Drivers seat comfort - Test drove a P90D today

[Redaxis]

Hello all,

I got to have a great test drive in a P90D, I'm looking for the 90D, but got a try in the P90D...

What a great car, however I found one problem, after about 30 mins driving, my lower back was aching.. I couldn't quite find a comfortable driving position, this was the only downside to an otherwise great test drive..

The only part of the seat I couldn't find a comfortable position was where the seat back meets the lower part.. The question is, has anyone else experienced this or am I just unique..

im going to have another test drive at the end of the week as this could potentially be a deal breaker.. This car had the upgraded seats. I tried lots of different position and tried all the lumber support.

Any feedback would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Redaxis]

132 views and not one single answer!

I guess it's just me then!

 

[ITSELE]

Did you try adjusting the "lumbar support" control. It pumps a support into the low back area and can be of some benefit. You could also try a different seat height. This could take some of the weight off of your low back as well by having the legs at a lower position. Even the bottom of the seat angle is adjustable. Don't forget to adjust the steering wheel. It moves up and down, in and out.

I have the standard leather seats in my Model S and have been living with them for 3 years. I am used to driving cars that are low to the ground and they were never a problem for me but I am using some lumbar support.

It may take a while to find a good position for you but once you do, you can lock it in as a "user setting" and can restore it at any time.

 

[Redaxis]

Did you try adjusting the "lumbar support" control. It pumps a support into the low back area and can be of some benefit. You could also try a different seat height. This could take some of the weight off of your low back as well by having the legs at a lower position. Even the bottom of the seat angle is adjustable. Don't forget to adjust the steering wheel. It moves up and down, in and out.

I have the standard leather seats in my Model S and have been living with them for 3 years. I am used to driving cars that are low to the ground and they were never a problem for me but I am using some lumbar support.

It may take a while to find a good position for you but once you do, you can lock it in as a "user setting" and can restore it at any time.

Thanks for your reply, I have a 24hr test drive booked in from Sunday.. I will give various seating positions and lumbar support a try..

I am also used to driving cars that are low to the ground as my other car is a 997TT, Although not sure what being low has to do with it?.. Never found seating, lower back support/comfort a problem in the past.

 

[blackmonday]

After a few drives I was able to get the seat into a comfortable position. My previous cars have been TVRs with only the most simple of controls at best (hand pump lumbar support). The Tesla seats have many controls to fiddle with and fine tune and at first the seat was incredibly uncomfortable. So give it time and keep making adjustments, you'll find the sweet spot.

 

[Paul M]

Keep trying the adjustments, you should get somewhere that works for you. I have the upgraded seats and came out of a new Range Rover which is just like being in an arm chair. I find the Tesla fine. One pointer. Go for the 19" wheels. They improve the ride considerably on our UK roads!!
Good Luck and enjoy. The Tesla staff are great and will persevere with you I'm sure, AND without the high pressure sales!!! :smile:

 

[Redaxis]

Thanks for the replies, well the test drive didn't happen last weekend, about half hour before I was due to collect the car for 24hrs the lady that had been out on a test drive clipped a curb and punctured the tyre. Was disappointed as made a whole day out incorporating collecting the car.. However I did get to sit inside the car and have a play with the various functions and of course the seat.. This has the upgraded seats and still had a problem with my lower back. I don't think I have an unusual body shape, I'm 5"10 and average size (12 stone).. So not a fat blotter who can't fit in seats.

Anyway new test drive has been arranged for tomorrow for 24hrs. And will see, if all goes to plan then the order will be placed on Monday..

And considering the P90D.. All hinges on the comfort though.

 

[thegruf]

fwiw I have the NextGen upgraded seats and having a dodgy lower back I too found it a little tricky to get comfortable initially.
Now, tbh, I dont even think about it - perfectly comfortable, in fact only coming across this thread reminded me about it.
I think there is a little bit of the seats mold a bit to your shape with time.

I would be the last person to egg you on to get a car with seats you are not happy with, but I really doubt you need to be overly concerned.
Good luck with the 24h test drive.

 

[brianman]

This has the upgraded seats and still had a problem with my lower back.

Try setting the lumbar completely off and then completely on. I would expect that with a lower back issue you should feel a significant difference between the two.

As an example, I have the lumbar completely off (for my NG seats) and have let a few folks test drive my car. Whenever they change the lumbar I don't always notice immediately but if I drive for 10+ minutes with the lumbar on, my lower back hurts tremendously.

 

[tfboy]

Thanks for the replies, well the test drive didn't happen last weekend, about half hour before I was due to collect the car for 24hrs the lady that had been out on a test drive clipped a curb and punctured the tyre. Was disappointed as made a whole day out incorporating collecting the car.. However I did get to sit inside the car and have a play with the various functions and of course the seat.. This has the upgraded seats and still had a problem with my lower back. I don't think I have an unusual body shape, I'm 5"10 and average size (12 stone).. So not a fat blotter who can't fit in seats.

Anyway new test drive has been arranged for tomorrow for 24hrs. And will see, if all goes to plan then the order will be placed on Monday..

And considering the P90D.. All hinges on the comfort though.

If you were organising a test drive from Heathrow, I saw an old blue Model S which had a punctured tyre and the most shot rims I've EVER seen on ANY car. I'd be surprised if a tyre fitter would be happy to fit a new tyre to the rims they're in such a bad state. The rear right rim was a new silver allow (different colour). By far the most "cut'n'shut" Tesla I've ever seen!

 

[Gizmo17]

Hello all,

I got to have a great test drive in a P90D, I'm looking for the 90D, but got a try in the P90D...

What a great car, however I found one problem, after about 30 mins driving, my lower back was aching.. I couldn't quite find a comfortable driving position, this was the only downside to an otherwise great test drive..

The only part of the seat I couldn't find a comfortable position was where the seat back meets the lower part.. The question is, has anyone else experienced this or am I just unique..

im going to have another test drive at the end of the week as this could potentially be a deal breaker.. This car had the upgraded seats. I tried lots of different position and tried all the lumber support.

Any feedback would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there, I searched for "seat comfort" and came across your post. I thought I was imagining the fatigue/soreness in my lower back. It happened 2-3 times to me so far on trips about an hour long. We've only had the car for several weeks. My wife also experienced discomfort with her legs feeling numb after a while. We're both in decent shape and work out regularly, I'm about 5' 11 180lbs. We thought perhaps it's because we're not used to a low sitting sedan as we have an Odyssey and had an RX330. I tried playing around with the lumbar support as well to no avail. We have the leather seats. Hope the pain/soreness goes away as we were hoping to take longer road trips.

 

[LGM50]

I have next gen seats and whilst they are not immediately as comfortable as some of the other cars I've owned I can't say I've suffered any back pain when doing long stints in the Tesla - I regularly drive down to Cornwall and am in the car 3 hours before charging and then back in for another 2 to 3 hour drive, and then back then next day with similar amount of time spent in the seats. Hope that helps?

 

[Gizmo17]

I have next gen seats and whilst they are not immediately as comfortable as some of the other cars I've owned I can't say I've suffered any back pain when doing long stints in the Tesla - I regularly drive down to Cornwall and am in the car 3 hours before charging and then back in for another 2 to 3 hour drive, and then back then next day with similar amount of time spent in the seats. Hope that helps?

I think it has to do with the body getting used to the new position. Since my previous post, we've taken a few trips about 1 to 1.5 hours long with no noticeable signs of discomfort or pains. I guess I'll definately know when we take road trip to Orlando this summer!

 

[Redaxis]

Hello all,

I got to have a great test drive in a P90D, I'm looking for the 90D, but got a try in the P90D...

What a great car, however I found one problem, after about 30 mins driving, my lower back was aching.. I couldn't quite find a comfortable driving position, this was the only downside to an otherwise great test drive..

The only part of the seat I couldn't find a comfortable position was where the seat back meets the lower part.. The question is, has anyone else experienced this or am I just unique..

im going to have another test drive at the end of the week as this could potentially be a deal breaker.. This car had the upgraded seats. I tried lots of different position and tried all the lumber support.

Any feedback would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Thought I better update this post, seeing as I have ordered one (P90D)... In fact it's not long come out of the factory and is in transit, hopefully due end of June.

So after my failed test drive due to a previous driver damaging the wheel and tire 5 minutes before my test drive, I got to have my 24 hour test drive the following week. I still found the seat uncomfortable, but liked every other aspect of the car.. This started to bug me, as I couldn't work out why, also I had no such trouble in the passenger seat, my girlfriend had a drive and she found it comfortable..

This baffled me to why I had the lower right back issues, That evening I went and picked up 2 mates and we spent a good hour testing the car to it's full ability! Lol ludicrous is really that.. All 3 of us drove the car, after which we stopped off at a supercharger to fill up, and over a Starbucks, we talked about the car and I was the only one to find the problem with the seat.. This was a becoming a deal breaker.

The next day I drove it to work and back home, then took it for a drive locally, got home and talked it over with my other half, the car had to be back by 9pm and I was running out of time (it was a good 45 mins drive to return the car), 1 to get it back on time and 2 to make a decision before the price rise at midnight. I left home after making the decision that I couldn't live with this issue.

So what made me order one??? Well this is one of the most bizarre things I think I have experienced or read about after reading this back..

I got about 10 minutes from home still baffled to this pain in my lower back on the right hand side, I hate to be baffled and need to find out why it was just me, I moved around in the seat and it seemed to be coming from near where my belt (not seat belt) sits on my trousers. So I thought sod it, I was at some traffic lights, I wipped my belt off.. Bang problem solved, I know crazy! My belt seemed to be rubbing on the bolster (changing this didn't make any difference) and the edge of the belt was digging in to my side, this explains why I didn't find the passenger seat a problem as probably a few mm difference in height of my belt would make all the difference, even though I had played with every seat combination, your back height doesn't change it's position with-in the seat, and although I had changed trousers (honest) between all my drives my belt was the same. After dropping car back I confirmed my order!

So the moral of the story is don't let your other half pick you a belt for Christmas!! Joking apart, I've been driving for a good 20+ years and never come across this before or even heard of this.. And the same belt on me in my other cars does not cause this!.