How to fix wildly uncomfortable driver's seat on 2018 Taco

Hello, my partner purchased a 2018 Tacoma recently and I had the chance to drive it on a 350 mile road trip on my own. It was a nightmare. I had to pull over every hour because my legs were going numb and my sciatic nerve was clearly being pinched. I couldn't make it better no matter how I adjusted the seat. I told my partner about it and he said he also got back pain from long trips in the Tacoma. I'm 5'7" and have very long legs, whereas my partner is 6'1 and has a longer torso. What's the fix here? One of those things that jacks the seats up, or a wedge-shaped cushion to correct the upwards-sloping seats? Or both? Thanks is advance.

 

Hi,
I feel your pain, I found the 2021 seat not much better. It’s 10 way adjustable to anything but comfortable. I ended up buying one of the mesh lumbar supports. Put a seat cover over it. It’s getting closer to comfortable, not quite there yet. Hoping to see some ideas posted.

 

Amazon.com/Desert-Does-Front-Jackers-Spacers/dp/

$110 B088P6H1HB Front Seat Jackers® - Made in USA, Seat Riser, Seat Spacer, DDI Original Design, Solid Aluminum, Factory Grade or Better Hardware, Compatible with Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner, FJ, and Lexus GX

B088P6H1HB

It seems like a lot of people say these fix their problem.

 

Comfort is subjective… I would try to raise the seats a little . They make a lot of seat cushions that might help . Best of luck I had the same issue in my 18 accord tried different things with no relief . I ended up selling the accord .

 

I had the same problem. Desert Does It seat jackers in the front fixed it for me.

They will seem a bit expensive until you sit in your modded seat -- top quality and worth every penny.

https://desertdoesit.com/collection...a-1-1-4-front-seat-spacer-lifts-front-of-seat

Welcome to Tacoma World

 

In my old 2010 I used a spacer lift in the rear of the seat mount combined with Wet Okole seat covers. I had a foam cushion for lumbar support under the cover, but later removed it as I could never find the right spot and it was a PITA to adjust.

I’m about to trade my 2010 in on a 2021 and am sad to hear the seats still suck.

If I can’t find a comfortable position with the stock set up, there is a local auto upholstery specialist near me that friends have used to redo seats in their trucks. I’ll probably go that route.

I’ve got to think your truck has seat mounted air bags (my old one does, so I’d think yours must). Just make certain anything you do is compatible with an air bag. You really don’t want to mess around with those.

 

There are a few writeups on TW and also YouTube detailing how to add spacers to the front or back parts of the seats to help with comfort. Im thinking that may be an inexpensive workaround before dropping $100- $200 on Skyjackers. Its not that they aren’t built well, I just dont want to pay that and find out they dont help me.

 

Seat jackers did the trick for me as well. They are a bit pricey, but worth it. A DIY washer and new bolt system may get the seat into a comfortable position, but could put you at risk in a crash. I personally don't trust a diy bolts and washers to hold the seat in a severe crash.

The seat jackers create a very close to factory anchor system and surface on surface contact. Thats what I'm willing to pay for. These are solid. Maybe more than what is needed, but at least I have the piece of mind. I don't plan on being in a bad crash, but none of the people involved ever plan it either. And yes, I have done my fair share of severe accident investigations as an accident reconstructionist. Any DIY seat attachment system would certainly be disclosed to the insurance provider during a severe injury crash. Thats what their investigators are paid to find to lower their payment.

 

i had the same symptom you describe, and i tried both raising the seat front, and i tried customizing the seat to bucket it and drop the tailbone area. raising the seat was a fail for me. bucketing the seat worked perfectly, and it's now about the most comfortable seat i own. you can check it here, scroll down to 'seat contour': https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/daves-drivers-truck.659667/#post-23055717

 

That's odd, because I figured that the slight downward slope from the front to the back of the seat was shifting the bulk of my weight onto my sciatic. I would have thought making a seat more bucket-like would increase the slope and make the weight shifting worse? Or do I just not know what bucketing means? In any event, I'm glad you found a fix!

 

I just installed a set of front/rear Wet Okele covers with the inflatable lumbar support/ heaters in my 2010. I am very happy with them so far. You can position the lumbar support vertically anywhere that you need because of the way they have 8" of Velcro inside the cover. I also really like that it is inflatable instead of just using the "roller" with a crank that is on the seat as normal. It might take you a few times to position the lumbar perfectly, but you will get used to taking the covers on/off in about 30 mins.

 

it's the same effect as seat risers. the risers raise the front and increase the angle. bucketing lowers the rear and increases the angle. same thing. my long legs couldn't do the risers as they pushed my knees into the dash

 

Rear seat spacers helped for me. It's all personal.