Car seating is a bit of a pain in the you know what, according to recently polled auto consumers.

As vehicles get more and more sophisticated, basic features such as seat quality still hold significant sway in consumers’ minds, and getting too technical with them can lead to frustration, the research reveals.

The J.D. Power survey of nearly 93,000 vehicle buyers and lessees in their first 90 days of possession found seating quality suffered a slight decline. Problems in the category, which includes seat belts, saw their first increase in nine years, the company found.

Seats, while not being the sexiest thing in a car by any means, have an outsize affect on overall consumer experience, according to J.D. Power.

"Seat and powertrain are the two categories that most influence vehicle appeal and satisfaction," said its senior manager of auto benchmarking and mobility development, Lisa Boor in a press release on the study findings.

Consumers most often complain of seat range adjustment, headrest comfort, and seat material scuffing or soiling, and cited problems increased for all three. In fact, those and related design issues comprised eight of the top 10 seating complaints.

More consumers are expressed concern about seating controls, saying they’re too complicated or hard to operate, including memory and massage features. Both mass-market and luxury auto consumers are experiencing such issues.

The study report includes seating data for all models sold in the U.S.

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