Exact same here. I can feel my neck being damaged after 6 months of using the car. Not happy about it.
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Does anyone find their Model 3 seat very uncomfortable?
- Thread starter Jamesmi100
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- thigh support issues
Georgesb2
George Borrelli
I know this is an old post but...
I found the seat in the 2022 Model 3 uncomfortable. I didn't realize it until my first 2+ hour ride, after that it simply hurt. The bolsters were the initial issue. My hips were pressing against the bolsters.
I also found the head rest pushed my head and neck down way too much.
I modified the seats and the head rest. Now all is good.
I replaced the seat bottom cushion with a different foam innards and I bent the head rest back.
Hope this helps,
Sincerely,
George Borrelli
Crystal River Florida
I found the seat in the 2022 Model 3 uncomfortable. I didn't realize it until my first 2+ hour ride, after that it simply hurt. The bolsters were the initial issue. My hips were pressing against the bolsters.
I also found the head rest pushed my head and neck down way too much.
I modified the seats and the head rest. Now all is good.
I replaced the seat bottom cushion with a different foam innards and I bent the head rest back.
Hope this helps,
Sincerely,
George Borrelli
Crystal River Florida
I have had a model 3 for a few months now and find it the most uncomfortable seats on any car I’ve ever had, not noticeable on short journeys but anything over an hour is painful, I’ve tried micro adjustments on everything and it’s made no difference, to the point I’m seriously on the verge of selling, Tesla a great car, as long as you don’t live in a cold country and can get comfortable in it.
Georgesb2
George Borrelli
I also have a Tesla Model 3.
Anything shorter than an hour and I never noticed the seat issues.
But my first 4 hour drive was very painful, terrible!
The Tesla seats being uncomfortable has less to do with a person's height and even weight (although that often goes along with what I'm about to say) than to do with structural build. If a person has a larger frame, wider hips, wider shoulders, even larger head.... Then the Tesla seats are just awful.
I am only 6'1" but I have a larger, wider bone structural frame and taller upper torso. The Tesla seats really, really hurt me.
I tried numerous fixes, but ultimately none of them worked ...
So I removed the seat bottom, installed a thicker, more dense foam. I removed the stock lumbar support. I replaced the lumbar with my own cut foam in the proper place for my build. I raised the head rest a bit and bend it back.
Now I love the seat!
George Borrelli
Crystal River, Florida
I tried reversing the headrest in my Model 3, but it felt super unsafe because of how far back it was. I tried all sorts of pillows and cushions and eventually found a solution that works for me. I took a 12x12 inch piece of 1/2 inch thick memory foam and added it inside the seat. Picture is below.
This does two things, it makes the upper back portion of the seat slightly less concave, and it pushes your upper back slightly forward away from the headrest.
I'm still not crazy about the comfort of the seat, but it's comfortable enough. This is the only solution I've found that allows me to drive without thinking about seat comfort.
This does two things, it makes the upper back portion of the seat slightly less concave, and it pushes your upper back slightly forward away from the headrest.
I'm still not crazy about the comfort of the seat, but it's comfortable enough. This is the only solution I've found that allows me to drive without thinking about seat comfort.
Georgesb2
George Borrelli
I did something quite similar.
I added two pieces of dense foam. I used a thicker foam than what appears in the picture.
I added another piece for lumbar support.
But I first moved the stock OEM lumbar support out of the way behind the plastic instead of in front.
But I also bent the headrest back.
The combination of all of these measures and of course a custom seat bottom, has made my car a fine ride for me, particularly at my size.
Actually, since I last posted about adding the foam, I have undone that modification. I bent the headrest posts back, and now it's finally a comfortable seat! That was all it took, and that has been by far the most comfortable modification out of the many I tried.
It was annoying because I had to make a homemade vice for to do this. The standard vices I saw at hardware stores aren't sized for this. There is another thread where I posted pictures and a list of materials.
For me, the fundamental flaw in the seat is the headrest angle. Basically, you can't get the seat upright enough such that the upper back rests against the seat, without the headrest pushing your head way forward. So you have to tilt the seat back more, and this makes it seem like there is no upper back support and too much lumbar support.
It's as if they designed the back of the seat for comfort and ergonomics, but then designed the headrest simply to accommodate the crash tests. They don't seem to actually work together.
Georgesb2
George Borrelli
I agree.
But I find I'm too wide or broad shoulder in my body design. I had to flatten the seat upper by adding foam. And I now sit too high in the seat bottom, so I modified the lumbar with another foam piece.
But I agree that the headrest is critical. For many of us it's way off, pushing our head too far forward which totally abuses the entire body alignment.
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