Latest Intel Available? Painful Seats

there are a myriad of different solutions. anything from a small pillow, to an appointment with a reupholstered, to a swap with a power leather junk yard dog. but to be sure, you are not alone. all the best.

however, 'total seat replacement' is cheaper than spinal surgery.okay, well, one guy put in a power camry seat. pics and write up were excellent.but to answer the o/p's question, no, there's no conclusive evidence, sorry.

 

If you've already looked at other threads...and there are numerous ones, then you know you've poked a hornets nest.

It simply comes down to a lot of people have no trouble with the Prius seats. A number of people do.

If in less than 12000 miles both you and your girlfriend are uncomfortable? Then unfortunately you fall into the "Problem With The Seats" category.

As far as solutions? How complicated or involved do you want to go?

Since seats are not one size or design works for all, neither are the possible solutions. So I'm afraid some experimentation is inevitable regardless of how you decide to try to resolve the issue.

I don't think there is any simple Do This...and you will be fine...Guaranteed answer.

If it was me? I'd start the experimentation with simple and available cushions and/or back support products. If you find one that works? Then it's as permanent an answer as anything. This is also a relatively cheap place to start.

If you can't find any combination of these products that work? Then of course you can start escalating possible solutions. But then you start getting into costly and complicated realms. Total seat replacement is complicated and expensive.

Some people have given up. If there is no way to make the seat tenable, then 30K and 5 payments in? You may be forced to make a tough decision. But owning a car in which you can't be comfortable is really a make or break proposition.

 

I am 6'2" tall and have spent over two years off and on working to make my 2011 non-power seat more comfortable.
The two things I hate the most about the seat are:
1) When lowering the seat, the entire seat tilt increases (in other words, you will be leaning back further )
If you merely put the seatback forward to compensate, you may go below the minimum seatback to seat cushion angle leading to excess pressure on the back and legs.
2) The bottom cushion is very short for long legs. You may have excess pressure on your thighs and still have insufficient leg support.

I sat in a Prius Four with power Siftex seat yesterday at Fremont Toyota: So uncomfortable. Terrible seat cushion: Makes all kinds of pressure on my legs yet does not support them.

A custom cut cushion: 1 1/4" at back end tapering to 1/4" at front. Covered by vinyl, spray-glued on. Just finished this morning, it should correct the excess cushion tilt ( seat only 2 pumps up out of 30 possible).

Custom built legrest box. I've since covered the pipe insulation foam with Black vinyl.

I have tried the Corolla with its manual fabric seat, and it is just terrible: Bottom side bolsters squeeze legs, yet insufficient leg support.

One Toyota that has a very large 10 way power seat is the Avalon Limited with its extendable seat cushion plus 4 way adjustable lumbar and heating / cooling. $40k car though. 42k for the hybrid.

To the OP, my opinion is, this Prius liftback is not nearly a great car to drive for 6' 4" drivers.
I'll bet you're having a blast reaching for that steering wheel. For drivers with short legs and arms, reaching the wheel likely not difficult.To OP: If you place something behind your back for lumbar support, this will likely push you farther forward on the seat cushion, sending your legs farther over the edge, reducing leg support.
BTW, take a tape measure to the Camry seat cushion: It is 19" long cushion, same as Prius liftback.
Putting a Camry seat in a Prius should be a major hassle. To the OP: You need to try to find the root cause(s) of the seat problem for you. This may involve sitting in sedans known to be good for tall drivers.
I would recommend trying a new Hyundai Sonata with power seat. You could likely rent one, then see if you could emulate some of that in your Prius.

I think the OP should avoid the CT200h : It is really too small for a 6'4" driver.
OP needs a roomier, true midsize sedan like Sonata, Accord or Altima.
If he had the coin, an Avalon Hybrid Limited should fit.
Highlander Hybrid should fit too.

I tried all sorts of seat adjustments with sliding, lifting up and down, setback forward, back .... for months before trying pads, cushions, seat covers, etc...

When I go in for service I take out all the pads and cushions: Night and day difference.

 

unfortunately, lab rat is a particularly apt description.

 

6'3" and I think Prius seat is as comfortable for me as the tsx, except for more aggressive side bolsters on the tsx. Maybe OP should check the Lexus CT 200h for a more adjustable seat.

 

As in troubleshooting any problem, you should try the easiest and cheapest things first:

Are you in the habit of having the seat back at an extreme angle......either leaned way back or straight upright ?
Try changing the seat back angle.
Not being the right distance from the pedals can be a factor sometimes too.

Then get a "lumbar support" cushion device. Or make a temporary one out of a rolled up towel to see if it helps.

 

You must have got the Corolla seats by mistake.

 

That's how I started out with seat mods: With a small pad on the driver door only. But, over time realized more and more accessories would be needed.
Readjusting the seat position often can be a sign of discomfort.

To the OP, if you can't find what you're looking for anywhere (online, Amazon, auto parts retailers), look for a 'foam factory'. We have one in SF East Bay, actually just down road from Tesla plant -

Bob's Foam Factory - Home

Good news is having a few pieces of foam cut is not expensive, but it takes time to try things.

I couldn't find what I needed online or in stores so I made it / had it made -



Good luck!

 

Before buying any lumbar cushion, I would make a prototype of it: Fold up a towel, place it and drive. You'll know pretty quickly if your heading in the right direction.

Boltgunner, you're a tall guy. I want to ask some Q's to maybe uncover the problem.
Your back hurts when driving. Do you feel the seatback is too concave, that it needs more lumbar curve toward you?
Exactly how many pumps up from full down do you set the seat height adjuster?
Do you have any extra headroom?
Do you have any sense that the front edge of the seat cushion is pressing up too much on your legs?
Are you having to lean or hunch forward to reach the steering wheel?

 

I'll bet you could benefit from a small lumbar cushion and thin wedge cushion. I'll bet you may not need a lumbar cushion any thicker than 1/2" or maybe 3/4". Another Prius chatter used Bob's foam here for a small lumbar cushion.
you might be able to keep it in place using 3M Command stripes, maybe not.
Here 's template I made for wedge cushion. I traced it from a Winplus gel cushion that didn't work out -


All the wedge and lumbar cushions I've seen are large and thick, but we tall folks don't have much head or seat room to spare.
I Google search foam factories and I see listings. Hopefully you're near a metro area.

 

To boltgunner,
You mentioned it seems you sink too far into the back of seat bottom cushion. A thin wedge cushion as pic'd above will help. I have never seen a wedge cushion at retail thinner than 3 inches at the back: This will send your head right into the roof. Also the front edges of those cushions are about an inch thick. This means your thighs will have a 1 inch drop from the cushion to the seat bottom and that is not comfortable.

You mentioned having to reach beyond the pedals to get your thighs to touch down. That leads me to believe the seat cushion is awfully short for your legs. A legrest box like in mine not a good option as your wife uses the car too.

 

My son is 6'6" and around 175. He drives a Prius hatchback by choice. 100k+ miles in 3+ years 60 miles to work and back. Never heard him comment.

He is extremely short torso'ed for a guy that tall. That may be a clue as to who fits and who doesn't.

 

He's probably happy cause he's young (23?) and very slim.

It's the shorty 19" seat cushion, scant steering wheel telescope (25.25" brake to wheel distance) and excess tilt on 6-way manual seat (18 degree off horizontal) cushion with NO tilt adjust that work against big and tall drivers.

A 5'5" driver's knees will fall just a little over cushion edge (good leg support), they will raise seat height into a medium range (about 15 pumps up) with average seat tilt, and will slide half dozen clicks or more forward, making steering wheel easy to reach. That's sounds like a fit to me.

 

Hello OP, what happened to ya?
Oh well, I must have scared another one off

 

Most back problems really are muscle problems; cramps and soreness.
Exercises designed specifically to stretch and strengthen those muscles can help a LOT.

 

1982-1986 Toyota Supra & Celica GT-S had awesome seats.
1987-1995 Toyota 4Runner & SR5 Trucks had great Optional Buckets.
First Generation MR2 had good Seats as well.

Toyota used to be a Leader in this aspect.