Headrests

guess it must be how I have my seat setup but my head doesn't even touch the headrest. Heck in most any cars I've ever had the head rest doesn't touch my head unless I purposely lean back to rest it.

 

My head does not touch the headrest either. Maybe tilt the seat back a notch.

 

Do you know what they're for?

In a heavy rear-end collision, your body will be accelerated forward by the sudden acceleration. This will leave your head behind which at best will cause a minor neck injury and at worst will decapitate you. The head rest is there to prevent that.

 

Lee i think technically you car is pushed forward but your body will be slung backwards. My parents were rear ended at a stop sign by a car that didn't stop (30+MPH). My dad's seat literally broke the back of it when he was thrown backwards by the force. My moms held at one side by did break on the other support. I'm sure if the headrest wasn't there they would have broken their necks.

 

No, your body is attached to the car (through the seat) and is thus pushed forward by the car. Anything that isn't connected to the car is not moved forward and thus moves backwards relative to the car (but stays stationary relative to the ground) This is why the head rest is there - to push your head forward along with the car so it stays connected to your body.

 

I guess we are saying the same thing, though you phrased it better . Your body isn't going to move as fast forward as the car will.

at 1:22 you could see the backwards push. I can see why my dads seat broke completely.

Regardless, the headrest is to keep our heads on our bodies during an accident not necessarily to relax against it while driving.

 

Damn, back under the bed.

 

Your body goes forward relative to the ground, and backwards relative to the car. It's a "relativity" thing - frame of reference matters.

And, yes, your head rest is primarily a safety device.

 

The headrests from prior prii (2015 for sure) will fit the prime and have less forward angle. I call the seats softex covered torture devices. I'm away on business but plan to eBay a headrest and swap when I get back. Most seats of recent manufacture were not designed for a 5'2" woman who prefers to sit up straight.
I tested a head rest from a 2015 when I took a test drive.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Not exactly on the same topic, but I adjusted my (obfuscating) rear seat headrests to tilt forward to improve my rearward view.
Fantastic!! I can now better see to the sides when using my interior rearview mirror. . I never have passengers, so this is perfect for me!

.

 

I got a used head restraint from ebay (2011-2015 prius) and took some pictures. The new-to-me head restraint is grey cloth. You'll notice that the padding isn't as far forward from the stems. I also show it installed both backwards (straight line with seat back) and forwards (tilts forward but less than original). I'm trying it facing forwards for now.

IMG_20170523_110028 by Janice N posted May 23, 2017 at 3:20 PM

IMG_20170523_105954 by Janice N posted May 23, 2017 at 3:20 PM

IMG_20170523_105915 by Janice N posted May 23, 2017 at 3:20 PM

IMG_20170523_105141 by Janice N posted May 23, 2017 at 3:20 PM

 

I used an old donut cushion, a few inches thick, on the driver's seat with the '15 head rest. It was almost ... comfortable! When sitting up, not just my head and sacrum touched the seat but my shoulder blades brushed the back too! I was surprised that the pedals were still comfortable and the steering wheel was still 10" away and only had to be raised a little. I still can't see the front of the car, but I think I'm getting closer to a usable setup.
A co-worker once pointed out that being more than 2 sigma away from the mean of the distribution can be troublesome.
One size fits some.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I tried moving the back seat head restraint forward last night based on the instructions but it doesn't seem to budge. Is there any trick to it. I assume they are made to fold forward in order to clear the front seats when you need extra luggage space and the front seat are back as far as they go.

 

I like to just remove them and put them under the front seats.

They have to be all the way out to tilt then down.

 

FYI, the OEM Gen 4 headrests will install "backwards" giving more room to lay your head back. Janice N shows a picture above, albeit with an aftermarket headrest. If you have moonstone, the color will not match, but you'll be comfortable.