Did you not install the wires again? If not, I wonder if the foam will migrate over time. Are those ventilated seats in the Limited?

 

I removed the wires and did not reinstall them.

Because the foam is against foam, cut to fill the entire space and held by the seat cover it has not and will not migrate.

They are the Hybrid Limited ventilated seats. Covering over the vent holes results in not being able to use the ventilation function, but I don't like ventilation so that does not bother me. The seat heater is unaffected, which I do like.

 

I had my passenger seat fixed at a local upholstery shop about 5 months ago but didn't get a chance to take pictures. Today I finally had the driver's seat redone and had them give me the old pieces that were removed so I could show them here.

The OEM foam that sits on the metal seat pan is low density white foam with lots of air holes for the ventilation, the new blue foam is 1" high density with the ventilation holes in the same places. In addition, the shop reshaped the stiff side bolsters so they are now topped with 1" blue foam instead of the urethane molded foam.
The new driver seat feels MUCH better. All wires and hog rings are in place, just like OEM. Both seats look and work just like when it came from the factory, except for being plumper.
I was charged $100 per seat for this work and took about 1.5 hours for the first seat and 1 hour for the second (practice!).

(Many thanks to Den49 for the leadership on this)

Here is the side by side comparison between the white OEM foam and new blue foam, with a ruler for sizes.

One of the old foam pieces that was removed alongside a piece of the new foam material.

 

I guess I wouldn't know seat comfort unless it snuck up and bit me on the... oh, wait. I can't complain since I don't have much basis to compare between what a plush car seat should feel like compared to what it does. My wife's 2015 Pathfinder has some really nice seats, but I just attribute that to Nissan vs Toyota.

I know you don't care for the ventilation feature, so this question is really directed toward others who may be interested in your modification and have removed their seats. Is there a way I can upgrade/modify the ventilation in the seats to make it work better? Is there a blower motor down there that just needs to be replaced or something else I can do? The seat heater works, but the ventilation sucks big time. I almost never notice it and when the Florida sun is baking I'd really appreciate being able to cool myself rather than sweating all over hot leather.

 

Looks good, how is the bolstering with the added foam. Not that there is a lot of side bolstering to start with but wondering if the sides blend in with the seating surface with the extra foam?

 

The upholster shaved off about 1/2" of the side bolsters urethane foam and glued in pieces of the 1" blue foam, then shaped those to fit the seat cover a little tighter.
Before this, the OEM side bolsters hit me in the hips and I was constantly squirming to find a comfortable seating position. The center of these seats is 13" wide, which means the hips of people my size are riding on the side bolsters. Some folks don't mind that but I do.
Now the center of the seat is higher with the new foam and the side bolsters are slightly softer. You described it well, the sides 'blend' with the seat a bit more and my behind fits better.
There is still enough 'cup' to the seat for hard cornering (LOL) but as the sides are a bit softer now you just sink in some.
It was a very good modification for my wife and I, after all, she was the first to complain about this issue.
Otherwise, we like the car more and more all the time. It only has 6,200 miles on it.
:smile:

BTW, the passenger seat was totally removed when they modded it a few months ago. Today they left the drivers seat assembly in place and just released the bottom seat cover and took the bottom seat foam pan out. This took a young, agile person who knew what she was doing.

 

TAL15,


Looks like you found an upholstery shop worth recommending. What is it's name and address?
Thanks for sharing this information.


Den

 

It's a small family store that works on cars, boats and furniture:
G & M Custom Upholstery in Temecula, CA, 92590

 

Did anyone tried replacing the form it self? Part number 71512-07020

Toyota Part No.: 71512-07020

PAD, FR SEAT CUSHION



This part fits this location on your vehicle:

• Driver Side

This part fits the following vehicle options:

• Production Date: 10/2012-10/2015
• Fitting Vehicle Options: AVX40, GSX40.. LIMD

 

I tried with the new seat cushion. Slight difference. Waste of time and money.

New cushion looks different in color and little bit firm. But the comfort, is still bad.

 

Seat Cover Removal

Can someone explain the process of removing the seat cover. Are there special tools required?

 

Can someone explain the process of removing the seat cover. Are there special tools required?

See this thread. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/3...-4th-generation-2013/723697-how-install-additional-foam-avalon-seat-bottom.html

 

This is an update and what I believe is my final and successful iteration to adding additional foam to my 2013 TAHL front seat bottoms. I did this back in April, 2018 to both the driver and passenger seats and have had enough time to be sure that I am happy with the outcome. I know this looks like and is a radical alteration of the original seat. I took me years and all the previous iterations to realize that the hard foam padding has to come out in order to make these seats as comfortable as I want and now have.

The key differences between this and my previous iterations are:

1) I used a high grade one inch foam called Qualux. Qualux is far superior to other so-called high density foam from craft stores, etc that is too soft and wears out after a year or two of use. Qualux is what high end car and boat upholsterers use. Qualux provides both comfort and support that should last the life of the car. I don't recall the exact price, but it cost me around $50.00 for enough one inch Qualux to do one seat. I purchased the Qualux at the Baltimore store of:

http://www.house-of-foam.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=54&zenid=5g7kun657jqo4uls3hrjrdf506

2) I removed all the wires and the three hard padded sections of the seat bottom that you see below. The front two pads are glued in and can be pulled out fairly easily. The rear pad has to be cut out carefully not to cut any seat heater wires.



This is what remains of the seat bottom after the pads are cut out.



I filled-in the voids in the seat bottom, added a short piece of Qualux to raise the level of the rear sitting area and a piece of half inch foam in front of the Qualux to smooth out the transition to the front edge of the seat.



Next is a layer of Qualux to fill in the area between the bolsters.



Finally, a top layer of Qualux that covers the entire top of the seat, including the hard bolsters.



Below is a picture of the pieces of foam I used. The shapes and sizes are different than the templates provided previously in this and prior posts. Obviously, the middle layer is cut to fill the space inside the bolsters. The shape of the top layer will vary depending on whether you want to cover the bolsters, which I recommend. Simply cut the top layer to match the shape of the seat. The yellow is one inch Qualux. The green is half inch ordinary high density foam.



This is a side view of the finished passenger seat. Notice the increased thickness.



This is a front view of the finished passenger seat.

 

Add 2 inch form to the seat cover

Rather than adding form to the seat itself, I added 2 inch form to my seat cover. Cut a little out from the both sides so it almost feel flat.

After I bough MY Avalon in 2015, my left leg starts feel pain. At first I don't know the reason. After 1 year or so I realized it is because the Avalon seat. My leg pain disappeared after I added 2 inch form to my seat cover.

I drive Avalons since 1990s. I do notice the new Avalon did something for cost saving. For example, the plastic protection at the both rear sides in my 1996 Avalon is honeycomb, it is a flat plastic plate in the new Avalon.

 

For those that don't have the skill/desire to tackle this, you can take this info to a good upholstery shop. Armed with an image of what needs to be done, you'll know if the shop will be willing to tackle the job.

My dealership referred me to a shop that came up with a similar solution, and charged me $100. So far, so good, but I won't know HOW good until the swelling in my recently replaced right hip is resolved. We'll be putting 5500 miles on the car in July, so I'll know then how good this solution is!

The shop found it curious that the padding in the driver's seat seems to be different than the passenger seat. Is that true? (they didn't disassemble, they just felt a difference!)

 

pianewman.. where did you do this?? Any pictures on how it looks now..


I live in North Dallas area..



Even with new seat form, it s***s. They changed something, but not still good as other cars.

 

saneesh81: Teocal's, 5260 Trail Lake Drive, FW, 76133 Phone: 817 423 0355. Ask for Alfonso. It's a rather grubby little shop (defunct gas station) but they seem to do good work.

It's not perfect. For whatever reason, I still feel a (softer) lateral ridge that presses on my...my...ahem...prostate. I don't have a lot of upper leg padding, so it might just be my shape that doesn't fit.

I might have to resort to a cushion that has a cutout for the space between the butt cheeks.

Sheesh...never thought I'd be writing such graphic stuff on an auto forum site...

 

Saneesh 81: please put your location in your signature. It really is helpful.

 

Done..


Thanks pianewman..

 

Saneesh81: Sending a private message

 

For the 12 its about $175. and I think it would be good enough for anyone up to 250 -300. They for sure had American builds in mind then. Not so much in 2013.
I do like the price of using 1 inch ....for real high density foam.... over our worn base. Qualux foam rubber cushions and mattresses

The pics of the stock seat foam on a ventilated limited look like something made for fishers price or dollar general. I have tried them. Didnt like them at all and that lasted only 5 minutes. Not made for a big and tall American Man.

 

For the 12 its about $175. and I think it would be good enough for anyone up to 250 -300. They for sure had American builds in mind then. Not so much in 2013.
I do like the price of using 1 inch ....for real high density foam.... over our worn base. Qualux foam rubber cushions and mattresses

This where I bought my foam. The high density foam is called Qualux, much better and longer lasting than the typical foam in a craft or fabric store.

 

Anyone tried to modify the backrest part of the seat? I believe the lumbar support section is digging in my lower back and am trying to figure out how to add foam there too. Btw this has been a great resource to fix the bottom foam discomfort issue. Thank you so much!