Published December 11, 2009 | 
If you are like me, you have realized quickly after your 2009, 2010 or newer Subaru Forester Purchase that the vehicle’s seats are pretty uncomfortable, mostly caused by the lack of lateral thigh support. Here I have a cheap solution that has been working for me, and although ghetto looking, it might keep you from selling your Forester. (less ghetto looking solution though amazon link below)
Updates!
Planning my own custom seat cushion
Testing my new custom seat cushion
You would think that pumping the manual seat up higher would fix this problem, however it slightly tilts the seat forward more, and moves the driver closer to the pedals lifting the lower thigh away from the seat even more than it does when the car’s seat is down low closer to the floor. In order to help alleviate the thigh support problem, the driver must increase their driving height without the seat tilting forward like it does with the seat controls. |
forester thigh support solution
Well heres my solution to the problem, get a cheap $3.00 pillow from walmart and put it on your seat. Yes I’m in my 20′s and this makes me look like an old man (I cant believe a guy in his 20′s can get painful hip inflammation from such a poorly designed seat!), but this pillow has completely alleviated my problems, I get thigh support extended all the way to the end of the seat (the seat should be about 4 or 5 inches longer anyways!)… I also find that this places the lumbar support built in the seat into a place that better supports my back, so it kind of kills 2 birds with 1 stone.
People with power seats have the capability of tilting their seat bottoms into any position they desire (although I have still found the electric seats quite limited in terms of where I would prefer to have it).. So if you dont want to go the cushion route, you have the option of getting a power seat installed at your dealer. I have read people saying that the STI seats are more comfortable however without power adjustment options, they are almost identical to the regular forester seat except covered in leather, and still suffer from the “tilting forward slightly” problem making them likely just as lacking in comfort.
All of my previous cars were used luxury vehicles. My old Land Rover Discovery had great seats, and my saabs had absolutely fantastic seats with huge ranges of adjustment. This is my first new “non-luxury” vehicle, and being the most expensive vehicle I have ever purchased, I assumed the seats would be fine. They seemed fine on the test drive, it wasnt until I went on a 100 mile trip that I noticed I was getting extended hip pain and inflammation. I had no idea that it costs more money to shape foam in such a way that better supports the driver (sarcasm)… I love everything about this vehicle and the seats seem like an enormous afterthought and are the only real outstanding flaw. I guess I know now to take long term seat comfort into greater consideration when looking for things on a new vehicle; and to probably spend a few hours test driving it to see how things go.
If the pillow solution didn’t work so good, I would seriously consider selling the vehicle and getting something else.
20 Responses to Subaru Forester Seat Comfort Problem
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Pingback: New Project, Build a Custom Seat Pad for my Subaru Forester | Blogger Boon
We also dislike the seat. It was on our first trip that I got hip pain. I was in the passenger seat. My husband gets lower back pain from driving the car. I have never spent more than 30 minutes driving the car. The seat is a very big disappointment. Did Subaru have a solution?
No, except getting a power seat installed, but even that it very limited in its range of motion compared to most American and European cars…. They keep forgetting to get back to me with a price quote… I have an $800 figure in my head as a guess though (pure guess). I would never pay more than that. I am working on making my own seat cushion. Currently using a pillow I have alleviated all of my pain. My custom cushion will match the interior and be made of vinyl and high density foam.
Here’s a link to my project: http://bloggerboon.com/2010/02/26/new-project-build-a-custom-seat-pad-for-my-subaru-forester/
I purchased a 2008 Forester LL Bean 2 days ago. After driving it for about an hour the seat cushion hurt me, and I had pain in my hips and legs. Fortunately, today at a foam rubber shop I purchased a cushion made of 3-inch-thick high density foam rubber. The shop had even made their own covers to sell with these cushions.
I put the cushion in the car, adjusted the seat bottom to the lowest setting, and drove for three hours (with only short breaks). I am happy to report that the high density foam rubber worked great for me. I was even able to enjoy the ride, instead of thinking how uncomfortable the seat cushion was.
The foam cushion is about the same size as the car seat cushion, and it just lifts off the seat if someone wants to take it out. The only issue is that when i get in or out of the car, the cushion slides on the leather seat, and I need to re-position it before driving off. (But this is a small price to pay to have comfort while driving).
We are having the same problem with our 2010 Legacy. We purchased the 2.5i Premium with the auto driver seat and it is horrible. We have tried several different cushions and nothing is working. We are going to try the pillow, but we may end up having to sell the car and it has less than 1500 miles on it. Very discouraged because we spent a lot of time and effort making sure we got the best car for our money.
Pingback: I Have Built and Thoroughly Tested the New Subaru Forester Seat Cushion | Blogger Boon
Just made an update, I have built and tested the new seat cushion!
http://bloggerboon.com/2010/06/05/i-have-built-and-thoroughly-tested-the-new-subaru-forester-seat-cushion/
I’m having the same problem with my new 2010 Outback 2.5i. I didn’t notice the problem on a 45-minute test drive but I sure did after 90 minutes on the road. My experience is that the bolster at the front of the seat is too high, pressing hard on my right (throttle-pedal) hamstring, a few inches behind the knee-joint; it’s impossible to find a comfortable “working” position. The bolster cuts off the circulation to my butt. None of the available (10-way power) seat adjustments are much help. Oddly, my left leg is not impacted.
A local automotive upholsterer says the typical fix is to add padding to the centre of the seat (i.e., “thigh support”) – it will not be a visible modification; they can also add padding to the lumbar area. I’m going to go this route first, seeing as I have zero tailoring skills and equipment.
My guess is that Subaru could eliminate this problem by adding an adjustable front bolster to their seats. The seats in my 2007 328ix had this feature, and they were great for long-distance driving.
Yea that would help with comfort. Another problem is that instead of supporting your thighs, the seat bottom over-supports directly under your tailbone which can cause nerve pain in a lot of people.
Wished I would of read these comments a few years ago, now that I’m practically crippled from driving the Outback. Thought it was just “shit happens” to the body but began to get suspicious recently when I put the facts together. That when I drive my classic VW bus in the Summer months my hip improves. Then when using the Outback for the snowy Winter months, I can barely walk – or sleep much of the time from burning hip pain. Please Subaru, show us compassion for the pain and agony you’ve caused us by your torture seats, and pay for our recovery and/or hip replacements? Rather ironic PAYING for pain.
My wife has owned Subaru’s for 30 yr. and last month purchased a new 2011 Forester 2.5i Model with manual seats and the front seats are horrible to say the least, we both have hip and butt pain bad. She has bought 3 diffrent cushions and nothing is working,sad part is the vehicle is great in all other respects, love it as far as handling etc; like to know who was the person at Subaru that came up with these seats, must decided to cheap out on them.I like to put him or her in one make them drive cross country. Being comfortable in a vehicle is half of reason you buy it.
If Subaru doesn’t care anymore than this about there seats what else have they decided to cheap out on makes you think.
I’ve noticed in one week of looking around in parking lots found 5 Subaru’s with some sort of cushion on front seats, spoke to one lady that had Outback with 2 cushions on drivers seat and said keeps her from getting Subaru Butt, and thats about right.
I called the dealer again today and said to come back and see about if could work out something,told them we’re very upset about this situation, and I also told them we just recieved the Subaru survey in mail and are waiting to see what they do to help us before fill out. Subaru dozen’t care any more about there customers, then we don’t care anymore about buying there product, I own a small corporation I’ll make sure it well known and wide spread, I thinking class action law suit boys and girls.
If you do find out about a class action count me in
Hi Gary I am having the same seat issue as you talk about in your post. I am wondering if you received any response from Subaru ?
I have just purchased a 2011 and am almost crippled by the front seats and spent a further $400 to have the seats padded ….still no good. I had a rental car for 2 weeks no back pain one hour in my forester and back pain again I have to sit sideways. I have been in contact with subaru and can’t believe there attitude, but there is mediation on all news cars or lemon laws. If I sell or trade I will lose big time, but it will be better than being crippled. I have owned other subarus with no problems and had the hyundai tucson which I traded with 100,000 miles on that I loved, the only reason for not buying the new tucson was they re-designed it…….but I will never own another piece of crap subaru……..I paid way too much for this piece of crap.
Hey, Karen … My college-student daughter and I recently bought her a used 2009 Forester Premium, and we have been shocked at the pain the seat causes her. When you say you spent $400 to have the seats padded, did you have it done by an auto upholsterer or buy some kind of cushioning to put on top? I am thinking about taking the car to an auto upholsterer, which seems like the only real solution, but I hate to spend a lot of money on it just blindly hoping that they can figure out what to do to fix the problem. What have you tried?
I have had so much stress and physical pain from this Subaru seat. I am very sad because this is a good car however the pain is getting unbearable. I have been driving around with two pillows on the seat but they are no longer working. I can not believe the manufacture would design a seat that places your but lower then your legs. It sets the driver up for serious problems. I am looking for a seat that lowers in the front. Something that I can place in my Subaru. Even if it is from a differnt type of car. Maybe I can fabricate it ? This is frightening and a pain in the ass.
I’m wondering if anyone has found an aftermarket solution or cushion that works for the Subaru. I just bought a 2011 Forester after much research and am horrified to discover how much pain it causes me to drive this car, even for 30 minutes. I need to do a lot of driving, so this is a serious problem for me. Although I researched the car thoroughly, the hip pain issue did not arise in my research (until now!) and did not surface during my 10-minute test drives of the vehicles at dealers. I’m not quite ready for the DIY project– has anyone found a solution yet?
I purchased a 2009 Forester, base model, in late 2008. Quickly discovered that the seats are indeed crap. For shorter trips – under an hour – I’ve put up with the hip and thigh discomfort. Over the past two years I’ve taken longer trips (twice to Chicago and back, from Denver); the seats are intolerable for journeys of that nature. My wife can’t stand to ride in the car for longer than an hour. She’s in excellent shape, does outdoor work for a living, etc..; still says that the Subaru seats make her hips/legs feel terrible.
Due to the rear bumper being replaced on the Forester this week, I’ve had a Nissan Rogue as a rental for the past few days. Wow ! What a huge difference. We both took an extended ride in the Nissan last night; the seats are just right, plenty of thigh and lumbar support. Solid well made car too: I could live with the slightly lower cargo room if need be. While the Subaru is a great vehicle in all other ways, I will sell it for a Rogue unless I find a relatively cost effective way to resolve the seat problem. And I hate wrangling with car dealers; I’m good at it, but I’ve had enough 3 – 4 hour car buying arguments to last a lifetime.
What was the ‘amazon link’ that the admin. mentioned ? All I’ve seen are the AllMed and TempuraPedic solutions….
I’ve been dealing with this problem for a year and a half and I have power seats. No matter which way I position it I can’t get comfortable. I’ve tried wedge cushions, full seat cushions, etc. I’ve identified 2 problems. 1) if you feel along the button cushion on the seem that goes across towards the back you’ll feel to sharp points about 2inches in from each bolster…my ass bone contacts those points directly.
Second, notice on most car seats you have the lumbar curve going in and then it’s slightly flat in center before curving slightly forward towards the top of the seat. With the Forester seat you have the lumbar curving in and then from the center it keeps on tappering back slightly til the top of the seat, there’s no foward tapper like you would expect. So when your sitting in the forester your back is always going to be slightly hyper extended unless you have the seat completely vertical but in my case that puts me too close to the wheel with no more room to put the seat back. Maybe the seats are more comfortable for short Japanese men? I’m 6′ 1″. I’m going to play around with making a cushion on top of the seat back to my spine curves naturally while I’m seated.