I bought a RAV4 yesterday. I had to drive it for an hour straight today and realized that the seat isn’t comfortable at all. This is probably a dumb question but is there a 48 hour return for any reason law or something? How much money would I lose?
Sorry this isn’t really a compelling topic.
Some states allow a buyer’s remorse return. See if your state allows it on line. You might try returning it right away if there are fewer than 400 miles on it. If so, the dealer may be able to sell it as a new car. That assumes it is a new car. If not, just take it back and buy something else from the dealer.
Is this a new car? Some dealers/states have a 72 hour cooling off period, but it is not common and I believe it is even more difficult to really return the car.
Have you tried adjusting the seat using all the levers? What in particular is bothering you and what is different from the one you (hopefully) test drove.
This might help answer your question:
No harm asking the dealership that sold it to you about this problem. They may have encountered this problem before and are able to offer up some ideas. It is difficult to tell a car seat is going to be a problem until you’ve sat in it for some time, so it’s understandable this came as a surprise to you. Here’s how I think about it. The dealership wants you to be a happy customer, b/c they want you to buy another car from them someday. And they want you to recommend them to your friends. For best results, focus your strategy on that.
It’s also quite possible over time you will become accustomed to the fit of the new seat, so it will no longer bother you. It might only take a few weeks. Best of luck.
Sounds like you did not do your homework or take it out for a sufficiently long test drive. No one to blame but yourself.
I don’t believe a law but a lot of dealers will give 1 to 3 days remorse period, but don’t delay. Contact them right away. If you drove for an hour on a brand new car though, that may be an issue.
Maybe they can swap out the seat for a seat from a different model, that suits you better. You’ll have to pay, of course, but if you like the RV4 otherwise, it’s worth asking.
It’s not always the product. The seat should adjust up and down and the seat back will go back and forth. The tilt wheel may have to be repositioned. It has always taken me a few weeks to get used to a different bucket seat.
The dealer or manufacturer may have a take back policy so you have to get back there soon.
My sympathies. It’s hard to test seats at length. Your best bet is to rent the same model for a weekend and take an overnight trip with a good stretch of driving each day. Up into the mountains and back down is ideal, as it will also tell you more about how the car does on hills, passing, and at altitude. If you live in Florida, never mind.
Here’s another trick that tells me a lot about comfort and ergonomics. If you live near a large city go to its auto show and spend the afternoon getting in and out of drivers’ seats. Adjust whatever you can to your preferences. Some cars have the power to accessories completely turned off, seats included, but the company cars that travel from show to show usually have selected features (seats, often audio) powered. Anyways, after three or four hours of this your butt will be getting sore and you will have learned a lot about boneheaded design decisions.
Now is the time to go back and spend more quality time with the models you’re serious about. Seats that felt OK after an early visit may feel unsupportive or hard. Seats that still feel good really are good. Steering wheel position is another important variable. Most now adjust for angle and telescope, but quite a few don’t move enough for me. Armrests are another sore point, if they aren’t adjustable and are in the way. This is something the Germans do well. Cupholders they still don’t seem to get. Some of the flimsy unfolding holders Mercedes and Porsche include are lovely and incredibly flimsy. Fun to watch unfold, but useless.
Sorry this doesn’t help your current situation, but it’s something I’ve found helpful in the past, especially since I spend 10-15 hours at the San Francisco International Auto Show every November (yes, over two visits.)
I’m pretty adaptable but it would be nice if you could drive the vehicle of your dreams for a week before commiting,I know some people would mile them out and abuse this idea right and left(sometimes the salesman do this anyway-kinda irks me) any rate around here there are several,leave it if you dont love it dealers(supposedly no questions asked) now how that works in real life I dont know-Kevin
I think those type of rules differ by state or region.
BUT
Try MANY different adjustments in the mean time.
Don’t know exactly what is bothering you but …
Is there a lumbar adjustment ? UN-do that to zero for now.
Change the angle of the seat bottom …then the seat back as well. – that can make a huge difference and most people just play with the back and forget about the seat bottom. Though most manual seats don’t have bottom adustments, most elecrtic ones do. The front and rear motors can go up or down independently.
Also play with seat height, then angles.
On my wife’s 06 Escape hybrid…she didn’t know about the seat bottom adjustments, this was completely new to her. All she did was fore and aft. Then I showed her how to make the front motor work separate from the rear and she found her seat bottom angle…then adjusted the seat back.
if the lumbar is wrong for you, it will probaly never be right(most Chevy trucks almost paralyze my legs and lower back(arthritis and lumbar fusion)but there are alternatives,if you really like this vehicle and you cant do any thing else consider trying to obtain a custom seat,it would really make a diffrence,by the way is your back alright?you my have some undiagnosed back issues,good luck-Kevin
Like I said, a lot of the more enlightened and competitive dealers allow a one to three day return period, so don’t delay. If it doesn’t fit right, contact them right away, not us. See the whole discussion on Subie seats. If it doesn’t fit you must acquit.
My camry actually has a pretty comfortable seat. The adjustable lumbar support is a big factor, because I’ve got scoliosis
Be sure you are familiar with all the seat adjustments on the RAV-4. I say this because I drove some uncomfortable miles in a Hyundai Sonata before I realized how the seat adjustment worked. I was traveling to a convention to present a paper. My institution had assigned all the vehicles in its fleet and provided the Sonata which had been rented from Enterprise. I picked up the Sonata late in the afternoon and the seat back reclined at too steep an angle for me. I was in a hurry to pick up my research partner who lived 50 miles away to then drive the remaining 120 miles to the convention. I thought that the Sonata was the most uncomfortable car I had ever driven. My research partner offered to drive, so I accepted her offer. The seat was too low for her and the seat back reclined too far. We stopped at every opportunity to change off driving duties. On the return trip, I decided to be a nice guy and said that I would drive the first 100 miles. When we stopped at the 100 mile rest stop, I was the first one back to the car. I reasoned that no manufacturer made a car with such uncomfortable seating position. I took another look and found we were pulling on a lever which was to be pushed up and down to raise the seat. I then found another lever and when I pulled it, the seatback snapped to a more upright position. We both were able to find a comfortable position when I figured out how the seat adjustments worked. I’m 6’ 2" and my colleague is 5’ 4". I have long legs and she has short legs. My point is to be sure you know all the seat adjustments on your RAV-4.
I had the same experience when we rented a Chrysler 200 a couple weeks ago. It took some investigation but the up and down was a rachet device. There was also back reclining lever of some type. I don’t know about lumbar since I usually just flatten them all the way. I have one car that I have had for years and never knew it had a lumbar support in it.
@db4690;
Same Camry here and I don’t like the seats for long trips. I do have scoliosis and lordosis, the seat does not have enough thigh support for me. I am 6’ tall, most of the height being in the legs. Do have enough leg room, but after a lot of playing around figured the difference is in thigh support. It is still better than the Honda CRV we got, because on the Honda, the arm rest was useless too. Apparently, that is how I make up for thigh support.
If it is a lack of legroom, there is a company thay makes seat track extenders for Toyota’s.
It is called extendmyseat.com
@galant
You’re a little taller than me, but I admit the thigh support isn’t great
But for me, it’s adequate