Any one having back pain issues/feeling uncomfortable with 2010 Tacoma seats

I gather from replies that body type is a factor. I'm currently trying out a pad on the seat back. For starters I cut a section of a 3/8" blue closed-cell foam camping pad and put that against the seat back. That makes a surprisingly big difference. I might be looking for a permanent (and less ugly) pad. I could go 1/2" -- but the pad must be firm.

 

Whoever doesn't like the SR5 buckets might want to try some wet okole covers. They made big difference in the comfort level to me. Also you can add an inflatable lumbar support to the wet okoles as an option too. Cheaper than switching buckets and less hassle too.

 

I turned my headrests around. No longer pushing on my head. I had a few neck injuries/surgeries and my seat is much more comfortable now.

 

One working solution: This prototype seat-back cushion has solved the back discomfort problem and the headrest position problem for me...

I bought some 1/2" cushion foam at a fabric store, and a yard of simple fleece fabric. I cut the foam to fit the seat back, excluding the headrest. Then I cut the fleece a foot longer than the foam and put 2 holes in one end. I tucked one end into the crack between the seat and back. The headrest posts go through the holes to hold the top of the fleece, so the fleece holds the foam in place.

I've been using this for a month or so. The only change is that I folded 3" of the foam up from the bottom to form a lumbar pad. (Yes, I have adjustable lumbar support but it's too high up in the seat.) If I don't find something like this on the market, I'll sew together a permanent version of the fleece-covered cushion.

The key seems to be that my head is now at a comfortable angle, not forced down. The headrest position apparently was the cause of my mid-back discomfort. I first discovered this by swapping the back and front seat headrests for a while. That led to my foam pad experiment.

The 2011 factory seat design is a total failure. The right thing for Toyota to do is to redesign the driver's seat and give owners a replacement.

 

My wife stitched a more permanent version of the 1/2" fleece cushion. I tried it on a multi-day trip and it's quite comfortable. If you do this, make the cushion wider at the shoulders than at the lumbar. The full width at your shoulders keeps you stable on curves.

 

OK, sorry for bringing back an old thread, but better than starting a new one. THIS (above quote) is the exact same problem I'm having. I just bought a used 2012 TRD Off Road in January. The past few weeks have been tough as my lower back is resting on this metal bar and there is very little cushion between me and the rigid bar. This portion of my seat feels like a 300lb man drove the truck for 10 years, it's all broke down. I'm 5'10 and 180lbs, athletic build. I love this truck, even with the drive line vibrations, but if I can't get some padding between me and this bar, I won't be able to continue driving this truck. Right now I'm sitting on a towel that has been folded a few times to boost my butt up higher. This has slightly helped to lift me above the bar, but it still bothers my lower back too much. Have any of you previous guys come up with the answer here? I'm not finding any recalls or TSB's (thank you Toyota) about the seats so I guess it's up to us. I read about the 1/2" padding one member has had luck with, but I'm not sure he and I are having the same discomfort, mine is all lower back. Not giving up yet, but seeking a cure before I end up like a question mark!
Thanks for the advise/help. If you do like your seats and think I'm a wimp, save it, go be a video game bad@ss or something and please keep this informative.

 

I've been finding my 2013 seats uncomfortable as well. What has helped most so far is using a Thermarest camp pillow behind my back. The foam in these pillows is made to compress and reinflate itself for camping so it is always fluffed when I get in the truck. For the record, I am 6'0 175lbs and have some other low back issues. I think I am almost a touch too tall for the windshield angle because I often catch myself slouching to see out (ever so slightly).

 

I'll look into that. I'm also considering some Wet Okole seat covers since they have extra padding. That's an expensive gamble though. They are a very nice product so I don't think I'd be too disappointing, but I'd rather see how much padding they have before I order some.

 

Agreed, the WO look nice but are $$$. I got the above mentioned pillow for about 14 bucks on Amazon and I can also use it camping.

 

Hey MikeMH, I've been talking with one of the Clazzio distributors and I think I'm going to give them a try. He has been telling me their leather covers have almost an 1" of memory foam in them. That might be the answers to get us up and away from the seat frame that is bothering some of us. Trying to find others to confirm or deny that claim, but they are supposedly nice covers for reasonable money.

EDIT: Just realized you're in Orlando. Lets meet up and see if our seats are the same. I'm starting to wonder if Toyota didn't have a batch of bad seats go out with insufficient padding.

 

Bumping this thread. After 20k miles I am considering a full size since I cannot get comfortable in the taco. I feel like if I sit back far enough to stretch my legs, the wheel doesn't telescope far enough to comfortably reach. If I sit close enough to reach the wheel, the seat is too high and I find myself slouching to see out the windshield.

Has anyone found a successful way to change the geometry of the seating position? I'm 6'0 175lbs for the record, not what I consider to be particularly larger than average.

 

Are these after market seat covers engineered to work with the airbags?

 

Do you look like a T-Rex???

Just giving you a hard time man. I'm 6' and weigh 185 and the truck fits me perfectly (other than I wish the armrest was a little bit higher). I love the TRD seats and they are quite possibly the most comfortable seats I've had in a truck. As far as changing the geometry it would take a special bracket on the bottom of the seat track and that would screw it up even more for you I would imagine and be unsafe in the process.

 

6"3, 265lbs, bought the TRD because of how comfortable I found it, as well as the locker. Never had a problem on long trips.

 

That's the problem I had initially. To recap, I quickly made a full height seat back cushion (link is to my earlier post in this thread), fine tuned it, then persuaded my wife to make the final cushion. The cushion simply brings my shoulders closer to the wheel, but not my hips.

Previously I had swapped the headrests around, positioned the seat every which way, tried a lumbar pillow, etc., etc.

The cushion we made works great. I've driven 900 miles solo in one day and had no extraordinary complaints from my back and neck.

This thread has uncovered some more classy and expensive options that may work well for you in the long run. Foam is cheap and easy to cut -- you can determine whether this will solve your back problem and what thickness you need, for about $15 at a fabric store. I later went to a foam shop and bought a remnant of thin closed-cell foam to boost thickness.

I'm about your size, 6'1, 167#.

 

Thanks for your followup, glad you had success. I am going to experiment with some foam and see what I can do.

Could you take a picture of what you did?

 

Here are a couple of quick snapshots. Make the shoulder area as wide as you can without covering the side bolsters. Experiment with just foam before committing to a thickness or shape.

The front of the cover is ordinary fleece and the back is just any fabric you want. Inside is 1/2" foam. There's a zipper running down the length of the back so the foam can be removed for cleaning the cover. All of this came from a fabric store.

I doubled the thickness of the foam behind my lumbar to suit me. You could also sew a narrow slice of closed-cell foam into the "tail" to hold it more securely.


Above: seat cushion.

Above: Seat cushion untucked to show the "tail" that you push down between the seat and back to hold it in place.

 

I forgot to add the photo from the back of the headrest, of the buckle and straps.

 

The seats in my new 2018 tacoma are killing my back. There is just something about the low back support, angle of the seat and height of the seat.
It’s practically instantaneous for me even during a 5 minute drive.
An expensive foam pillow inbehind my lower back helps a lot.
I think raising the entire seat and raising the butt so legs aren’t angled up will help a lot. Which means a leather upholstery job. It’s crazy to me that such a great vehicle can be such an ergonomic cluster.
Thinking about it a little more - I think the butt sitting in a hole at the back of the seat so that you are sitting below your knees is the primary mechanism of discomfort.