Warning: Gen III front seats are a torture device...

With manual adjust seat, driver's seat tilt varies a lot through height range: 12 degrees full up to 20 deg full down. At low height settings, can put excess pressure on thighs, raises knees higher leaving less clearance between front of seat cushion and steering wheel, must keep enough angle between seat bottom and back, extra recline in seatback makes reaching steering wheel harder.

This plus almost no lumbar curve in base seat causes me to feel awkward in my 2011 Prius.

 

I like the seats. I think they are comfortable and well designed. Seat fit is a highly personal thing, however.

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

Let's keep this thing going ......

It's more complicated than 'Gen 3 driver's seat is a torture device'. Are we talking about the mechanical adjust driver's seat in 2012+ 2,3 and Persona and all 2010/2011 liftbacks (except power lumbar in 4,5 w/ leather)? Or the power seat with power adjustable lumbar support in 2012+ 4, 5?

... I own the mechanical and have sat a few times in power seat, big difference.

Can adjust the power seat bottom/back in ways you cannot adjust the mechanical seat. i.e., you cannot change the mechanical seat bottom tilt, only raise it up and down. power lumbar adjust is a big plus.

I could use a lumbar cushion on my mechanical seat as it feels pretty flat back there.

 

I think it is by far the safest bet to get power adjustable driver's seat in virtually any car. Tough stuff that it took until January of 2012 to first see that in any Prius anywhere. And the sticker cost, Prius 4 is over $29,000.

Not to be an nice person or rub it in, but Honda offers 10-way power adjustable driver's seat in Accord on all but the lowest LX trim, and the power seat starts this year in the Sport which is $23,390 or just over $24k sticker.

2013 Honda Accord Sedan - Options and Pricing - Official Honda Site

I think Toyota would be wise to offer power adj. power lumbar seat in fabric trim in Prius soon. Accord has had that for years. Anbody losing MPGs with the slightly heavier power seat?... and I'll bet gobs of buyers would throw down a few hundred extra for any power seat in a Prius.

 

Since we're on power seats. How reliable are they? I'm coming from a childhood remembering all the large Oldsmobiles my dad bought used. Oftentimes they came with busted power seats. I remember an assortment of pillows and seat covers were used by my parents. Luckily, they preferred to sit closer than where the seats were stuck.

 

Welp, I just had to find out the benefits of a power seat in a Prius, so Toyota Sunnyvale rental came through same day with a Prius 4 w/ sunroof to try it out. $65 down the drain for extended test drive, but will make a nice day drive tomorrow.
It's so much easier to adjust up the seat with power: Raise up, no prob, less or more bottom tilt, easy, move seatback a bit, cinch.
Going to trade for one? No way. Will hold out for some kind of efficient, quieter, more mainstream type of sedan which doesn't seem to exist, but that's ok cause it's not the time to spend anyway.

Toyota has had power seats in Avalon and Camry for quite a while. I'll bet most work fine well over 10 years later. I was in some cars older than 10 years recently and all the power seats worked.

Ok, so I've had a night and morning in 2013 Prius 4.

Can adjust the power seat in ways the mechanical seat cannot adjust. Mechanical is '6 way adjustable (slide, up/down, seatback). bottom moves as one piece raising / lowering ... get what you get for seat bottom tilt. Can see why some others have had fits with the mechanical seat. I have too.

Power seat '8-way adjustable with power lumbar'. Raising / lowering 4 way: back of seat bottom up/down, front of seat bottom up/down (can change seat bottom tilt)

I'll never buy another mechanically adjustable driver's in any car whether new or used. And, no, I'm not buying another Prius

Rental returned. Power seat in liftback works for me, mechanical does not. Will try some wedge seat cushions. If it works, great, if not, time to sell?

My 1988 Toyota SR5 4X4 pickup* has seat bottom tilt knob but no such thing found in any Prius mechanical adj. driver's seat.

* which gets under 20 mpg and Bay Area Air Quality District offered to buy back.




Toyota does NOT offer a plug-and-play kit to retrofit the Softex power driver's seat into a mechanical seat car. Said the seat would likely cost over $3k anyway. Suggested to call upholstery type shop to see if they could locate a used one and add the 3rd connector to plug in (likely just 12V for motors / heaters). Lowered down theres so much tilt pressure on thighs in really bad. End up reclining to help, that's why been saying steering wheel needs to scope more / tilt down. Root of problem is can't lower front of seat bottom to relieve legs and sit more upright.

So, iClaudius, right there with ya, for me this mechanical seat is jacked up (power is ok).

Toyota does not offer plug-and-play kit to retrofit power driver's seat into mechanical seat car. Parts guy said new seat would cost over $3k anyway. Suggested to call upholstery type shop to locate used seat, add 3rd connector to plug into power seat.

mechanical seat lowered all way down, so much tilt, pressure on thighs really bad. End up reclining seat back, lifting up to help that's why always say steering wheel too far away. Steering wheel not really problem, mechanical seat bad but power seat to lower front of seat bottom would solve it.

I think a seat bottom tilt adjuster knob* as found in Toyota FJ Cruiser would solve a few seating problems. It would for me. Knob makes FJ an 8-way mechanical opposed to Prius 6-way mechanical. See seatback, height lever and tilt knob below (Prius 4,5 Softex Power seat is 8-way w/ power lumbar (some other mfrs call this a '10-way adjustable power seat'))

* Prius seat bottom angle changes from a relative 5 cm drop at height full up to 8 cm drop at full down. IOW, tilt changes. Measured with small level, ruler.



At height full down, below is a LOT of seat bottom tilt for me. Currently no way to lessen it except with Softex power seat found in 2012+ Prius 4 and 5 only.



Prius mechanical driver's seat bottom angle or tilt varies a lot between full up height position and full down, 5 cm relative drop* at full up and 8 cm at full down (just a relative measurement with small level and ruler). Point is that it varies a lot, and I'm not 'sold' on that approach.

I can name two models of car that maintain a constant seat bottom angle at full height up and down, one model 6cm the other 7cm. Different brand but not going to say the models.

* Height adjust full down



height full up (camera tilted, level is level)

 

I am 6'2". When I move the seat back far enough to get leg room and telescope the steering wheel as close as it will get, I can't reach the top of the wheel without straight arms and that kills my neck muscles. Then the top of the seat back forces me into a very uncomfortable slumped over position while the upper sides of the seat back dig into my shoulders. And then the door arm rest is about an inch lower than the console armrest and since I have to grab the steering wheel from the bottom it is a big deal and causes discomfort. So I am back to driving my 1993 Jeep Cherokee which is so much more comfortable than this POS Toyota. I use to think Toyota was a world-class operation. I'll never buy another one.

 

My Gen. 3 with Softex seats are fine no problems here

 

I am 6' and have the same exact problems as you experience but my wife and I like most of the car so much that I suffer it through. My wife is 5' 7 and the seat fits her OK. My wife is crazy about this car as it suits her needs well. If I got rid of this car I would have to hire a food taster.

 

same here

 

Well I believe you! I'm sorry that is your experience. My wife and I each have a Prius. We travel quite a lot. I have owned, a 4 runner special edition, a pre runner, a Rav4, special edition 4 wheel drive, 6. My wife has owned the convertible Solaris, a Camary , her own RAV4 and now her Prius. All great cars!
The Prius is not the best looking, not the most comfortable, not the best in snow, it is not the fastest, or quickest.
It is however the most pragmatic. It is very comfortable, it is plenty, quick, standard features are plentiful. I own the 4 so the leather seats make it very comfortable and extra bells and whistles are also nice. The 3 year bumper to bumper, all services free is amazing, oh an did I mention it gets 2 to 3 times the gas mileage? Over 49 MPG.
It is what it is. It is very roomy, I love the hatch back. Over all I love all the Toyotas I've owned, for that matter I loved all the Hondas I've owned. Having said all that, I think the best vehicle I've ever owned, all things considered, with bang for the buck as the top on the totem pole, the Prius is the winner!

 

some pics :

I'll probably switch to a thinner piece of darker foam on door:


Good luck!

Hopefully these videos will help also:

Links to Driving Position Adjustment for Safety and Comfort | PriusChat

Your 2012 Prius Four has the fully adjustable power seat (8-way + lumbar) to be better than the 6-way mechanical adjust seat ...

The seat bottom tilt can be lowered flatter (or raised, front of adjust button). This allows me to bring the seatback up more, something I positively cannot do in my non-power.

Since I'm more upright in the 10-way power seat (8 + lumbar), reach to wheel a bit better, plus can scoot a bit back more for legs.

The power seat is definitely better than the mechnical seat and so much easier to adjust.

What good does that do me? If I was able to get a used but nice power Softex seat out of a toalled and add the extra connector to plug it all in, bingo. No time to deal with that now, and locating a used seat might be Very difficult.

Scary thing is the vast majority of Prius liftbacks sold are Two and Three's which do not have the full power seat.


There are a number of people 'online' who say they would have no problem with a car whose driver's seat points far left of the steering wheel as shown in a 2013 Camry and all models are same across the board. Look at seat seams up the edges of wheel, this pic is shot dead straight between headrest posts. I'll let you fill in the blanks about world class or not..

That's Softex seats, imitation leather. 2 years Toyotacare free maintenance. 2 to 3 times, but you don't have 4WD and cannot tow.

I'll drink part of, but not all the KoolAid on this car. I don't get do drive a littany of cars like Car and Driver, CR and all, but when just about every pro on the planet says 'it's ok' or 'anti-fun', 'secure but not agile handling', 'numb steering', coupled with the fact the liftback Prius sells in the company of the VW Jetta and Kia Optima, and about one-half monthly sales of Accord, Camry*, and Altima, ... tells me the Prius is a 'work in progress' and 'needs redesign work'. Not sure I expect much out of the 4th gen Prius considering Toyotas are usually less 'fun' and more mushy and 'comfortable' on the road. Too bad we can't put Toyota and Honda in a blender and get the best of both. Bring the stupid Accord hybrid already, Honduh.

 

I don't find the seats as comfortable as I'm used to, but I can deal with it, since I don't do extremely long drives.

HOWEVER, since I often wear my hair in a ponytail, I am having the devil of a time with my headrest!

I have it in the lowest position possible, and it pushes my head forward several inches in a very uncomfortable way. Same with every other position.

Can I buy a different headrest? I don't want to adjust the ponytail situation... Thanks for any suggestions!

 

You can actually take the headrest out and turn it around. It works just fine and changes the angle so it doesn't push you head forward. I'm not sure if this is by design but it can be done .

 

Ah ha! This will be the first thing I try, thank you!

 

Just completed a 650 mile road trip in 36 hours...seats felt great. Pulled at least two 4hr + stretches. Seats felt great!

 

You might be able to find an upholsterer who can shave some of the foam in the headrest if they think it is safe to do so. Toyota will certainly say, don't touch it, but that's to cover their butts.

If the upholsterer can remove some foam, re-sew the cover, it may help.

See if Toyota sells the headrest alone (I'd think they would) to replace when you sell or trade the car in.

True, but it cannot be secured when turned around: The detents are only inside the driver's side support post.

It's an 'Active Headrest'. Would it do its job when turned around? Who knows.

 

True but I would think it would be a better alternative than to have some revert to removing it altogether.

 

I understand where the OP is coming from since I've owned Volvo's since 1981. Unless you've spent a significant amount of time in a Volvo seat you really can't understand his problem with the Prius seat. I use my 2010 III as a daily driver and it is fine for short trips jumping in and out of all day and I have zero problems with the seat. Two or so years ago I took a trip over to Philadelphia and by the time I got back home I couldn't wait to get out of the car, my back was killing me. A two or three hour trip I'm not seeing the problem it seems to be when I get over five more hours where I'm starting to get uncomfortable in the seat.
I can jump in my 97 Volvo 960 and drive straight through to Naples Fl. 1170 miles and 19-20 hours away and I'm very comfortable all the way down. When I retire the Volvo as my long distance highway car (28 mpg doesn't cut it anymore) I want to move this Prius over to my highway vehicle in the next couple years and get a plug in Prius as a replacement, but not with these seats. I've sat in a V and there is a difference over the III when it comes to seat comfort. The plan is to score a nice set of IV or V's seats out of a salvage yard and swap them into my III when the time comes.

From what I can tell the Lumbar support section of the Toyota seat is just not as firm as it could be and that is putting stress on the lower back of some drivers on long trips.