Help! Uncomfortable In Seat!

[ticklishpalms]

New to Rivian - test leasing R1S over the weekend.

Took a longer trip with ~1 hour of driving each way and my lower back started killing me. I've experienced discomfort in other vehicles but nothing I couldn't resolve with a quick power seat adjustment.

For those of you who have a demanding back - what have you done to make the seat more comfortable? The seats are already firm and pushing out the lumbar support makes them feel like in a constant stretch so I'd prefer not having to do that.

Have any of you added cushions/pillows to make the seats softer?

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[Riviot]

Renting*

Lumbar adjusts up and down, in and out. Find the third dimensional sweet spot for you and save that position. My seats are so comfortable (back pain thanks to rough boats) that I love driving even long distances in the Rivian, but can't stand my wife's Rav4, even with its driver lumbar support (terriblé).

 

[R.I.P.]

I also find the seats not to be as comfortable as what I'm used to. Super subjective though, a lot of people seem just fine with them.

 

[COdogman]

Seats are so subjective. I find the Rivian seats light years better than the Tacoma seats I’m used to, mostly because they are so adjustable. Keep fiddling with the seat settings and I would be surprised if you can’t get it where you need it. Although I’m not dealing with a bad back either.

If you just can’t find a good setting for you, I do recall awhile back someone posting something about a cushion they were using. Try doing a title search for “seats” or “seat cushion”. The search function is not great but you might get lucky just because there hasn’t been many other similar threads.

 

[Redline]

I have a crappy back, and I find my Rivian seats superior to my old X5. You just have to find that sweet spot with Lumbar IMO.

 

[iforbes]

Lumbar is the answer. Your original post doesn’t mention that you used and/or adjusted it?

 

[Nacho Rivian]

New to Rivian - test leasing R1S over the weekend.

Took a longer trip with ~1 hour of driving each way and my lower back started killing me. I've experienced discomfort in other vehicles but nothing I couldn't resolve with a quick power seat adjustment.

For those of you who have a demanding back - what have you done to make the seat more comfortable? The seats are already firm and pushing out the lumbar support makes them feel like in a constant stretch so I'd prefer not having to do that.

Have any of you added cushions/pillows to make the seats softer?

Medical professional and R1S owner here. Everyone’s lower back issues are different. I suggest you to adjust in all different settings and positions until you feel comfortable. The key is finding the most ergonomic seat settings for your back. The R1S seat is one of the most comfortable seats I have ever experienced if you can find the sweet spot

 

[Zoidz]

You mentioned you could not find a comfortable setting with a "quick adjustment". Assuming you only had time/opportunity to truly do a few quick adjustments, I'm not surprised that you could not find something comfortable. The Rivian seats have a wide range of adjustment and it can take some experimenting to find what works for you. Initially, I was less than comfortable, but I now have it dialed in and I love the seats better than any vehicle I have owned. FWIW, I have always preferred firm seats. Three to four hour drives are not a problem for me.

Be sure to include the steering wheel and front/back and up/down adjustments. Sometimes lower back pain issues can be helped by changing how your legs are positioned/angled via up/down and front/back, and even arm position.

 

[GogglesPisano]

I was in the same boat. First week or so had my back and thighs killing me like I did a marathon at the gym. Didn’t realize it was the seats at first. They’re definitely super firm. I focused on readjusting the back angle and moving pressure away from my upper thighs. Took a bit but I finally found the sweet spot and now it’s comfy. Probably broke the seat in a bit too. Oh, very important to make sure you’re centered in the seat. Look down at the center stripe in the cushion and make sure you’re centered over it. I didn’t realize I would naturally bias to the left.

 

[sub]

Lumbar adjusts up and down, in and out. Find the third dimensional sweet spot for you and save that position.

How do you save the lumbar position?

Moving the seats forward or back will trigger the "do you want to save this" pop-up, but moving the lumbar does not trigger the pop-up for me.

And as far as I can tell, moving the lumbar and then making a nominal forward/back adjustments to trigger the pop-up doesn't end up saving the lumbar setting.

 

[Riviot]

How do you save the lumbar position?

Moving the seats forward or back will trigger the "do you want to save this" pop-up, but moving the lumbar does not trigger the pop-up for me.

And as far as I can tell, moving the lumbar and then making a nominal forward/back adjustments to trigger the pop-up doesn't end up saving the lumbar setting.

Indeed, it's really easy to save the lumbar position... Don't press anything ?

 

[NY_Rob]

...Oh, very important to make sure you’re centered in the seat. Look down at the center stripe in the cushion and make sure you’re centered over it. I didn’t realize I would naturally bias to the left.

I have noted the same thing, I constantly have to shift myself a bit more to the right in order to get the the seat cushion stripe directly under my butt centerline. I wonder if the steering wheel is offset to the left side a bit and that's what's causing us to sit further over to the left side?

I agree with others that mention the lumbar support adjustment is crucial to being comfortable. You may have to extend it a bit more than you like, but give it a try... that worked for me.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

If lumbar is an air bladder, don’t know if it is (is in some cars), firmness will fluctuate with temperature and deflate over time.

 

[ticklishpalms]

All - thank you for your inputs, suggestions, and overall support.

I'm still in slight pain 2 days post-rental. I think I'm generally not cut out for firm seats which is a bummer because I genuinely love everything about the R1S (minor inconveniences aside).

I'll try to rent a different R1S to see if it was a fluke after I've gone through a few other EVs. Hopefully Rivian offers comfort seat upgrades at some point!

 

[TexasBob]

I had the exact same problem - the R1S seat was creating significant sciatic pain. Never had it before. Long story, but this solved the problem. The Rivian lumbar was putting pressure on the nerve. This fixed it. Do not need it for most other vehicles.

https://a.co/d/duWVCEl

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