfortable for me. So much so that I had to lower it just slightly. Not surprisingly, when I attempt to return it to the more forward setting it won't go past my new setting. The whole thing smells of a software issue, but bottom line, I actually have the seat where I want it now. Anyone else dealing with his, flag it with your service center or the next time you have a mobile tech out visiting you.