2017 Corolla: Does your right leg fall asleep?

[Erin Thomas]

Toyota has done something completely asinine with the 2017 Corolla. I can't speak to other models, but this issue is probably not limited to this one car or year.

The left side of the driver's seat is normal in width and inclination. It slopes up gradually and offers gentle support for butt, thighs, and leg. But the right side does not. It not only does not come out as far as the left side does, ending about an inch and a half shy of where the left side ends, the inclination juts up sharply at a much sharper angle. The effect is that while the left side of the body, for those of us with a larger frame, is comfortably supported, the the seat suddenly ends on the right side, right under the sciatic nerve, and juts right into that sensitive part of the leg.

This actually causes my right leg to fall asleep while driving because nerve communication is cut off due to this seat's design. As you can imagine, this is of overwhelming concern when it comes to being able to drive safely. I actually HAVE to use the radar cruise control ALL the time even on busy streets with lights and shit so I can keep my leg in a position that keeps it a little more awake and responsive. I wish I could trade this thing in for a car that doesn't only come with half a driver's seat, but I don't have the money or resources to do so. I'm stuck with this nightmare.

So two questions:

1) Am I the only one who experiences this or are there others? (please respond if you're out there)

2) What solutions have you found to help with this? (if you're about 6' tall)

Thanks,

EAT

 

[jolly]

Seat comfort is highly subjective and personal. If your seat is defective, use your warranty. If not then it’s a lesson learned in what to check when test driving a car before buying it. Meanwhile, there is no lack of more or less orthopedic cushions on the market.

 

[Erin Thomas]

Seat comfort is highly subjective and personal. If your seat is defective, use your warranty. If not then it’s a lesson learned in what to check when test driving a car before buying it. Meanwhile, there is no lack of more or less orthopedic cushions on the market.

Yeah, lesson learned. Buy lots of stuff to try out until you find something that works (spent hundreds already to no avail). Spoken like a rich person who can run around buying new cars whenever they feel like it.

There's something of a difference between "uncomfortable" and "leg falls dead asleep while driving." One is an irritation. The other is a serious hazard.

I'm really interested in hearing from poor saps like me who got stuck with a car that puts their leg to sleep. I'm hoping there are enough of us out there to file a class action lawsuit.

 

[fishycomics]

You're talking only drivers seat the left side of hte driver's seat:

I find the seat the Base to tilt down, as you raise it, it will lean back, I am 6'0

what I do is adjust it all the recliner the lumbar the base the rail. Until you get a sweet spot. that will take time. You can opt to replace wit han Aftermarket seat.

I own in the family these cars and never felt issues like that 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2020. even a 1991. I find the 2016 to be the better comfty seat of them all

 

[jolly]

I find the seat the Base to tilt down, as you raise it, it will lean back,

^^ This is good advice. I find that on its lower position the seat is too flat for me but raising it also tilt it conveniently. And still no problem with head space at 6'1".

I'm hoping there are enough of us out there to file a class action lawsuit.

Good luck with that. The seat appearing assymetrical is not an invisible defect at time of buying. If it's a specific problem with your car, it's first a warranty problem and eventually a lemon law situation. If it's a general design thing, you'll need a whole lot of people - the criteria being "so many that it would be impossible for the courts to process all those claims" - for whom the seats, at whatever adjustment, body positioning and wear, produce the exact same result regardless of any personal condition (like sciatica or whatever).

That's one hell of a proof, especially since those seats are generally deemed as comfortable by reviewers and on forums. At most, on forums, you'll find a few complaints about the lack of back support, too forwarded headrests, short length or narrowness of the seat which all bring back the "subjective and personal" thing. The closest cases were baby car seats with false labels (thus not a visible flaw at time of buying) about weight/height capacity and materials. Consumers were reimbursed. That won't happen with a car.

Actually, your best bet (whatever the odds) and first step anyway is to file a complaint with the NHTSA ( https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ ) which is in charge of establishing the existence of a widely spread security issue in cars.

 

[Erin Thomas]

You're talking only drivers seat the left side of hte driver's seat:

I find the seat the Base to tilt down, as you raise it, it will lean back, I am 6'0

what I do is adjust it all the recliner the lumbar the base the rail. Until you get a sweet spot. that will take time. You can opt to replace wit han Aftermarket seat.

I own in the family these cars and never felt issues like that 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2020. even a 1991. I find the 2016 to be the better comfty seat of them all

Can you clarify? I don't understand what you mean by "find the seat the base to tilt down." Are you talking about the lever that raises/lowers the back part of the bottom of the seat? There's really no way to lower the front part of the seat (the electric seats apparently have this functionality--but mine's not electric).

I also don't understand "adjust it all the recliner the lumbar the base the rail." There is no lumbar support adjustment for my seat. Are you talking about the electric seat? Mine is manual with one lever to move the seat forward and backward, one lever to adjust the back of the seat upward/downward, and one lever to recline the seat. That's it. Unless there's something more I haven't figured out.

 

[fishycomics]

the seat goes forward and back adjust that
the base pumps up and down adjust that
the back reclines back and forward adjust that.
I do not think we have lumbar on certain models.

What i said was adjust each of those when I pump down the seat it tends to lean back then tilt down , and I adjust the recliner about 4 or 5 clicks, and the base back to the rear. and I got my sweet spot.

 

[george.stark]

It sounds like this particular car seat is defective. My 2018 LE has nothing like this going on, I've never heard of it anywhere else.

 

[Rkfigiel]

I am having the exact same problem with my corolla. My right side falls asleep after longer trips of 1 hour plus. This has never happened before with any other car.

 

[Rkfigiel]

Pillows and cushions are no help.

 

[NovaScotiaGypsy]

Toyota has done something completely asinine with the 2017 Corolla. I can't speak to other models, but this issue is probably not limited to this one car or year.

The left side of the driver's seat is normal in width and inclination. It slopes up gradually and offers gentle support for butt, thighs, and leg. But the right side does not. It not only does not come out as far as the left side does, ending about an inch and a half shy of where the left side ends, the inclination juts up sharply at a much sharper angle. The effect is that while the left side of the body, for those of us with a larger frame, is comfortably supported, the the seat suddenly ends on the right side, right under the sciatic nerve, and juts right into that sensitive part of the leg.

This actually causes my right leg to fall asleep while driving because nerve communication is cut off due to this seat's design. As you can imagine, this is of overwhelming concern when it comes to being able to drive safely. I actually HAVE to use the radar cruise control ALL the time even on busy streets with lights and shit so I can keep my leg in a position that keeps it a little more awake and responsive. I wish I could trade this thing in for a car that doesn't only come with half a driver's seat, but I don't have the money or resources to do so. I'm stuck with this nightmare.

So two questions:

1) Am I the only one who experiences this or are there others? (please respond if you're out there)

2) What solutions have you found to help with this? (if you're about 6' tall)

Thanks,

EAT

I have the exact same problem and i thought i was losing my mind until i saw others are experiencing it as well. I have tried adjusting the seat and tried pillows but this has not helped. I wish i had never bought this car. My older 2007 never had this issue. If i spend more than 30 minutes in the driver's seat at a time the sciatic nerve is affected. I'm following to see if anyone has found a solution.