There is a plastic panel iside the seat back that creates that aggressive and hellish lumbar support--especially on passenger side of Outback and maybe even Forester.

I unzipped the back of each (cloth) front seat, and found that the white plastic lumbar support is clearly accessible and held in by four molded "clips" to a metal rod. Push on those, and the plastic thing pops off the rod. Lift that miserable plastic thing out, and zip the seat cover closed again.

Seat is heavenly now, and since you are sitting back farther, it makes the seat bottom seem longer.

Easy, even for a wimp like me.

Some people have traded off month-old Outbacks because seats were so insufferable.


Snapping that out doesn't impair airbag or anything.

Maybe next year. :D

Not EVER gonna happen with the nearest dealer 125 miles away.

Amen

Son is a foreign auto repair tech. He's always been a BIG fan of Subaru until 2016. IDK what they changed, but he said they aren't the vehicle they used to be.

I'll ask him for more details the next time we get together. I'm not a car info type person, but my son is OCD about this topic. I'll try to be a good listener.

Myself, i've never bought a Subaru because I found the seats to be torture devices after about 15 minutes. I have fibromyalgia, so that could be a factor.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 11:26PM by janis.

I don't have any issues with my Forester seats.

Thanks for the tip. I'm currently in an Outback, and wasn't aware of this problem.

Do you drive one or ride as a passenger? Asking since you've removed the plastic part from the passenger side while not the driver's. Is there a difference?

I'm generally the passenger since DH and I both retired.

The driver's side isn't as bad because of the lumbar adjustment there. Passenger side is generating most complaints. The trouble was knowing that this solid hunk of plastic was never going to conform to my back.

Removing that piece didn't diminish the safety features of the seat--unless it acted like a bullet-proof shield if we get pursued by Danites shooting down apostates. (Oh wait--maybe they quit doing that.)

And, if I ever sell the car, the piece I removed will snap right back in. Easy as snapping the hood on and off your jacket.

This will probably work on most makes of cars.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 12:55PM by kathleen.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2017 09:03AM by steve benson.

That's very interesting. I've been driving Suby Outbacks (the last three 1998, 2002,2005) for years and never found the seats uncomfortable. Maybe it's the model and years but mine are very comfortable. I've taken long trips in my 2005 LLBEAN Outback auto 6 cyln and others remarked how comfortable the the leather seats are. They also can be heated.

Maybe I just have a very sensitive back. (I have to rip tags off underwear).

Had lots of Subarus, and they haven't hurt me until now. But one Isuzu Trooper got me from CA to UT, and I ended up crying in the ER begging for a body cast! (No joke!)

Looking at your responses has made me wonder if I'm just a whiney ...

Subaru has lots more safety features in the newer cars I've been told by my insurance agent. Not sure about design improvements overall for comfort, performance, etc.

My first Subaru for example was an early 80's model I had as an undergrad in college. That car went and went without ever needing the brakes repaired (no kidding.) I drove it 80,000 miles without needing rotors or pads before selling it to an aunt and uncle.

Newer Subaru in 2000? Brakes needed to be replaced every 18-20,000 miles.

Safety features are more advanced now than before. Although I don't like the way the car handles as well as the last car I've been driving I traded in this past May. I'd been driving Volvos since 2004. Trying to scale back as I near retirement. Volvo phased out my car anyway, so that model isn't available anymore.

kathleen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe I just have a very sensitive back. (I have
> to rip tags off underwear).
>

I do hope you didn't perturb your undewear special markings in the process.

kathleen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------


I'm very sensitive to a lot of seats. You must be also!
I just happen to be Ok with the cars I have been driving.
I have some back and hip issues and all seats are uncomfortable after awhile!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 11:04PM by SusieQ#1.

SusieQ#1, we drive the same car! I almost bought a new car last month, but didn't find any that I liked as much as my 2005 Subaru. I like the 6 cylinder power, how it handles the snow, and how smoothly it glides over rocky, rutted roads. I also love the comfortable leather seats--heated, with lumbar support in the driver's seat, to ease the back after hiking. My dog fits in the back, with a dog cage thingy, like police cars have. I also haul stuff in it. Subaru is a lifestyle.

It's true that Subaru has changed in the last two years. I'm not uneasy about the CVT transmission. The people at Honda said that a lot of the Subaru sales and mechanical staff left Subaru, and came to work for Honda. (Of course, they were trying to sell me a Honda, but I have heard the same thing about Subarus going downhill.) But the older ones are great!

Selling my darling 2000 Forester years ago was a big mistake. But, some cool safety features are out on most new cars these days. The "Eye Sight" feature, where the car will automatically brake if something's in its way is nice unless you need to ram a police barricade ...

Mine braked for some rose bush shrubbery that had weighted down a bit in the driveway. It almost gave me a heart attack until I realized that was all it was.

The second time it braked instantly was right before I hit my neighbor's parked car as I was pulling out of my driveway. They have a nasty habit of parking perpendicular to where I back out every once in awhile. Just enough to throw me off balance.

If not for that auto brake there would have been a fender bender for sure. Saved by the bell (brake.)

And why can't Subaru, along with many other auto makes, put a passenger seat that adjusts up, just like the driver seats? Why can't they make them equal? Unless you go to a luxury car, you can not get a passenger seat that raises up, but yet nearly all driver-side seats adjust up. How much more could that cost?

has fully adjustable seats for the passenger, just no memory. Front seats are air-conditioned and heated.

Danr, it wouldn't cost that much more. It could be added as an option--add a driver's seat meant for the British market to the American car passenger side, and vice-versa.

I would think it would be a tremendous safety feature--to keep the passenger from constant kvetching until the driver is ready to drive off a cliff.

But, my fix cured the problem completely, and now the seat is great!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 11:03PM by kathleen.

Interesting we have a lot of Subaru owners here!

I have had 5 of them over a few decades and never noticed any issue with seats being uncomfortable. I've driven my Subaru across the country and through bad snow/ice storms hours on end. I've been lucky maybe- never had a lemon.

Thanks for the tip, kathleen. I'll have to ask my passengers about this.

Now give us a fix for the insufferable subaru opposed piston engine.

The horizontally-opposed boxer engine has always been pretty reliable in all of our Subarus. This is our fourth one. We've had good fuel economy. A little more get-up-and-go wouldn't hurt in the four cylinder. Never had one fail to start. That's been our experience. We wish a diesel one were available here in the US. What do you not like about them?

My Subaru Outback does do better on gas mileage than my last car (Volvo XC.) Much better in fact. I don't fuel up nearly as much with this car than I did with that one.

Engine performance on the other hand isn't nearly as refined. That's the difference between the Volvo I suppose in its engineering is all. Driving the Volvo was like riding a thoroughbred race horse biting at the bit to go go go. :)

I do trust the Japanese manufacturers over American auto makers for design, safety, and performance.

I know what you mean, Amyjo! I had an old Volvo 122-S, and it it truly loved to go fast! I found it out in a field and gave the guy $200 for it. The only thing I replaced were the wiper blades! It was so fun!

That was a steal of a deal! :)

Had Toyotas (4Runners) along w Subarus, and loved em mechanically, but the new-car aroma in those is almost strangling for me. --One reason we went back to the Subaru.

It's the best vehicle I've ever had, bar none. I've just kept it oiled, lubed and filtered and have never ever had a problem with it. Built like a rock and totally reliable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2017 09:23AM by steve benson.

OK, I'll admit something's always breaking on it--like door handles that won't open--but who needs door handles when the top's down? And, yeah, they're a noisy, bumpy box on wheels, but they're fun as hell to drive.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2017 09:25AM by steve benson.

Our Cocker Spaniel actually smiled when she'd get to ride in the Jeep!

:D