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Uncomfortable Drivers Seat Is220d 2007


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I need help, just bought IS220d SE MM and I cannot get comfortable on driving extended journeys. I only took the car out for a 10 minute test drive and the seating position felt ok for that period of time. But having just come back from an hour drive, my back is in two..!!!

It's as though the base of the seat doesn't quite meet the back of the seat and as a result the lumbar is too high in my back... I really don't know is the truth. If i could pinpoint the reason for it I could solve it myself or sell it on.

I've tried adjusting all the seat adjustments there is but no joy so far on that long journey.

Has anyone else found the seat uncomfortable?

Please help as I really like the car and it's toys, etc and don't want to have to sell it on so soon...

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I need help, just bought IS220d SE MM and I cannot get comfortable on driving extended journeys. I only took the car out for a 10 minute test drive and the seating position felt ok for that period of time. But having just come back from an hour drive, my back is in two..!!!

It's as though the base of the seat doesn't quite meet the back of the seat and as a result the lumbar is too high in my back... I really don't know is the truth. If i could pinpoint the reason for it I could solve it myself or sell it on.

I've tried adjusting all the seat adjustments there is but no joy so far on that long journey.

Has anyone else found the seat uncomfortable?

Please help as I really like the car and it's toys, etc and don't want to have to sell it on so soon...

On one of my many test drives I had exactly the same problem. Had the car for the day, after a couple of hours was very uncomfortable, back ache and a stiff, almost numb, back-side, I am a bit prone to back ache. One of the problems with the fully electric seat is the miriad of different positions you can achieve. I had the same problem with the base, felt like there was a gap. What I did was fully ease off the lumber support and raise the front squab which lifts the thighs, this took some of the weight off my back-side in effect spreading the area of support (I'm not overweight, in case your'e wondering) I also had my seat back well up ( not reclined too much ) I then played around with the lumber support, you can feel it gradually increasing. After a while managed to get a very comfortable position by making minor adjustments while I was driving. After having previously driven other IS's without a problem I originally thought there was something wrong with the seat. The key for me was raising the front squab. Hope it works, once you get it right it's extremely comfortable.

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NobleSX,

Hope you get your seat sorted. A physio told me that car seats are a major cause of backache. A lot of them like very few of them. A problem you may have if you raise the front squab is that you may be compressing your thigh muscle when you change gear, if manual.

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NobleSX,

Hope you get your seat sorted. A physio told me that car seats are a major cause of backache. A lot of them like very few of them. A problem you may have if you raise the front squab is that you may be compressing your thigh muscle when you change gear, if manual.

Good point, NobleSX drives a manual, I was driving an auto, he can still give it a go though.

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  • 4 years later...

just found this post, hope no-one minds me resurrecting it.

I've got a 2007 poverty spec 220D with no built in lumbar support in the seats. I'm now at the point of selling the car because I hate the seats so much - I was in Germany last week in a Hertz hire Opel Corsa and the seat was infinitely more comfortable that my supposedly premium brand Lexus............

The rest of the car is great - new engine at 85K (many thanks Lexus Leicester) and with a semi decent set of aftermarket 18" TSW wheels now looks the part (destroys mpg by 10%, mind). Its just the seats - I hate 'em. My GF's got a 2002 Celica which is a hoot to drive and a pleasure to sit in.

Anyone else found a way to add decent lumbar support to a poverty spec IS seat? The only useful thing I've found so far are those naff beaded seat covers but I hate having to drive around feeling like a Moroccan taxi driver.............

Alternatively anyone with around £5k in the Midlands area is welcome to take a look at her...

2007 57 plate IS220D silver

105K on clock - new engine at 85k (Lexus Leicester)

FSH - first 40k at Lexus, rest at garage local to me (good enough for Lexus to grant me a new engine with)

18" TSW Kyalamis on car with new tyres on back and 4 - 5mm tread Yokohamas on front (+ pair of extra Accelera's in the garage). I'll also throw in the original 16" alloys with decent 5mm or so Avons)

Even better would be someone willing to do a deal on a 190 Celica..........(wink wink)

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I had a similar problem with my SE-I (2010 Model), it has become alot better once I lowered the front part of the seat to support the thighs, also pushed in the lower back, seems to have helped.

I also try to avoid wearing a jacket with a hood to stop the upper back/ shoulder ache.

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when you say lower the front part of the seat do you mean lower the front edge closest to your knees? In previous cars I've found a huge difference making sure the seat lower is in full contact with the whole length of my thigh. I find that in the IS the front edge is at least two inches away from my thigh meaning that all my weight is taken by my backside (surely not good?). I've added spacer washers under the front mounting bolts to raise the front edge a bit (the adjustment does not travel far enough) but to no avail.

I'm convinced its the lack of adjustable lumbar support. I've opened the seat back up and can see that my upper body weight is supported by a fairly flimsy sofa style spring arrangement. I'm trying to work out how to add an internal lumbar support mechanism.

The best car seats I've ever experienced were those in a Type V Honda accord (Nappa leather, great range of lumbar suppport adjustability) and the worst were in an Audi A4 (complete and utter teutonic overrated junk - hated it, hated it, hated it)

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so you lower the front edge of the seat? I've been worried about doing that as I felt it would make my backside take even more weight - a bit like sitting on one of those narrow bus stop style benches that only support five inches of your bum.........

I'm going to try it as soon as i get back to Blighty

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Today I tried raising the front edge of the seat all the way to the top(raised to the max) and i have to say it was not so bad it did feel like the pressure was taken off my bottom.

Let see how long it lasts.

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Have a 250 and of the 40 or so cars I've owned, and the hundreds of others I have driven, in over 40 years, it probably has the least comfy seating position. On my test drive seemed fine, but once I had it a few hundred miles I detested it, and still do. My issue is the lack of thigh support so my right leg doesnt have support and after 10 mins or so this gives me backache (I'm 6 foot so not tall). Even resorted to the desperate measure of putting spacers under the front seat fastening point with longer bolts to raise the frot of the seat, but the miniscule gainit didnt help. Had several Lexuses and all been a delight to sit in, except this one. I will probably end up getting rid of it for this reason. Reminds me, so much of this car is dissapointing compared to the LX400's and GS300's I have had. I suspect it will be my last Lexus.

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Glad its not just me........

I jacked up the front of my seat also and agree that to make any difference you really need longer bolts (which then throws out the hole geometry) I genuinely want to keep Lily but the back discomfort thing is doing my head in. Spent yesterday driving up and down the land in my gfs celica, how can Toyota get the seats so right in one car but so wrong in anpther?

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