Any thoughts on the seats?

[Lou in SoCal]

I'm going to preface my statement by saying that I love the car. With that said, seat comfort and leather quality is quite subpar for the car. I may be a little biased coming from my CLS AMG. The AMG seats are far and away at another level as far as comfort, quality, and functionality. I do understand that you can't have it all and the performance of the car outweighs the seats.

 

[ahimberg]

I think driver profiles are bundled with leather seats, not tech package. I have tech but no driver profile UI I can find, not even mirrors & steering wheel if 'seat memory' needed to be so exclusive
Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express

 

[lolachampcar]

I lost my wife for the second MS in the household in part for the seats I really wanted that Red/Tan car.

 

[jandkw]

After driving my MS for 2 weeks, I am still trying to find the right position. I never had any problem with my Acura which the front seats are very comfortable. I think part of the problem is the air suspension/chassis is designed to be a little stiff so after a couple of hours of driving, it hurts my back a little and I'm not a young gun anymore. One other item is that my seat heater always turns to "1" automatically everything I get out of my car and come back in. I think the seat sensor causes this to happen and it is a software bug. Any owner has this issue?

 

[eelton]

Is your car by any chance in range mode? That can cause the seat heater to activate, in order to save energy keeping the cabin warm.

Having said that, I did once have the seat heater suddenly turn itself on (to #3). I wasn't in range mode, and it hasn't happened again.

One other item is that my seat heater always turns to "1" automatically everything I get out of my car and come back in. I think the seat sensor causes this to happen and it is a software bug. Any owner has this issue?

 

[William13]

IMHO MB has the best seats. I didn't expect Tesla to have the best. The Tesla seats move into all the possible standard positions. I think they need a touch more padding under the butt and bigger side bolsters. More thigh support could be added by tilting the seat back more at the factory. I wonder if the butt pain is caused by the desire to make the seat heaters work quicker than MB and the sensor to turn off the car when one steps out?

 

[jandkw]

eelton, I was on range mode and just turned off and see what happened. Thank you.

 

[jandkw]

It turns out I don't have the seat heater turns on automatically anymore. Even better, I have higher fan setting of "8" instead of "5" with stronger heater in the back seat as well. Thanks eelton

 

[B-Chicago]

I like my front seats quite a bit.
I thought the Lexus(LS) seats were nicer and cushier but now that I have adjusted my S seat, it is almost perfect. My front is up all the way and the back down all the way with the seat vertical enough that my head is ~4-6" from the headrest. Lumbar is set pretty low, maybe just under 1/2 way up and extended almost all the way out but not quite. During my first couple of 300 mile trips I had the seat back laid back too far and did get a tiny sore. The way I have it now keeps my butt and back fine. oh, 5'10 ~ 170lb

Trying several options with no success yet. I feel like I need to let more lumbar out but can't. I end up feeling like I need to bend my shoulders and head back to even come close to hitting the top of the seat. 5'10". I'll try tilting the front of the seat up more to see if that helps.

 

[Bobfitz1]

They work great for me; although I'm not very picky about seats. I'm happy with the Roadster seats too and a lot of people complain about those.

More important is that they work well for my wife - she has back spasms and is VERY picky about car seats - car purchase decisions in the past have hinged on her sitting in it. I was quite nervous about buying the car for her, and about the 3,000-mile trip we recently took in it. But she has been extremely happy with the seats. She still prefers her all-time favorite from a 1995 Volvo sedan, but the Model S is her runner-up.

I am happy with my Roadster's seats but I've test driven Model S twice and agree 100% the current seats are not up to the quality of the rest of MS or seats in Audi's etc. I told this directly to a Tesla product guy who gave a tech talk a few weeks back at Garden State Plaza store in N.J., and to the manager over the East coast stores. I can't wait to retire my 13 year old Acura from it's weekday commuter car role and replace with an MS. But if I'm going to pay 75 - 95K for a luxury car I hope to keep for 15 - 20+ years, the seats need to be right. I hope Tesla is listening and gives us a premium seat option or far better upgrades standard seats to Audi/Mercedes/BMW level very soon.

There are so many different things to love about the MS. I understand many don't have this seat sensitivity as I do. But I will assert that anyone who's ever spent 5 min. in a good luxury car seat, knows in 30 seconds that the current MS drivers seat is not close to that level.

 

[ZBB]

I've had my car for 2 1/2 weeks now and am having a hard time finding a comfortable setting -- ending up with some lower back pain. The seats definitely need more bolstering... I'll keep fiddling with it -- I didn't have problems during test drives (one of which was over 30 minutes thanks to a kind member here) -- so I need to find the sweet spot... I agree with Zextraterrestrial that putting the seat nearly all the way up with the backrest more vertical seems to help...

 

[Cheerose]

Is there anything after-market that can help with the seats... Both front and the rear?

 

[ChadS]

I doubt there is any car that has seats that work for everybody; so you're never really going to know until you try it. I just took another long trip in the Model S and was very happy; I'm fortunate that they work for my wife and I.

For those that don't like the Model S seats, I asked before buying the car...I was told they are on an industry-standard track, so there are lots of seats that can fit. I didn't ask any further questions, like if that includes an industry-standard connector for power seats. And are there airbags in the seats? I don't think so but haven't looked carefully.

 

[yearofthedragon]

I like the quality of the leather, and the seat heaters work well. But I don't find the seats very comfortable overall--if I drive for over 30 minutes, I tend to get a butt-ache. It seems the seat is relatively hard, and it's flat, with little side bolstering.

I got into my old Audi S8 today, and was reminded of how good the seats are in that car. I think the difference is that it feels like sitting *on* the seat in the Tesla, and *in* the seat in the Audi.


What are your thoughts on the seats--do they work well for you?

it's definitely no Audi A7 or 970 Panamera, which i've both owned and loved the bucket seat feel. I have no doubt, Tesla will improve.

 

[mknox]

After 3 1/2 months, I find the seats to be better than I initially thought they'd be, although probably not as good as in my past car. I miss the adjustable headrests and, with the warmer weather, the ventilation feature I've enjoyed in the past.

Just like seat heaters can result in lower HVAC use in the winter, I think the same can be said of ventilated seats in the summer. A couple of times now, I've turn on the a/c whereas with ventilated seats I probably would have just used that and saved a bit of energy.

 

[andrewket]

I agree the seats are subpar to other manufacturers in this class. The seats need far more side bolstering. I find myself moving during hard turns. On long distance trips my back is sore.

 

[AMPd]

I wonder if it would be possible to install seats for other cars
I love the comfort seats from the E60 M5

 

[Desdi]

I wonder if it would be possible to install seats for other cars
I love the comfort seats from the E60 M5

Everything is possible. But it may be a lot harder to make possible in the Model S, due to the sensor in the drivers seat. So it would take a lot more than a mere swap.

 

[AMPd]

Everything is possible. But it may be a lot harder to make possible in the Model S, due to the sensor in the drivers seat. So it would take a lot more than a mere swap.

That's what I was thinking, if it weren't for the car on/off sensor in the seat it would have been much easier.
But like you said anything is possible, just need the time and the right people!

(dr.taras(sp?) user had his model s get a huge make over with a lot of goodies, the shop that did that might be willing to give the seat swap a go, what's the worst that can happen?

 

[mknox]

That's what I was thinking, if it weren't for the car on/off sensor in the seat it would have been much easier.
But like you said anything is possible, just need the time and the right people!

Most, if not all seats already have sensors in place for seatbelt warning and airbag activation. Perhaps you could hijack that sensor???