Seat Height -- Obvious flaw in otherwise great car

I love my Prius. But nothing is perfect. One large and annoying flaw is the seat height and positioning. I'm 6'1". The first time I got in my new Prius, I wanted to lower the seat and push it back more. After a while, I found a viable solution for moving the seat back -- I had a retrofitter who normally does this work weld steel to the front of the seat rails. This shifted the range of motion back three inches. Now I drive the car with the seat 2" farther back than a non-modified Prius can go. It's much more comfortable.

However, in spite of all the discussion about lack of seat height adjustment on PC, no viable alternative has been offered, at least for me. Someone discussed taking their seat apart and adding Corolla components. But I'm not a mechanic, so I can't do that. Others put in Recaro seats. But they are expensive and you lose the side air bags.

For some reason, US Toyota decided not to put seat height adjustment in the Prius. They have it in Europe and Japan. But not here. All Corolla models have it. The two higher end Yaris's have it. Only the low end Yaris does not have seat height adjustment. Does US Toyota think Prius buyers are equivalent to low end Yaris buyers? Movies stars and billionaires drive Prius's, because in some ways it's the coolest car on the planet.

I have the highest option package offered on the 05 Prius. My car has every option. But no height adjustment. It's like putting Yugo seats in a Mercedes. I cannot understand why US Toyota made this decision.

The Prius driver's seat position seems to be set for someone that's about 5'6". I like to have the seat back all the way up (rather than reclining back) when driving. As a result, the sloping down roof in front and back cuts off my vision out of the front and rear windshields. I often must crouch down to see what color traffic lights are. And I must look out the side mirror if I want to see more than a couple hundred feet behind my car.

Has anyone ordered the Prius driver's seat from Europe or Japan and installed it in their US Prius? Does anyone have any other practical suggestions for lowering the Prius driver's seat?

 

With so many US Prius owners wanting seat height adjustment, there must be some way to encourage Toyota to make height adjustable seats available. I'd gladly pay for a new one. I've sent several notes to Toyota asking them to make the seats available. They've said they can't do anything about it.

This response is ingenuous. Of course they can do something about it. The height adjustable seat is available. It's sold in Europe and Japan. For some reason they're choosing to not make it available here. The issue isn't that they can't do it, but rather that they won't, or at least haven't up to this point.

If enough owners ask for it, perhaps Toyota will see the light and meet the requests of their loyal customers.

 

Go to: Toyota Cars, Trucks, SUVs & Accessories
then: About Toyota; Contact Us; Email Toyota

You could also call: 800 331 4331

If they tell you how to get the adjustable seat, please share it here. I'll do the same.

 

Thanks for the good idea on changing the seat!

However, I'd still like to have height adjustment. I want the base, not the back, of the seat lower.

I'm going to call a Toyota dealer in the UK and see if they can ship me a height adjustable driver's seat, and what it would cost. If it works out, I'll post the info so others can do the same.

 

I just spoke with Toyota about the seat height. I escalated it up to management level and asked them to let me know if a retrofit could be provided so that 04-08 Prius's could get manual driver's seat height adjustment, the way all other Prius's have it around the world.

I told them I did not understand why the Prius didn't have seat height adjustment. Only the base model Yaris doesn't have it. If they put height adjustment on the higher end Yaris, couldn't they at least make it available as an option on the Prius.

I was told it was a marketing decision to not put height adjustment on the Prius. This confirms what I originally thought, that they probably didn't want to cannibalize Camry and other sales. But that's a dumb decision. Other countries didn't worry about that. Instead, they did what was best for the customer. I paid nearly $30,000 for my Prius. It has every option, except this most basic feature.

The strategy of doing what's best for the customer has worked very well for Toyota. Ironically, putting the customer first is what's best for sales. Putting sales ahead of customers was clearly a mistake on US Toyota's part. The decision to not add height adjustment for marketing reasons is consistent with the poor management of US Auto companies. It seems that US Toyota was emulating the poor management decisions of US car companies, rather than following the lead of their much smarter parent company.

It would be crazy if they continue to offer the Prius without seat height adjustment, after all the negative feedback they've received. Even if Toyota makes no other change to the 09 Prius, it should have height adjustment.

Also, they should make a retrofit option available for 04-08 Prius's so that their loyal customers can be comfortable in their cars. If enough of us contact them and ask for it, they might make this option available:

Email Toyota
or
800 331 4331