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.
[...] So if you read my post about how uncomfortable the seats are in my 2009 Subaru Forester XT are, you understand where this is coming from. See here: http://bloggerboon.com/2009/12/11/subaru-forester-seat-comfort-problem/ [...]
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/
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.
[...] the complaining stage: http://bloggerboon.com/2009/12/11/subaru-forester-seat-comfort-problem/ [...]
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/