Seats Suck - why on earth...

Stop blaming the seats, and start going to the gym

 

Is this seat issue because we are getting older?? I find no major issues with the seats and I am a big girl! I have not taken a long trip in the 2010 but I have taken lots with the 2005 with friends who were equally comfortable.

 

Hi virtual, it's me again.

I haven't measured, but just from looking, I can tell the seat rail width and mounting feet on the 2010 Prius are nothing like the 04 - 09, therefore, cannot drop a '10 seat in a Gen2 car.

Even if you could drop in, the electrical (seatbelt switch, airbag, seat position sensor) is surely not the same.

 

Appreciate the posting of those pics. I find my seats in the '04 comfortable for my 5'9" frame but I do like the idea of raising the front as you did in your '10. Do you think that is feasible in the 2004??

 

I love the driver's seat in my V. It may be the most comfortable seat of any car I've owned. Then again, I'm only 5-8, and do a lot of yoga.....

 

I've sat in a 'truckload' of Prius', Corollas, Camrys, Civics, Mazda3's lately, and the '10 Prius fabric seats are not 'terrible'. IMO, they are very good, and they are far superior the Gen2 seats.

If the 2010 seats bother you in some way, nothing wrong with adding an accessory.

If the seat hurts that much, maybe the problem is with the driver, and they need to work out a problem in the body. Not surprising as a lot of 'mature' folks go for Prius'.

My opinion on how to adjust a seat -

1) Adjust seat bottom first with front handle and height adjuster handle. Make a comfortable reach to pedals. Remember the rearview mirror is double jointed. I adjust it to see only out of the upper slit of rear window. It's a small view, but it does the job for me.

2) Seatback angle - Some people complain about the headrest pushing back of their head.

If you recline the seatback much too far back, the headrest will be far back from your head.

If you angle the seatback too far forward, the headrest will push into your head.

So, the correct seatback angle is between the two position above, when the headrest is comfortably behind your head, not too far nor too close.

Remember the headrest lifts up and down too. See owner's manual for headrest height adjust.

3) Steering wheel adjust last. If down low, usually you want steering wheel tilted low and vice versa. Owner's manual says make airbag aim towards chest.

 

+1.

Except if legroom is far too short, no amount of gym will fix that. But, I think one would need a 40"+ inseam to be out of legroom in a Gen3 Prius.

 

Just be careful.

You ought to remove the plastic covers over the rear mounting feet to see what you're doing first. The left rear mounting foot in the 04 is horizontal.
If you lift up too much with front, you will bend the mounting foot. Some say they just loosen the left rear bolt. Doesn't make sense. Loose bolt is not a secure seat.

Not supposed to mess with seat, according to Toyota, so, no replacement parts available.

Some have added a small stack of washers under front feet. I'll let them fill in the details.

I don't like front of the seat lifted - Puts my knees that much closer to the steering wheel.

The correct seat adjustment is back of seat bottom down with height adjuster, not front of seat bottom up. But if something works, great.

 

I'm struggling with the seats too. I'm 28, and while I could stand to go to the gym more frequently, I'm not obese or anything.

I am pretty darn short though: 5'2" on a good day in the morning.

I think what I need to do is drop the front of the seat about an inch. Right now it feels to me like the front of the seat is higher than the back, and that makes it tough to reach the gas pedal and still have my heel on the floor.

I've tried adjusting the seat so it's as low as it will go, but then I feel like I'm sacrificing visibility for comfort, and it's still not all that comfortable.

But I agree with the poster on another thread who stated that it feels as though this seat gives your thighs all the support and your behind almost none.

It's not a big deal, but so far the Prius isn't as comfortable for me to drive as my Forester.

 

Being that you're 5'2", I'm quite sure you would want the seat height up, not down. You thighs would come off the seat as you slide the seat forward. If you do this, then is there a problem?

 

That's what I thought too, and I started out having the seat adjusted higher, but that seemed to make the "can't rest my heel on the ground" issue worse. I need to tinker around with it some more, but I still feel like I want to make the back of the seat higher. It's a weird sensation—I can't quite put my finger on what needs to change to make it comfortable, which is probably why my description is so vague. It's not immediately obvious when I drive, but I notice myself scootching around in the seat a lot more trying to find a comfortable position.

 

I think you'll get comfortable eventually, hopefully soon. Maybe a seat cover or wedge cushion would do the trick plus protect the seat.