Driver's Seat extremely uncomfortable.

[Impala1ss]

I've had my 2017 Mod S for a number of months but being retired I don't do much long distance driving. I've taken 1 200 mile trip, and another time spent 3 hours in traffic after the rocket launch (that's another story). Both times I was in the vehicle for about 3 hours. Each time I found the driver's seat to be extremely uncomfortable and hard. My butt and my hip joints were really aching and no amount of moving around and changing positions would relieve the pain. I have no problem with this length trip in my Chevy Volt so I know it is the Tesla seat.

Has anyone had this problem or can anyone suggest how to relieve this?

 

[SMAlset]

What seats did you buy when you ordered your car out of curiosity? I know some have a different feel.

We've done two 200-mile trips in our 2017 MS. One was in our own vehicle and the other was in a P100D we had use of. My husband and I pretty much split the driving down and back equally. I found the trip in our car sweet, we have the premium leather/ventilated in our car which I know was phased out. Very comfortable, no problems. No back pain, seat pain, or leg issues. But then I had been driving our car for a number of months and had found the sweet spot I guess with the seat adjustments and had my profile set. A month or two later we made the exact same trip in the P100D. Picked it up that morning and drove straight on our destination. Neither my husband nor I spent the time to play with the adjustments much ahead of time. I felt the difference and he did too. I guess because of the seat positioning between the two of us and distance from the accelerator, he said he felt it in his back and I ended up with months of pain from my achilles tendon on my heel from that trip. I've never had that happen. Same footwear worn. I'm sure it was caused by seat distance and possibly height.

As a soon-to-be-owner of a Model 3, I'm looking forward to when Tesla comes out with that software that will remember your seat adjustments so when I go from our Model S to my Model 3 with PUP (yes I know no head rest adjustments but told we'd have the same seat positioning available) I won't have to set up a new profile on for the seat adjustments. Guessing the leg distance could be different between the two cars but the seat support I think can be the hardest to get right.

I wish there was a way to have the seat match your body fit automatically. I think you just need to play with the controls. Any adjustment in one area can affect your body in others. Work with your Seat height too and leg spacing.

BTW jealous you got to see a rocket launch in person even if you were in heavy traffic most of that time. Were you using EAP's TACC to maintain spacing? Having the car maintain the distance for you I think helps tremendously with the constant breaking you would otherwise be doing by yourself and would recommend getting use to using it if you don't now turn it on.

 

[cab]

My wife and I were not fans of our generation 1 performance seats when we first got it and I even considered having a local shop add some padding, etc. After fiddling with the seat adjustment for a while though we seem to have settled in and it is basically (and surprisingly) a non-issue for both of us. Admittedly, we do notice it on the occasional 200 mile round trips we have done, but not enough that I've wanted to tear into the seats. I think I tilted the front of the seat bottom up a bit and am in a bit of a "V" shape now.

 

[Flyguy]

My 2017 S has standard black interior. They look great (in my opinion) but are very firm. I am continuously making/saving adjustments to no avail. They are not very comfortable seats. I keep meaning to sit in the premium seats at the sc but forget. I remember them being more forgiving.

 

[croman]

I'm a lot younger but I've done several 1000 plus mile road trips and never had an issue with my next gen seats. Tesla has changed their seats several times and I think the next gen are the best for comfort. A lot depends on body type.

Have you considered a seat cushion wedge?

 

[Kuhz]

I have standard seats and find them very comfortable. They did feel slightly tight on the side bolsters at first but Ive really grown to like them.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

STD seats, 2015 70D. I’m only comfortable in one position, sitting very high, to the point where I can no longer see stop lights. It’s a pain in the neck, literally. I’ll probably add padding of some kind. I drive the Leaf in town, so it’s only a problem on long trips.

 

[David29]

STD seats, 2015 70D. I’m only comfortable in one position, sitting very high, to the point where I can no longer see stop lights. It’s a pain in the neck, literally. I’ll probably add padding of some kind. I drive the Leaf in town, so it’s only a problem on long trips.

I have the same car, also tall, and find my standard leather seats to be very hard and uncomfortable for long drives. And i also prefer the seat set high, which makes it hard to see traffic signals. My spouse does finds the driver's seat uncomfortable, as well, but she thinks the passenger seat is better for some reason. I purchased an after-market orthopedic seat cushion called the "Sacro-Ease" which helps me a lot.
This winter, i have been driving around town without the Sacro-Ease, so that i can get the benefit of the seat heater. Most of my trips are short enough that I'd rather have the heat than the extra padding.
Full disclosure: I have had back issues for many years and also used Sacro-Ease cushions in several previous Mercedes-Benz cars.

Amazon carries the Sacro-Ease cushions. There are several styles and colors. You can slo find them at specialty stores such as Relax the Back. https://smile.amazon.com/McCartys-S...rd_wg=Tlx3e&psc=1&refRID=Q3QQ45T323Q5ZDC6PTJN

 

[ReddyLeaf]

^^^^^^Thanks. I have a long torso, which sounds like you. For most traveling I’ve been ok, especially when stopping frequently for charging. Most drive segments are less than 2 hr, which seems to help. My longest trips have been 4 SC distances, which were more difficult. I’m young enough now, but in 10 years, I’ll certainly need padding or a new seat/car.

 

[evster]

Big difference between the Next Gen seats and the newer premium seats. I never did get comfortable in the Next gen seats, but the premium seats I find lovely and very comfortable on longer commutes.

I had a 100D loaner with the new Multi pattern seats with textile in the centers. I found those to be even more comforable and softer than the vegan seats in my own car. If I would order again the multi pattern seats would be my choice mainly for comfort and also that they stay rather cool in summer and not so hot in winter. They also look very nice!

 

[BrokerDon]

35,000 miles driving our 2015 P85D+ with firm NextGen ("Recaro") leather sport seats front & rear and the firmer Plus Suspension. Awesome comfort for around town and many multi-hour / 200+ mile road trips for my 63 year old 185 lb 6'-3" fit body and 58 year old 115 lb 5'-6" wife (we both mountain bike)... in both summer and winter.

Only complaints we've gotten on our NextGen seats have been from wider people who don't fit well inside the pronounced Recaro side and bottom seat bolsters. I got the same complaints on the sport seats in my Corvette Z06. IMHO wider people definitely would be happier in the original "cushy" Model S seats or newer non-sports seats.

YMMV

 

[Impala1ss]

What seats did you buy when you ordered your car out of curiosity? I know some have a different feel.

We've done two 200-mile trips in our 2017 MS. One was in our own vehicle and the other was in a P100D we had use of. My husband and I pretty much split the driving down and back equally. I found the trip in our car sweet, we have the premium leather/ventilated in our car which I know was phased out. Very comfortable, no problems. No back pain, seat pain, or leg issues. But then I had been driving our car for a number of months and had found the sweet spot I guess with the seat adjustments and had my profile set. A month or two later we made the exact same trip in the P100D. Picked it up that morning and drove straight on our destination. Neither my husband nor I spent the time to play with the adjustments much ahead of time. I felt the difference and he did too. I guess because of the seat positioning between the two of us and distance from the accelerator, he said he felt it in his back and I ended up with months of pain from my achilles tendon on my heel from that trip. I've never had that happen. Same footwear worn. I'm sure it was caused by seat distance and possibly height.

As a soon-to-be-owner of a Model 3, I'm looking forward to when Tesla comes out with that software that will remember your seat adjustments so when I go from our Model S to my Model 3 with PUP (yes I know no head rest adjustments but told we'd have the same seat positioning available) I won't have to set up a new profile on for the seat adjustments. Guessing the leg distance could be different between the two cars but the seat support I think can be the hardest to get right.

I wish there was a way to have the seat match your body fit automatically. I think you just need to play with the controls. Any adjustment in one area can affect your body in others. Work with your Seat height too and leg spacing.

BTW jealous you got to see a rocket launch in person even if you were in heavy traffic most of that time. Were you using EAP's TACC to maintain spacing? Having the car maintain the distance for you I think helps tremendously with the constant breaking you would otherwise be doing by yourself and would recommend getting use to using it if you don't now turn it on.

I used the TACC as much as possible but with many, many parking lots exits on to the only main road, the space the TACC leaves between my car and the car in front just allowed too many cars to get in front of me (as they came out of the parking lot.) I did have it set to the minimum distance.But when I could use it, it worked very well. Of course, when the car in front of me quickly changed lanes my car quickly tried to accelerate to the cruise control set speed. That caused a little puckering.

 

[Impala1ss]

Just to be clear, I am not talking about seat adjustments. To be blunt, my butt bones hurt like hell during a 2 hr. trip. I've tried every possible combination of seat adjustments with no change. My butt bones hurt for several days after also. I'm taking the car in for the first time to get this and other things looked at next week. We'll see if there is a fix/mod for this.

 

[evster]

Just to be clear, I am not talking about seat adjustments. To be blunt, my butt bones hurt like hell during a 2 hr. trip. I've tried every possible combination of seat adjustments with no change. My butt bones hurt for several days after also. I'm taking the car in for the first time to get this and other things looked at next week. We'll see if there is a fix/mod for this.

Curious about what type of seats you have in your car? Also what type of material? Leather, Vegan leather or textile?

 

[BrokerDon]

Curious about what type of seats you have in your car? Also what type of material? Leather, Vegan leather or textile?

Butt Size Matters

 

[Asterix187]

I have and August 17 MS with PUP which was delivered in late November. I have already done just under 8k miles in and and i must say i also find the seats uncomfortable and to be honest feeling a bit cheap. They are possibly the worst seats i have had in a car in 10 years or so.

 

[FlyingCookie]

I'm young, and I came from a Cadillac with pretty nice seats, so I'm probably somewhat biased here.

I've found that on my normal long road trips (800-1200 miles or so) every week, I usually start to get some pain in my butt after about 2 hours or so. I've found that moving around will relieve it, but it's almost entirely because the seats are so hard and I tend to sit with my back pretty straight. With that being said, it's not a lasting pain and I don't ache when I get out of the car. I just find myself wishing there was softer padding/leather on the normal seats.

The P100DL I test drove with the nextgen seats was awesome, and I would consider getting the upgrade if it weren't so expensive. I've also had the pleasure of sitting in a Model X with ultrawhite seats, and the synthetic material seems much softer and much more comfortable than the leather in my P85.

 

[evster]

Butt Size Matters

Yepp, but also other parameters
I'm 6'2 and thin, but I did never find a good comfortable seating position in the Next gen seats. They were great with the side bolsters, but not for my back. The premiums seats however are much better.

 

[evster]

I have and August 17 MS with PUP which was delivered in late November. I have already done just under 8k miles in and and i must say i also find the seats uncomfortable and to be honest feeling a bit cheap. They are possibly the worst seats i have had in a car in 10 years or so.

What material do you have in your seats?

 

[Asterix187]

What material do you have in your seats?

I assume its the vegan leather, its the premium upgrade pack seats.