Driver’s Seat Comfort

The seat itself isn’t too bad for me, but I find that I have to position myself just right to push the clutch without banging my shin. That and my foot gets hung up on the clutch pedal hinge. Together they sort of force me to sit in an uncomfortable position. Not bad enough that I can’t drive it, but I’ll definitely take more breaks on long hauls.

 

Start simple.

visit your local medical supply store, the kind that specialize in wheelchairs, crutches, and support devices.

i bought a simple rectangle shaped cushion that is 2.5 inches thick memory foam. It is medium soft, so it compresses down to about 1.5 inches when seated.

That raises your hips. Problem with Taco seats is they are too close to the floor, and transfer all the stress to your lower back, thighs and hips.

By raising your hips and butt it might be all you need.

I am 6 ft 1 inch, 200 pounds and 3 full years of work disability for back and neck injuries.

This is my first Taco, but 4th 4x4. Others were Ford F150, 250, and a Mazda B4000.

I had no back issues in any of them. After driving the Taco for a few weeks, I thought what have I done? My hips, thighs and back were so sore I could not take it.

I tried a number of cheapo cushions from retail stores, none worked.

Found the medical supply store here, paid $100 for the cushion and that was it. All pain issues from driving disappeared.

I am offroad at least 30 trips per year on horrible washboard and pothole roads for 3 years since buying the cushion, but no pain issues now related to driving.

This is the one I bought. There are others that likely work well. It works so well for me that I often take it into the house for my kitchen chair.

No issues for me re head clearance when using it.

https://orthex.ca/en/products/posture-cushions/symbia-2-5/

 

I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to post this. Very very much appreciated!

 

I know this may not be helpful…. But, I’m 48, 5’11, and 215lbs. I find that the seats in my Taco are pretty comfortable. I exercise and stretch regularly and I think that makes a difference. It may be that no mod will help your comfort.
Several years ago my wife had a Honda car that was murder on her back. The only solution we found was to get her a different vehicle.

 

If a local store carries it, try it first. The medical store here let me take it out to the parking lot to try out first. As soon as I tried it I knew I had to buy it and give it a go. If worked out very well.

 

I don’t think that the seats themselves are bad, but the whole seating geometry is the problem. I had an ‘89 Toyota pickup and drove it from RI to CA, multiple 20-hour straight-through drives from FL to OH, 190K miles total. Most comfortable vehicle I’ve owned. The ‘23 Tacoma feels like I’m sitting on the floor.

I still haven’t found the ideal seating position, so I’m sure it will take some combination of seat height adjustment or cushion mods to get it right. Good luck on your mods.

 

Well @Rock Lobster I installed the power seat Friday. So far, so go...in process of finding that sweet spot. I'll update after more drive time.

 

Man, I've got sciatica and I just can't get comfortable in these seats. I have the seat jackers but they really didn't make a difference and I think maybe made it worse because my hips and everything were even more out of level. I may try and get some washers for the back but I'm 6'2" and 205 lbs at 40 years old so my head will be touching the headliner if I go too high. I feel like it wasn't like this for the first 6 months I had the truck so maybe I just need to actually fix my posture and get my sciatica fixed.

 

Or there is this. One of the around the world Tacomas has these. $2500 a pair but if it is bad. This is the way…

https://scheel-mann.com/

You could just get the drivers one.

 

I haven’t ruled this out. They look amazing, and anything would be better than the stock seats.

 

Ugh, sorry. Sciatica is rough. I think that you may be right that the real fix is finding the cause of your sciatica to see if it's something other than just seat alignment that causes it. We're all different and the seat jackers and removing my wallet from my back pocket pretty much eliminate my issues. Hope you find a fix.

 

Once again, it really is a terrible flaw in this vehicle’s design. Finding a comfortable seating position shouldn’t be a chore (or be basically impossible) for so many people. There is incredible brand-loyalty at play, along with bulletproof engines and insane resale value, that make people ignore it or put up with it, or if you just happen to be lucky enough to have the right anatomy that the seats work for you. But the bottom line is, it’s an awful problem and it’s far too common.

 

If you think about it, the mere existence of Seat Jackers says it all. How many have been sold specifically for the Tacoma? Are people constantly complaining about seat position/comfort on other enthusiast forums? I know it’s another class altogether, with different tolerances and build-quality and ergonomics, but do Mercedes Benz vehicles ever experience this problem? I doubt it. Again, I know they’re different applications, but seat comfort really should be in a vehicle’s DNA!

 

In my case, I bought seat jackers just to get more room underneath for my subwoofer. I raised the front and rear both about the same amount, and it made zero difference in my comfort (I was already comfortable), but now the sun visors are more effective.

 

That’s fair. I don’t have the stats (don’t work for the company and I’m not bashing them in any way, they saw a problem and they provided a solution) but I reckon that the people vast majority are bought to address comfort issues and not for clearance/space issues.

 

Thanks! Luckily I already keep my wallet in my side pocket. Maybe I'll try the jackers again and add just a small washer in the back. Definitely going to schedule a visit with the PT though.

 

We're probably a small subset of the Tacoma owners who would even notice this comfort issue. I feel like most people who own tacomas aren't driving long enough distances regularly to really notice or care much about the seat comfort. At least for me, the comfort issue didn't become apparent until I drove longer than 7-8 hours.

So it's manageable for most of the demographic, just a glaring issue for a select few. At least that's my opinion of it. I've only heard people who road-trip extensively complain about the comfort issue, the next common one would be guys too tall who want leg support. And being tall is an issue in many vehicles.

 

I am 6' 1" and my '23 has a run roof. It can be interesting at times finding a comfortable position. Ive found that if i sit in the middle of the seat favoring the right side a bit, i have more headroom because of where the moonroof is. On the left side I dont have near as much. I also have the lumbar support up pretty high too. Do you have the power seat? Tilting the front of the seat all the way up and the back all the way down helps me too.

Also, for long trips, it REALLY helps to drive with no shoes. I just did an 8ish hr round trip last week and this really helps a lot. You can set the cruise and stretch out your legs a lot more. But there is only so much we can do at the end of the day. Just gotta embrace it! The shallow floor helps a lot with clearance for trails and such.

 

That's the thing, for me this vehicle never goes more than a couple hundred miles away from home, and the time I spend in the seat isn't enough to make me complain, even as a 6'2" driver with a bulging disk and mild sciatica symptoms. If I spent 8 hours at a clip regularly driving it, I would probably feel differently, but my commute is 30 minutes or less each way, and the trips I take rarely involve sitting in the seat for more than 2-3 hours a few times a year. I think it actually helps that I have a manual, and need to use my left leg, which is the leg with the sciatia symptoms, so it isn't just sitting there cramping up.

Where I am actually picky is my motorcycle, as I DO spend 8 or more hours in the seat when I am traveling, and I have spend thousands of dollars over the years on seats for different bikes. I've owned about 20 bikes, at least half of them have had seat modifications or new seats installed.

It's just the cost of being comfortable. So I understand those who modify or replace their Tacoma seats, I just don't have an issue with mine, due to the way I use the vehicle.

 

Ya agreed. The taco isnt the best seating position. My dads tundra is like a dang couch and my moms 4 runner is good too, especially with the cooled seats.

Still better than driving a jeep