I regret my Model Y purchase because of seat comfort and seating position problems

[ucmndd]

I think the design is defective. Worst driver seat I've ever driven.

I don’t think “defective” means what you’re implying in this case.

Comfort is 100% subjective and there’s literally no way to please everyone so compromise has to be made. Like you I’m a bit of an outlier in terms of size at 6’ 5” and 215 pounds so I’m very careful and deliberate about testing out car seats and other stuff like that because the fact is they typically weren’t made with me front of mind. Some I can make work well, others are a no-go.

But at the end of the day “this seat is uncomfortable for me” is not automatically a defect.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I’m 6’4”, 320#, 34” inseam. Today I spent 3+ hours in the 2024 MYLR. The seat was ok, not perfect but not offensive, no pain or discomfort at the end of the day. I could see wanting to add a pad or something on the bottom of the seat to boost me up off the side rails a little as the foam breaks in, but compared to my wife’s Tacoma I think it’s significantly better. The seat is high and the driving position puts my legs in a good position.

We are taking the Y from Cape Cod to Long Island, NY later this week. I’m guessing I’ll have formed some strong opinions one way or another by the time we get home.

 

[455dan]

We have 2 2023 Model Ys. Only differences are my wife’s is an Austin built with 19” Gemini wheels. Mine is a Freemont built with 20” wheels. I can’t find a way to match the seating positions on both cars. I’m the most comfortable in mine but I can’t get comfortable in my wife’s. It seems like I sit higher in hers no matter where I position the seat. Plus the side bolsters on both push against my hips almost like I have my wallet in my back pocket, which I don’t. Maybe my butt is too wide for the seats. I’m 6’ 245 lbs with a 42” belt size. Not a small guy.

Same i am a bit lighter and also a Fremont Y, I always take my wallet out of my right pocket or I am in pain.
Without the wallet these are my favorite seats other than my 2nd gen Trans Am
The seats have only gotten more comfortable after a year of use.

 

[r1200gs4ok]

Arm position in relation to the door armrest and the window also needs to be considered. Steering wheel height might be a problem?

good point....I find the seats are not as comfortable as mu Model S....understand that seats are very different.....MS they are longer and wider....The MY seems to be shorter and not as wide....that being said, I have to sit a little toward the center console....Just my body position....but I did notice that when I am sitting in the exact middle of the seat, the steering wheel is about 2-3 inches left of center......in order for my body to be centered on the wheel, I have to physically move left and I find I am almost sitting on the left bolster.....I thought I was crazy until my wife looked at me and saw the same thing.....then she sat in the drivers seat and she experienced the same....The center of the wheel was 2-3 inches to the left...but if she moved her body to the left to center the wheel, she too, was sitting on the bolster......Tomorrow I will go visit my friendly and supportive service center and see what they have to say......probably get the old, "well, it is like in each car and is normal or I can see or feel any thing wrong"...we'll see

 

[WheresMyKeys]

I just got my 24 Tesla Y - love the car - HATE the driver seat. When I drive I get stiff neck, shoulders and sore back. 6'2" and 240lbs the lumbar support is too low. no upper back support and the non-adjustable head rest pushes my head uncomfortable forward. I've never had a problem like this in other cards I've driven. I think I need to give my car back to Tesla. Not sure show long I can stand this. Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions?

It took me weeks to figure out I had an issue with the driver's seat after purchase. And another few weeks of mucking around trying different things until I managed to get myself to a happy place. That said, I did a minor modification to the bottom seat cushion and if you're desperate, handy, and want to try something fairly low cost and non-invasive (easy to reverse) check this out and see if it's worth trying for you.

Uncomfortable Front Seat(s) / Thigh Bolster Mod

Scroll through the thread from there where I gave someone the dimensions I used and tried to explain how I installed it.

I'm not saying it's a smoking gun or will work for everyone, but it saved me. Still not the most comfortable seat I've ever had but its totally manageable now - again, for me. I have had days where I've been in the car for 4-5 hrs total and single trips of 2.5-3 hrs and felt fine vs being sore and uncomfortable after 20 minutes in the seat before.

That said, my issues were primarily in my hips and my legs and not my back. So it may not help, but the pad effectively lifts the bottom of the chair a bit, and may help fix hip position, and thus may help the back posture.

Also, you may not be used to the somewhat forward leaning headrest (vs other cars I've had) yet. That may be contributing to neck / shoulder discomfort if you're leaning forward and don't realize it. Try tilting your backrest back a bit so your head and neck are vertical with your shoulders when relaxed (vs hanging in front of them). Doesn't have to be a lot further back, may just be a tap or 2 of the recline button. I did this and it also helped. After doing this I also had to slide the seat bottom forward a bit to keep arm length to wheel and controls after doing so because of my short t-rex arms.

Just trying to help you through the journey I took. After getting the bottom pad in I was able to dial in the seat better with only minor temporary tweaks needed from time to time. I'm at 1 yr ownership and about to hit 30k kms and the above made the difference between me approaching the thoughts of ditching a brand new car and being happy with it as a daily driver. I initially intended to take it out after installing it like that to try a second layer of the softer foam on top but I never did for fear of going backwards in comfort.

 

[nate704]

You can be the "butt" tester for Tesla seat development division!!

 

[jddaigle]

Before I got my YLR I'd been driving the same car for almost 12 years. At first I thought I'd never be comfortable in the Y, but after a few weeks I started to get used to it and now I'm just as comfortable in the Y as I was in my old car. I purposefully didn't fiddle with the seat settings every time I got in the car, and I guess my body just got used to the different seat. We've done several multi-hour road trips with the Y and I find it nice and comfortable now.

The one thing I learned was to never mess with the lumbar support, the damn thing has a mind of its own and isn't saved as part of the seat memory settings.