Seat options? Miserable...

[ChrisLLK]

Ok Ok.. tons of people seem to like the seats in the CX-5. I HATE mine with a passion (GS/Touring trim - cloth). I have a 90 minute (each way) commute to work each day. I've had my CX-5 for 6 weeks now (4000 miles / 6000 km). I just get a little past half way to or half way home from work and my ass is numb and my tailbone is throbbing something awful (about 50-55 minutes in). By the time I get home I can barely sit down. I'm constantly shifting back and forth trying to find a comfortable way to sit while I'm driving. It's bad enough I took the CX-5 to the Toyota dealer yesterday to look at trading it for a slightly used (10,000km / 6000 miles) '14 Highlander XLE just about "straight up" (cost me $1100 to get out the door if I went for it). The seats in the Highlander felt like I was sitting on clouds. The seats in my '12 Sorento felt like I was sitting on clouds. The seats in my CX-5 feel like I'm sitting on cheap $5 bleacher seats at the hockey rink. UGGH.

So what are my options? Other than trading the thing in just because of the seats (I really like everything else in the car.. it's great to drive, I've gotten used to the infotainment quirks by using playlists on my usb key, I'm happy with the engine and handling and transmission, it's a good looking vehicle, love the fuel economy, etc.) - what can I do? I see there are places like Katzkins that sell leather seat upholstery with additional "gel cushioning inserts" as an option - I'd have to go down to somewhere in New York to get it done - I can't find any Canadian installers - DIY only up here - and it'll run me somewhere around $1500 with the leather and gel. I picked up an after market seat pad at Autozone last weekend and tried it this week - it just made sitting in the car awkward - felt like I was sliding around on the seat - that wasn't any better and it still wasn't particularly comfortable. I thought I'd give the car a few thousand km for the seats to "break in" but 6 weeks in and I'm as miserable as the first day I drove to work in it. (Unfortunately my test drive was only 25 minutes - that wasn't enough to realize the seats were going to suck the life out of me).

Thoughts? Ideas? Help?!?! The wife is going to kill me when I tell her I hate driving the car I just wrote a $38,000 cheque for just because of the seats.

 

[tmz_99]

Why not find a wrecked Highlander, offer them $500 for the seat and modify the rail to fit? :/

 

[deepfriedsushi]

Have you ever sat in a Grand Touring CX5? The one with the 8way power seat, verses the 6 way?

The touring's seats are ok for me, but I can get a little fatigued in them after long periods of time. I think the angle of the seat bottom is too horizontal for my body. Like you, I feel like there's too much pressure on my ass/tailbone. I generally like raising the front and lower the back of the bottom cushion to give more support to my thighs and take off some pressure from the tailbone. Sadly the touring's 6 way adjustable seat doesn't allow that, but the Grand Touring seats do.

Maybe one thing to do is to find a wrecked GT and take the 8 way adjustable seats from them. You can probably just take the power seat section and swap the cushions to keep the cloth.

 

[123373]

8 way seats are great. Once a month I make a 300 mile trip for work which takes me about 5 hours and only stop once to eat and pee, not because the seats are uncomfortable.

 

[fvansan]

Try getting some memory foam to add to the seat top. If there is a mattress factory nearby, they might give you some memory foam scraps. I did this with a motorcycle seat and made all the difference.

 

[SirWanker]

I may be completely off target but how about removing your wallet from the rear pocket while driving?

 

[SomeGuyFromNYC]

Go on Amazon and look at the dozens and dozens of different shapes/sizes of seat cushions available. Maybe one of those will work better for you? search for "car seat cushion". There are numerous ones constructed of the gel inserts - all with good reviews.

a few links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

 

[ChrisLLK]

No I don't leave my wallet in my pocket - that would be miserable - I tend to carry it in my breast pocket of my coat. To put it into context, I'm not a little guy - I'm 6'4 and 250 pounds - so I put a lot of weight on the seat while I sit - I noticed today driving into the office that I'm actually sort of sitting "up" on the bolsters with my back side pushing down into the V making it that much more miserable. I'm going to try some of the nicer thicker seat covers first I guess (should pick me up out of the seat a little and get me off the bolsters at least) - it's cheap at least to try a few of those.

I get annoyed by not having the interior of the car look "stock new" (personal thing... I just like car interiors to look like the day I bought it - thus why I clean and vacuum and wipe down and use protectant every month...) - but to be able to defeat my butt and back pain I'm willing to try. I'm also going to stop at the dealership tonight after work and try sitting in the GT with the 8 way power seats and see if it makes any difference. I imagine a stock set of all new leather 8 way power seats from Mazda would run me maybe $4000? I'd almost be willing to part with that much if it made me comfortable. Anyway - that's the first attempts. I really don't want to try fitting seats from other companies - liability if the mounts fail, difficulty making adapters, wiring harness not lining up, air bags, etc... plus the fact they just might not fit - and it leaves my back seats different than my front seats.

I was hoping maybe someone knew of a company that could do an aftermarket gel insert between the upholstery and the seat cushion or something like that... I do like the idea of the Katzkins with the liquicell inserts they sell as well... But I either DIY or take some time off work and head down to New York. It's just annoying to spend almost 40 large on something and then be miserable every day when driving it just because my anterior feels like it's dying a slow death. I'm certainly willing to try many options before I break down and tell the wife I'm trading the car (at which point I may get a hockey stick to the back of the head).

 

[GP 2004]

Have you looked for seats from a CX-5 GT at your local junk yards? It seems to me that installing seats from a 2013 would work OK and not change the liability thing you mentioned. Many junk yards have a computer service that can locate parts from other junk yards as well. Go to your local Mazda dealer and sit in a CX-5 GT and adjust the seats to see if those seats could be made to fit you, then you would know if you want to pursue junk yard seats.

I did not like the seats in my Mazda as it was first found at the dealer. I played around with the adjustments for a while until I got something that was comfortable. Now I think that the seats are fine, but I do have a GT.

 

[CC58]

The touring's seats are ok for me, but I can get a little fatigued in them after long periods of time. I think the angle of the seat bottom is too horizontal for my body. Like you, I feel like there's too much pressure on my ass/tailbone. I generally like raising the front and lower the back of the bottom cushion to give more support to my thighs and take off some pressure from the tailbone.

I found that Touring seat bottom tilts slightly forward.
If you lower seat bottom to lowest level, it becomes level, which is the most comfortable position.

 

[ChrisLLK]

I found that Touring seat bottom tilts slightly forward.
If you lower seat bottom to lowest level, it becomes level, which is the most comfortable position.

Yup I've got mine as lowwwww as it can go (I'm tall - that's always an issue so I don't hit my head getting in and out of the car).

 

[ChrisLLK]

Well after a long talk with my wife tonight - I think the CX-5 is on the chopping block. She doesn't want me throwing money at it to try and fix it when it might not work - when I can just go find another car that has better more comfortable seats and throw the money at that. I've made appointments to drive an RDX and a QX50 tomorrow. We'll see how my backside feels in those. They are both 2014's with under 10,000 km (6000 miles) on them and they'll both be about a straight up trade for my CX-5 with 4,000 km on it - cost me maybe $1000-$2000 to switch to either according to the sales drones.

Other options still on the table are the slightly more used Highlander I looked at (will cost me about $2500), a brand new 2015 (the outgoing model) Sorento EX-V6 Premium AWD (I'll actually get money back), a brand new Murano (will cost me about $2200), and a few other things. After some research Subaru is out the window - the Forester has worse problems with the seat than I'm already having, the Santa Fe's steering annoys me, the Ford Edge is visually unappealing, I won't buy GM or Dodge after previous horrible experiences, the CR-V looks like something my dog pooped out, so that's about where I am... I think I would be pleasantly happy with the Infiniti, it's slightly smaller than the CX-5 but it's over 300HP... talk about zoom zoom. Well I have to go see how my backside feels in all of them... then we'll see what happens to my CX.

 

[MikeM.]

I think I would be pleasantly happy with the Infiniti, it's slightly smaller than the CX-5 but it's over 300HP... talk about zoom zoom. Well I have to go see how my backside feels in all of them... then we'll see what happens to my CX.

I'm not sure you would be happy getting under 20 mpg in combined (real world) driving. I know I wouldn't, particularly in such a small car.

I don't know about this American fixation on horsepower. Just today I was sitting at a stoplight on a state highway. When it turned green everyone pulled away really slowly. I took my "gutless" 2.0L CX-5 to 3000 rpm's in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears to thread my way to the front of the pack where I had clear road ahead. Short of competing on a race track, I just don't see the point of more horsepower. If I wanted to go faster I would have wrapped it out to 5000 or 6000 but what would be the point?

On the seat comfort, you may just be too big. I'm 6'-04" but only 215 lb. and find the comfort heavenly. But at 250 lb. you may be overwhelming the seating support.

 

[ChrisLLK]

I'm not sure you would be happy getting under 20 mpg in combined (real world) driving. I know I wouldn't, particularly in such a small car.

I don't know about this American fixation on horsepower. Just today I was sitting at a stoplight on a state highway. When it turned green everyone pulled away really slowly. I took my "gutless" 2.0L CX-5 to 3000 rpm's in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears to thread my way to the front of the pack where I had clear road ahead. Short of competing on a race track, I just don't see the point of more horsepower. If I wanted to go faster I would have wrapped it out to 5000 or 6000 but what would be the point?

The only benefit I really see in higher HP is longevity of the drivetrain system as a whole. I as a habit never push the pedal in a car more than halfway - makes the wear and tear on the vehicle a lot less. So if I have a car that "needs" 100-150 hp to drive, climb hills, merge into traffic, and stay at speed, and I have 160HP available it's much worse on the components to have to run them up at 90% of rated quite often, than if I never have to go to more than 50% of rated power to do the same thing.

All of the research I have looked at says the QX50 should do about 25mpg hwy (I put 0 "city" miles on a car - I live 1/2 mile from the freeway on-ramp, and my entire commute is 88 miles each way on open country freeway with no appreciable traffic, my office is at the off-ramp 88 miles away) - so far I've only been managing 27.5mpg (8.6L/100) in the CX-5 on that same said drive. If I'm a good bit lower (say 24.5mpg - 9.6L/100) we're talking 1L/100km, or about 2500L of gas ($2500) over the life of the car. I was just entertaining spending upwards of $2000-$3000 to replace the seats and still be in the CX-5 and have no guarantee the new seats were much better - so the fuel economy not a big worry really. My biggest negative researching the QX50 is that it's even got less cargo space and less "convenient storage" (I barely have enough room to set down my wallet, cell phone, keys, and water bottle in the CX5 while driving).

Reading reviews of the RDX seem to indicate it has wayyy more space than most anything in the CUV class - so that gives it a plus - and it's got 280HP with real world hwy fuel economy around 28mpg (8.4L/100) - that's as good as I was getting in the CX-5 (they use adaptive cylinder management to switch between v6 and 3 cyl to obtain that).

I have no idea how the seats in either will fare until I spend 30 minutes sitting in one while reading a book and playing on my cell phone while sitting at the dealer's lot - followed by a 15 minute test drive. That will give me enough time to know if I'm going to be miserable.

I've ridden in many other people's cars for as far as I drive now (carpool) and the CX-5 has been the worse seat comfort for me and for my passengers out of everything we ridden in the past 6 years - Pilot, Pathfinder, Tucson, F150, Sorento, and now the CX-5 -- this has been the only one of those that the 3 of us who rotate through carpool have all equally complained about "like sitting on cheap hockey arena seats" - never had a problem in any of those others. The only other car I've ever really abhorred the seats in was a '13 Lancer Evo MR2 - way too narrow and painful.

One of my non-carpool co-workers just picked up a Nissan Armada - I sat in it today and thought it felt like a behemoth - so I don't think I could go up to that size vehicle - I think Midsize CUV to midsize SUV is about the biggest range I can manage. Need to be able to put the rear facing baby seat in the back seat, a stroller, 3 suitcases and a cooler in the cargo area (trip to the lake house each weekend), fit the wife and I and the little one, and make my daily commute comfortable -- that's my basic requirements - the CX-5 did fine on all but the last one - and it makes me want to rage out a bit after researching cars for 3 months that I didn't run across anyone else with this complaint. I knew the CX-5 had wonky/poor infotainment, limited storage, and a few other little quirks - I got past those since I thought it would manage my other needs well at a reasonable price (with an unlimited km warranty here in Canada as well).

 

[GP 2004]

My friend has an RDX. He said it has never even approached the rated mileage, much less reached it.

 

[minnesotaart]

Can you rent a GT for a couple of days? If the seats are better, then since the CX-5 meets all of your other criteria, perhaps a trade to a GT would be the best choice.

 

[ChrisLLK]

My friend has an RDX. He said it has never even approached the rated mileage, much less reached it.

Lot of that depends on how they drive it - do they drive it like it's a mclaren? Or do they get on the highway, set the cruise at 66mph, and drive 88 miles non-stop in rural traffic (what I do each way each day). I've had no problem exceeding manufacturers MPG estimates in almost every car I've owned because of my driving habits. I'm sure my CX-5 would have improved from it's current 28mpg as the weather gets above -15F, I'm not driving into a 30mph headwind half the time, and they switch our "winter gas" (10% ethanol with additives) for "summer gas" (5% ethanol, no additives). But really - as I said before - the difference of a car with 30mpg and 25mpg or so over the life of it - maybe $2000 - only about 5% of the car cost - certainly not something I'm that concerned about.

I didn't buy the cx-5 for fuel economy (but it was a nice bonus if it was there) I had bought it for its good handling, good looks, functional AWD, sport mode transmission, 40/20/40 rear folding seat with good cargo space, the available remote starter and Sirius radio.. and what I thought would be a comfortable ride - but turned out to cause me misery every day, lose sleep at night, and make me grumpy sitting in pain at my desk in the morning after my commute (co-workers noticed me snapping at them lately - that's not good).

 

[Della1234]

Lot of that depends on how they drive it - do they drive it like it's a mclaren? Or do they get on the highway, set the cruise at 66mph, and drive 88 miles non-stop in rural traffic (what I do each way each day). I've had no problem exceeding manufacturers MPG estimates in almost every car I've owned because of my driving habits. I'm sure my CX-5 would have improved from it's current 28mpg as the weather gets above -15F, I'm not driving into a 30mph headwind half the time, and they switch our "winter gas" (10% ethanol with additives) for "summer gas" (5% ethanol, no additives). But really - as I said before - the difference of a car with 30mpg and 25mpg or so over the life of it - maybe $2000 - only about 5% of the car cost - certainly not something I'm that concerned about.

I didn't buy the cx-5 for fuel economy (but it was a nice bonus if it was there) I had bought it for its good handling, good looks, functional AWD, sport mode transmission, 40/20/40 rear folding seat with good cargo space, the available remote starter and Sirius radio.. and what I thought would be a comfortable ride - but turned out to cause me misery every day, lose sleep at night, and make me grumpy sitting in pain at my desk in the morning after my commute (co-workers noticed me snapping at them lately - that's not good).

This certainly doesn't sound good. I am seeing in reviews that the 2016 model has more comfortable seats. If you purchased a 2015 model and you are going to trade for another vehicle, it might be worth it to go sit for a while in a 2016 GS and see if there is any difference in comfort. Or - is the 2015 model in Canada the same as the 2016 in the U.S.?

 

[ALafya]

I think seat comfort is important, very important. So, your wife is right.
However, I don't think a modern vehicle will get longer life with babying the throttle, at least with reliable or reasonably reliable vehicles. It is also a waste of money to get a more powerful vehicle and not use its power. I too don't think you really need anymore power, but perhaps you want one anyway. With more power, you'll get less fuel-efficiency and increased out-the-door price. The RDX on fuelly.com gets 22~23 MPG on average. I calculate $1200/year for gas @ $3 (USD)/Gallon for your 176 miles commute.
You also seem to consider larger vehicles (Sorento, Murano, Highlander) and smaller vehicles (QX50), what is your real size preference? Commuting with a large Highlander with one person in the vehicle is that what you want?
Perhaps also consider the RAV-4, Rogue, CR-V, Escape.

 

[ChrisLLK]

I think seat comfort is important, very important. So, your wife is right.
However, I don't think a modern vehicle will get longer life with babying the throttle, at least with reliable or reasonably reliable vehicles. It is also a waste of money to get a more powerful vehicle and not use its power. I too don't think you really need anymore power, but perhaps you want one anyway. With more power, you'll get less fuel-efficiency and increased out-the-door price. The RDX on fuelly.com gets 22~23 MPG on average. I calculate $1200/year for gas @ $3 (USD)/Gallon for your 176 miles commute.
You also seem to consider larger vehicles (Sorento, Murano, Highlander) and smaller vehicles (QX50), what is your real size preference? Commuting with a large Highlander with one person in the vehicle is that what you want?
Perhaps also consider the RAV-4, Rogue, CR-V, Escape.

Spent the day car shopping. Came home with a Land Rover Discovery Sport SE. They offered me the most trade on the CX-5, I got a decent discount, and I got a lot more luxury than I had before. Fuel economy will drop to about 9L/100 on the highway from the 8 I got in the CX-5. It's a 240HP 2L engine with a 9 speed auto transmission. The 8" infotainment system makes the old NB1 look... kinda.. like a joke? I get the 8 way power leather seats that feel like.. happy butt! Lots of handy cargo space and storage compartments. Full eco trip computer with charting, standard navigation, power heated folding mirrors, etc.. and it was actually cheaper than getting a '16 CX-5 GT. So ends my brief stint with a CX-5 - hopefully it finds a new home with someone who fits the seats properly and feels good in the car - it deserves someone who will like it, not cringe at the thought of sitting in it daily.

As a mechanical engineer who spends my days doing FEA, fatigue DEL, and system model simulations for large power generation systems, it's just been my experience in design, refinement, and production, that every manufacturer designs their systems mechanically to be "just good enough" to meet those design requirements. If they decide the design life for a car is 200,000 miles (300,000km roughly) the mech e's are going to do their FEA and fatigue DEL's on the drive line and chassis components with input data based on real world testing as well as comprehensive simulation data. They design in so many "full throttle" events per 1000 miles, so much time spent at certain throttle levels and speeds, so much time spent on smooth vs. bumpy terrain, etc... thus from my design experience, it tells me that if I "baby" whatever I drive I'll be able to exceed the initial design limitations as my damage equivalent loads from fatigue stress will fall far below the design criteria that the FEA's are built on.

I take my last car ('11 Sorento - 240,000km so far and now my wife is driving it) as a pretty good proof of that - how many people here have put 150,000 miles on a car and done it on 2 sets of tires, all original factory brakes, no engine repairs whatsoever other than an oil change every 5000 miles (8000km), no suspension maintenance, and at every oil change had the technician say "your oil is still perfectly clean" (and had their wife say "it still feels like a new car" when you give it to her to replace her '01 accord with 400,000km on it) - probably not many people who push the car anywhere near its design limits. In my mind the further I can stay from those design limits, the less my daily drive contributes to the damage equivalent loads, the less fatigue every component endures, and the longer they will last. I drove my '97 Silverado for 342,000 miles (550000 km) with only one major repair (alternator) - I had to send it to the vehicle graveyard simply due to extensive corrosion on body and frame after 13 Canadian winters. Everything on it still worked like the day I bought it. If I get anywhere near that out of the Discovery Sport, I'll be thrilled.