Front of seat too high?

[cmefish]

Got my XLT February 1, 2024. Like everything about the truck except the front seat. I am 5' 6" and the front of the drivers seat is too high for me to sit comfortably. I have the seat in the full down position. Wondering if there is a way to lower it about another 1"-1 1/2".

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[Ozarkbeard]

Here's a previous thread on seat height, in case you haven't used the site search.
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/seat-height-too-high.5678/

 

[Wilbur]

Bob, one practical way to improve the seating position for you may be to change the seat geometry to raise the back of the chair.

If you can elevate your tail a little bit, it may take some of the pressure off the back of your knees and make the pedal operation easier.

To elevate the rear of the chair rails:

1. Remove the plastic covers on the front and back of the seat rails.
2. Loosen the seat rail bolts in the front.
3. Remove the seat rail bolts in the rear.
4. Visit your local Ace Hardware or similar, and buy longer bolts, as well as spacer sleeves. Use the rear bolts as the guide to the right size, and get bolts about an inch longer. Buy the spacers in that same length increase size.
5. Place the spacer sleeves between the seat rails and the floor, then run the new, longer bolts down into the truck bed.
6. Torque all four bolts back up, and replace the plastic covers.

Total cost ought to be less than seven bucks a seat if you buy the most expensive bolts and spacers in the store.

The plastic covers in the back will be raised up off the floor now, but it is a small price to pay to increase the comfort of the seat.

 

[Skisail]

Why not just use the height adjustment to raise the rear of the seat?

 

[Mc_Flier]

Mine is too high. Too bad it won’t forward tilt like some other vehicles.

 

[bgn]

Nope, not really. The lack of a seat angle adjuster, even on 40k trucks, is a massive failure.

 

[710-oil-614]

Nope, not really. The lack of a seat angle adjuster, even on 40k trucks, is a massive failure.

I just don't understand why auto manufacturers don't spend the small amount more to make their seats as comfortable as they can be for customers.

I believe the seat angle adjuster, adjustable headrests (for>aft like a Subaru Forester), and a leather wrapped steering wheel should be standard across the board.

All of those may cost a manufacturer $100 total? On even the least expensive car, $20,000, you're looking at half a percent cut into their margins...

 

[bgn]

I just don't understand why auto manufacturers don't spend the small amount more to make their seats as comfortable as they can be for customers.

I believe the seat angle adjuster, adjustable headrests (for>aft like a Subaru Forester), and a leather wrapped steering wheel should be standard across the board.

All of those may cost a manufacturer $100 total? On even the least expensive car, $20,000, you're looking at half a percent cut into their margins...

Agree. Like most on here, I painstakingly researched my build and what I really wanted to pay for. And never in a million years did I think a vehicle that comes with power seats, especially in the highest trim, has a non-adjustable seat bottom cushion, something that was available on my old mid trim Accord from 22 years ago.

 

[Wilbur]

Why not just use the height adjustment to raise the rear of the seat?

The height adjustment does not actually raise the rear of the manual seat.

MM22520.png (734×540) (simplepart.com)

Note in the inset how the front elevates and depresses, but the rear is a fixed rotation point.

So unfortunately, adjusting the seat heigh adjustment is, in reality, just moving the height of the front of the seat on an axis through the rear of the seat.

There are also some good kits available online to accomplish the same thing with purpose-build spacers. Although these vendors don't sell kits specifically for the Maverick, their products will work.

Amazon.com: RENO: Seat Spacers

Amazon.com : Ohio Diesel Parts

I have used both of these vendors for my '67 F100 and Ridgeline with very good results.

This is a vendor that does sell kits specifically for the Maverick:

Products – Tagged "ford-maverick-2021-2023-esr1173973" (desertdoesit.com)

 

[SLH13]

Got my XLT February 1, 2024. Like everything about the truck except the front seat. I am 5' 6" and the front of the drivers seat is too high for me to sit comfortably. I have the seat in the full down position. Wondering if there is a way to lower it about another 1"-1 1/2".

Here is a cheaper version of the spacers from Amazon. There are a bunch if you search them.

We are going to start with that. Then if that doesn't work, see where we go from there. Several good suggestions from previous posts. My husband didn't like the seat. I only test drove for a few miles and it didn't bother me, but I think it will since I am under 5' tall. We liked the rest of the truck enough to work with the seat.

HSPSWIFTER 0.25" to 1.5" Adjustable Front Seat Spacer Lift Kit Compatible with Tacoma 4Runner FJ and GX (Rear of Front Seat Recline Kit) https://a.co/d/b2enrYS

 

[Oscarcat]

Bob, one practical way to improve the seating position for you may be to change the seat geometry to raise the back of the chair.

If you can elevate your tail a little bit, it may take some of the pressure off the back of your knees and make the pedal operation easier.

To elevate the rear of the chair rails:

1. Remove the plastic covers on the front and back of the seat rails.
2. Loosen the seat rail bolts in the front.
3. Remove the seat rail bolts in the rear.
4. Visit your local Ace Hardware or similar, and buy longer bolts, as well as spacer sleeves. Use the rear bolts as the guide to the right size, and get bolts about an inch longer. Buy the spacers in that same length increase size.
5. Place the spacer sleeves between the seat rails and the floor, then run the new, longer bolts down into the truck bed.
6. Torque all four bolts back up, and replace the plastic covers.

Total cost ought to be less than seven bucks a seat if you buy the most expensive bolts and spacers in the store.

The plastic covers in the back will be raised up off the floor now, but it is a small price to pay to increase the comfort of the seat.

Great solution - I just want to add that some people refer to the spacer as a "ferrule" and that may be useful when asking for help in the hardware aisle.

 

[259Maverick]

I'm the complete opposite and only 5"5". I want more of a bucket style seat and lower the rear more. I also wish the pedals were at a bit more shallow angle

 

[Old Fart]

It's the problemo of not being able to test the truck until after purchase, I'd like to raise the seat equally about 3 inches to be able to see forward better, I'm 5'-10" and have plenty of height in the cab but on my previous 3 Ford Focus's I raised the fronts 2" because they were too flat. I like the way the Mav's seats are sloped but their just too low.

 

[cmefish]

My problem is short legs. The front of the seat is to high even on the lowest position putting pressure on under side of thighs. I can see fine.​

 

[notfast]

To elevate the rear of the chair rails:

1. Remove the plastic covers on the front and back of the seat rails.
2. Loosen the seat rail bolts in the front.
3. Remove the seat rail bolts in the rear.
4. Visit your local Ace Hardware or similar, and buy longer bolts, as well as spacer sleeves. Use the rear bolts as the guide to the right size, and get bolts about an inch longer. Buy the spacers in that same length increase size.
5. Place the spacer sleeves between the seat rails and the floor, then run the new, longer bolts down into the truck bed.
6. Torque all four bolts back up, and replace the plastic covers.

Total cost ought to be less than seven bucks a seat if you buy the most expensive bolts and spacers in the store.

I suppose that'd be okay for proof-of-concept or fitment checking, but once you know the height you need, I'd go for manufactured seat spacers.

With those bolt spacers, you're putting a tremendous amount of compression on a very tiny amount of surface area. Also due to the lack of surface area, you're also reducing the amount of shearing force needed to tear the weldnuts out of the floor.

So in other words, you're running the risk of having the bolt spacers fail by cracking under compression, or having the bolts shear or snap off.

Why not just use the height adjustment to raise the rear of the seat?

The 6-way manual and I think even the 8-way power seat raises and lowers at a predetermined geometry that isn't independently adjustable.

Agree. Like most on here, I painstakingly researched my build and what I really wanted to pay for. And never in a million years did I think a vehicle that comes with power seats, especially in the highest trim, has a non-adjustable seat bottom cushion, something that was available on my old mid trim Accord from 22 years ago.

My '99 and '01 F-150s and '02 F-250 have power seats with 8 adjustments:

1. Forward
2. Backward
3. Seat Up
4. Seat Down
5. Front edge up
6. Front edge down
7. Rear edge up
8. Rear edge down

Function 3 is the same as 5 and 6 simultaneously, and function 4 is the same as 7 and 8 simultaneously.

The recline and lumbar are manual, so a total of 8 power directions and 4 manual directions. I'd take that in a heartbeat over an 8-way power seat that has power recline but no seat bottom tilt.

My problem is short legs. The front of the seat is to high even on the lowest position putting pressure on under side of thighs. I can see fine.​

On longer drives, I like to change the seat bottom tilt and make overall minute adjustments. Just tapping the power seat tilt or forward/back adjustment one way or another is enough to relieve a pressure point or give more/less support. So lack of a power seat with seat bottom tilt is a dealbreaker for me unless it was going to be for local/short trips.

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