I’m gonna say it, I hate the JL driver seat!

[Walter-new jeeper]

The seat in the JL sucks, and those who think it doesn't haven't owned a recent model JK.

It's flat, hard, too short at the lower cushion, has no tilt adjustment, and the lumbar adjustment hits you above the lumbar portion of your spine. Combined with the nearly 2 inch loss of hip room, the JL driver position blows.

Well, actually the tilt does adjust - as you raise the seat. I pumped the height lever and it looks like the back goes up 1 unit, the front about a half unit. So as you raise the seat the tilt lessens. The greatest tilt is found at the lowest seat position. I would like just a wee bit more tilt though, and it would be nice to be able to adjust the tilt without raising or lowering the seat itself.

And I will probably do the half inch nut option on the drivers seat to raise the front up a smidge.

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[cbr954]

What in the world does being a veteran have to do with anything?

 

[Sean L]

What in the world does being a veteran have to do with anything?

Because our backs are bad from wearing 60+ Lbs of Body Armor and equipment all of the time.

 

[Will]

The JL seats are immensely more comfortable than my Toyota Tacoma. The Tacoma’s try to hide the lack of headroom by sitting the seats close to the tub so my knees are angled up and literally 6” above the seats when my feet are flat on the floor. The height adjustment of the JL is nice; not all vehicles have this. It’s actually the first vehicle we have owned that my wife and I both like the seats. I’m 5’ 11” and she’s 5’ 1”. Her only complaint is the forward angle of the headrest.

 

[Niteshooter]

Wonder if you can find a local custom auto seat upholstery shop. Sounds like you are on the the right track pinpointing the reason for the discomfort. I’ve had seats redone in one of my Jeeps and it made a huge difference, mainly in the padding.

Also aftermarket is an option though racing style buckets feel like a bad idea. Plus most of this stuff is online and you really need to try them out before committing.

On a different note, one of my cars got rear ended and this put a very subtle twist in the seat frame and track. Not noticeable visually but it was enough to be unbearable on long drives.

 

[cjaama]

I’ve got a little more seat time in since I last posted in this thread (trying to drive the car with three weeks left on the lease as much as possible). For me I’m realizing the issue is not in the adjustable lumbar area, it is the area just above it (kidneys), which protrudes. Like the OP, I really wish the back was just completely flat like the passenger seat, which is very comfortable. Between that and the headrest my spine is far from straight.

I’m sure it’s just me, but I’d like to get my ass in another JL to make sure someone in the upholstery shop didn’t just leave their sweatshirt in the back of my seat.

 

[Niteshooter]

Maybe these?
https://www.autobahnpower.com/recaroseats/recaroergonomicseats/product_recaro-orthoped_19056.aspx

Recaro are OEM in some cars so quality and safety should not be an issue. I have them in my Turbo Coupe and pulls from a Mustang in my CJ.

 

[shellster]

I'm glad to see it's not just me. I have the exact same problem. I'm 1 month in and I could have written the exact post (minus the veteran part) the seat sucks and the passenger side is lovely. I even tried to duplicate the exact same position of the passenger side to see if it helped, I'm at a loss. I only drive for 30 minutes each way to work but that is enough time to ruin my back. Did you find a solution. I'm a bit taller at 6 ft but same issue. Thanks for your post.

 

[twisty]

Comfortable is a personal thing. So for me personally my initial impressions were the seats were too firm and I was looking to be pissed about sitting in a harsh seat on road and especially off road. Never happened.

I have taken several 8 hour road trips and one 5 hour long reasonably harsh off road trip, MANY FS road trips and another two hour semi tech trip and was just waiting to be uncomfortable but it never happened. Thank goodness, I bought the jeep to go to Alaska. lol

For ME the seat hit a sweet spot but everyone is different and no manufacturer is going to hit it for everyone.

 

[cjaama]

Initially I found the seat very uncomfortable. After reclining it one notch it from where I would normally have it made a world of difference in both lumbar and headrest discomfort. I still do think the passenger seat is more comfortable though.

 

[mwronkow]

I'm glad to see it's not just me. I have the exact same problem. I'm 1 month in and I could have written the exact post (minus the veteran part) the seat sucks and the passenger side is lovely. I even tried to duplicate the exact same position of the passenger side to see if it helped, I'm at a loss. I only drive for 30 minutes each way to work but that is enough time to ruin my back. Did you find a solution. I'm a bit taller at 6 ft but same issue. Thanks for your post.

Yes I found a great solution, but you aren’t going to be excited to hear it.

I sold it for a Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE, and I 100% do not regret it. Even though I am completely obsessed with Jeeps, I just can’t handle driving one.

Another option would be buying a different set of seats from a good company, but I didn’t pursue that avenue.

There was some other contributing issues with the JL that led me to sell it.

Good luck!

 

[JimLee]

Yes I found a great solution, but you aren’t going to be excited to hear it.

I sold it for a Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE, and I 100% do not regret it. Even though I am completely obsessed with Jeeps, I just can’t handle driving one.

Another option would be buying a different set of seats from a good company, but I didn’t pursue that avenue.

There was some other contributing issues with the JL that led me to sell it.

Good luck!

This shows how subjective the topic is and that everyone has different bodies. I think Toyotas, in general, have the worst seats in the entire automotive industry. Toyota lost a 60k TRD-Pro sale to me right before I bought my Jeep because the Tacoma seats are worse than riding a wooden bench Jeepney in the Philippines IMO. In my old PoorRunner I went to a junkyard and got front seats out of a Hyundai Sonata and welded the Toyota rails on them because the factory seats were so damned uncomfortable. I actually really like my Jeep seats. I've never sat in the passenger seat, and I don't ever plan on it, unless i'm a corpse.

 

[Snayte]

This shows how subjective the topic is and that everyone has different bodies. I think Toyotas, in general, have the worst seats in the entire automotive industry. Toyota lost a 60k TRD-Pro sale to me right before I bought my Jeep because the Tacoma seats are worse than riding a wooden bench Jeepney in the Philippines IMO. In my old PoorRunner I went to a junkyard and got front seats out of a Hyundai Sonata and welded the Toyota rails on them because the factory seats were so damned uncomfortable. I actually really like my Jeep seats. I've never sat in the passenger seat, and I don't ever plan on it, unless i'm a corpse.

Like Jeepney ride? That is pretty bad.

 

[JimLee]

Like Jeepney ride? That is pretty bad.

Well, same end result. Two hours on one ass cheek, two hours on the other, until eventually everything hurts no matter how many ass cheek swaps you make. Also applies to cargo net jump seats on a C-130.

 

[Sean L]

Well, same end result. Two hours on one ass cheek, two hours on the other, until eventually everything hurts no matter how many ass cheek swaps you make. Also applies to cargo net jump seats on a C-130.

The cargo nets are probably better.

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