Drive more?

Seriously - over time, the cushions and support structure of the seat will change and "soften" up. It's the nature of foam.

It may be just a situation of changing the way you sit in the seat - move a bit more to one side or the other? If you have a power seat adjustment, you could (in theory) add a gel pad or some other type of cushion to sit on, but this would also impact your left side and if that's fine, then ...

Question - which side do you carry your wallet on? I'd suggest taking your wallet out of the back pocket when driving and see if that helps.

The cushions and the support structure (in the old days - springs) will be pretty much the same left to right, no one side being firmer than the other. But time will (as with all things in life) sag and squish that foam cushion and/or the support structure. Short of having a custom molded seat cushion, there's not much to do.

But try sitting a bit more "this way or that way" and see if that helps. If you're using cruise control, shift where your leg rests... If you're not using cruise control, start using it - see if that helps. And if you have your wallet in your right back pocket (as most guys often do) pull it out when you're driving and put it in a jacket pocket or something and see if that helps. Just don't leave it in the car when you get out of the car...

 

ahh good one, but no wallet in my back pocket, and I have tried moving around, messing with the lumbar support air bag etc.

 

I hear you!
Being somewhat lacking in 'natural rear end padding' I had to resort to a sheet of memory foam under the seat covers of my previous Forester. In my case, that solved the comfort issue.
Friends with the same vehicle also noted the firmness, so it's not just us.
Thankfully, my 2020 is much improved in this area. I use nothing but neoprene seat covers now and it's just fine.

 

The seats seem more narrow than our Toyota, or Ford....and we aren’t wide people ...lol

 

It took mine a couple of months to "wear" in. I remember thinking it was hard as a rock, and then it was much better.

 

Good to know. I just purchased a 2021 and the driver's seat is bothering my lower back some because of the "firmness".

 

I find my 2020 forester sport seat bottom feels fine. However, I wish it has more bucket support. I feel it is a little too flat and wide. However, my wife’s crosstrek bucket seat is deeper and hug my butt just fine.

 

My issue with the 2020 Forester seat isn't so much the stiffness, but the shortness. It hits the bottom of my thighs at the halfway mark where my legs start bothering me after an hour or so. My highlander had a thigh extension which I took for granted. I'm still only 3 weeks into owning it so I'm hoping to find a good position. It's just a bit frustrating.

 

That seat shortness has been mentioned many times by others. Me too. My wife's i30 is just that much longer and therefore, superior.
I have put some spacers, or jackers, under the front seat bolts to increase the angle. (Some hole elongation required, my bad?, but a huge improvement !).

 

 

I have the exact same problem! On the side of the seat (same side as right but cheek) there is a point where leather is attached to the seat. Detach it. It helped me a little bit. But I still find seats too firm. I have 2021 Forester Limited.

 

How is this detached? Do you have to tear the fabric? Thanks for the help!

 

I think i get it, however it's a struggle. There is a about a 2" plastic clip that goes from the seat fabric to a metal bar on the seat frame. Does the clip slide off (back to front) or unsnap (down and to the right of the seat)? Don't want to break it. Thanks for the help!

 

Push the plastic clip down. I may rotate a little. Just keep it in a straight up position and push it down. It will unsnap from a metal bar. You will be able to snap it back if needed.

 

It would be nice to have seat bottom extenders like the upper Outback models have for us 6 footers who would like more thigh support than those short seats provide. Or an optional big mans model with a few inches more leg room and thigh support. Put a "Big Man" badge on the car too. My back seats are always down, let the driver have the option of using the space behind the seat. The pilots seat can always be moved front for small people.

 

I have a 2020 forester. The front passenger seat doesn't have any adjustments like lumbar or tilting the front of the seat.
Where did you buy your spacers/seat jackers???

 

The spacers I made out of alloy blocks with holes drilled. Longer bolts were easily purchased.
As mentioned, however, it was necessary to elongate the front seat bolt holes to get it all to line up. This is because the bottom rails are fixed through angled mounts rather than flat mounts. Flat mounts would have been so easy, but I got there!
I have cloth trim and the seat fabric is zippered on the left and right from top to bottom . The zip ends can be fished out and this allows the seat back to be opened up. Access can now be gained to the lumbar support so that pressure can be reduced by packing it out on the left and right sides.
That description sounds a bit vague, I know, but once sighted it all makes sense.

 

You have helped me more than you may realize. Thanks for your time to describe this. This sets me on the right course.

Kerry

 

I'd suggest getting a gel pad.

 

Glad to help.
Another mod I did, but failed to mention, is this.
I found the front edge of the seats were giving me insufficient thigh support. I have cloth trim. If you slide your hand down the front edge of the seat, between your legs, you will find the fabric seat material comes to an end and is clipped to the seat shell. The fabric is sewn onto a pliable plastic strip. That strip is a 'roll clip'. By putting your fingers underneath it and rolling it upwards, it easily comes free.
Now the front section of the seat fabric can be lifted up. This exposes the moulded seat cushion. Now that cushion can be lifted up at the front as well as it simply nestles into the steel shell of the seat base.
Whew!! Stay with me here haha.
Next I got a piece of foam 13 in long, 5 in wide and 2 in thick. By lifting up the seat cushion it was easy to insert the foam into the front section of the seat base. The aim, which worked, is to give more height to the cushion front and give more thigh support. It also gives you a more settled 'in the seat' feeling.
Last bit. With the extra height the long 'roll clip' will no longer reach it's home base. The steel base has 5 or six existing slots in it where the clip would go. I drilled small holes through the plastic clip in relation to those slots. Zip ties now can be fed through and tightened to hold the seat cover down. Sounds a bit ad hoc but this is probably stronger than the original fixing.
I have neoprene seat covers that go over everything anyway.
No harm can be done here as everything can be reversed if necessary. Also, the thickness of the foam suited me after a few experiments. You may go slightly thicker or thinner to suit.
Leather seats might be fixed differently as well.