Operation Volvo Seats in a prius

Congrats!

How much did they cost?

Would love to hear updates from you regarding the seats.

 

Pimpin'! I can't wait to see the results

 

i have been (and still am in for the moment) s-80 seats for the last 5 years. the seats in your picture look to be the same ones i have.

you will not be disappointed! so comfortable. enjoy and post the pics when installed!

 

Any idea how much they weigh compared to the stock seats? They sure look supportive!

 

Will the memory function be operational? That is a big one for me as I am 6'00" and my wife is a pint sized Korean, she drives with the car seat all the way forward... I'd love to have electrical seats with memory function for different drivers!

 

The memory function is great. Each person (up to 3 people) only has to set the driver's seat to their liking once. I'm still using the same setting that I set on my Volvo 850 thirteen years ago.

I would think that once the driver's seat is wired up, the memory function will work (unless it's broken).

 

problemchild's first post said "the airbag has not been detonated", by which I assume these Volvo seats have seat-mounted side airbags.

I am curious to know whether you've considered the safety implications of putting in a side airbag-equipped seat from a Volvo into what is a completely different car. Are you sure the Volvo airbag will work properly, or are you just going to leave the airbag disconnected?

I am assuming also that your Prius has standard seat-mounted side airbags, as well as possibly side curtain airbags (thought this may be an optional extra -- it is in Australia where I'm from). If you leave the seat airbag connections disconnected, wouldn't this make the airbag fault lamp to light up?

I don't mean to discourage you from your mods, but I'm just looking out for my fellow Prius drivers' safety....

 

I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

If he wants to keep the airbags disconnected, he can terminate the wiring so that the Prius won't know that the seat bags are off-line. That said, I'm guessing he will hook them up.

Tom

 

Isn't the airbag connection just a wire for trigger voltage? If the Volvo airbags use the same trigger voltage then he should be able to connect the side airbags. He might have to wire them directly or wire a Volvo connector. Do the airbags have to send a status signal back to the Prius CPU?

 

Thank you for your responses so far. I'd like to expand on my original point.

Airbags aren't generic items -- they are designed and set up to work in one particular vehicle model, and you simply can't swap and change them between different vehicle models and expect them to work as intended. The airbag modules themselves may be used in more than one vehicle model, but the setup of these modules is unique to each model (and even a particular variant in a model).

Airbags are carefully designed to deploy at precisely the right time, and with the proper force / duration etc. In order to do this, engineers need to consider factors like the dimensions of the cabin, the distance between the steering wheel and the occupant (in the case of a driver side airbag) and other similar factors. In a seat-mounted side airbag fitted along with a curtain airbag, both side airbags need to deploy in synchrony with each other.

It's not just a matter of supplying the correct voltage to trigger the airbag -- the airbag control module needs to be able to "talk" to each airbag to conduct diagnostic tests at startup, and needless to say, be able to trigger it in an accident.

In this thread's example, the original poster wants to fit a Volvo seat with an undeployed seat-mounted airbag into a totally different car, i.e., a Prius. My concern was that if he was expecting the Volvo airbag to work just like the original one in his Prius, he is unfortunately mistaken. If the side airbag was left disconnected, then he is increasing his risk of injury from a side impact, as well as having to put up the airbag warning light remaining on.

Toyota engineers have spent a lot of time and money on the safety features of our cars. I personally would not want to compromise my car's safety in any way.

Just my two cents worth

 

You are right on the money, but I think the OP is going to change the seats out no matter what the safety implications are. If placed in a similar situation I would probably want the seat's side airbag to deploy even though there is a chance it could deform in the space and/or hamper the proper deployment of the side curtain airbag.

 

Well, it's your Prius, and you can do whatever you want with it Nobody's said otherwise.

Airbags aren't magic, but they've been credited with saving countless lives (not to mention the indirect costs like medical expenses and compensation) since they were introduced. I don't agree that they are just hype.

See for example:

http://www.mbusa.com/media/richmedia/main/care/rescue_guide/seatbelt_airbag.pdf


As for hijacking your post, this is a public forum and people are free to comment as they see fit. But I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, as this wasn't my intention.

I'll end my airbag comments here, and you can steer the topic back to your Volvo seats from here on

 

You are spot on with your argument. I have seen countless injuries from airbags that worked "properly". Now, imagine the injuries possible when an airbag that has not been properly calibrated for the cabin space, inflates in a time of emergency. People don't understand the force of the airbags when they inflate. It is not a slow process. If the bag overinflates in relation to the cabin space, the results could be disastrous.

 

Actually:

The National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reviewed their regulations and now allows auto makers to use less powerful air bags. NHTSA now allows auto makers to add switches for deactivating the air bags, and even allows consumers to have a switch installed (by a professional) to deactivate their air bags under certain circumstances. The auto makers are also developing smarter "adaptive" air bag systems that can vary their deployment speed and force depending on crash circumstances. Such systems modify air bag deployment force based on occupant size, seating position and impact speed.

I'm sorry if you think this is useless information. Some may think it's valuable information that may save a life.

 

airbags in many cars are now dual-stage. that's what that seat position sensor i mentioned in your other thread is for.

do what you like, it's your car. i wish you luck in doing so. but take it easy on the attitude because it's only attracting more criticism.