Making a Height Adjustable Driver's Seat for 2009 Prius

I took an interesting photo tonight after enjoying a comfortable drive home from the gym. In the photo, the passenger seat is slid all the way back. You can see how little extra the driver's seat front is back compared to the passenger seat. No telescopic steering wheel, so cannot slide back farther. If you look closely, you can see how the bottom is much lower.

Anyhoo, here's that photo...



How ghetto is the clear floor mat? I cut holes for the plastic hooks to catch it. And, it's laid over the stock floor mat, hehe. I figure, dirt and junk always get on the floor mat. If I put in all-weather mats, then I'll be shelving the stock mats which I don't want to do. Nor do I want to dirty up the stock mats, so, I use cheap clear mats over the stock carpet mat.

 

1 month follow up -

1) There are no cracks or looseness in the welds - seat feels solid

2) The seat / seating is not as good as a 2010 Prius - impossible to match it

 

I've been trying to optimize the seating without having telescopic steering wheel, but it's tough because the steering wheel is mounted awfully close to the dashboard.

 

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In case you're wondering what happens to the steering wheel reach when sliding 1 1/4" extra back and lowering down over 1 1/2" .. here ya go ... repost from another thread -

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I've wondered if I'm trying to reach too far to my steering wheel now that I have my seat slid back 1 1/4 " farther than any stock Gen2 and 1 1/2" lower.

So, I stopped by Toyota and Honda with a piece of cardboard and marking pen and pair of pants I don't mind marking on.

I sat in new cars - Civic, Insight, Scion XB, Matrix, my 2009 and a 2010 Prius. I slid the seat all the way back and pretty much all the way down, pulled steering wheel out and down. I layed the cardboard on the steering wheel and made marks in photo. Bit crude, but gives an idea.



Top line is my 2009, farthest reach to the wheel, but not by much. It's really nice to slide a 2010 seat all the way back, but the steering is less than 1/4" closer than reaching my wheel. Moving the 10's seat one notch closer leaves the steering wheel reach less than 1/2" closer than in my modified 2009. This setting was also the same as a Scion XB and Insight.

The steering wheel that was almost 1 1/4" closer is a Honda Civic.

Honda Civics have really nice seating for such a small car. Besides reliability and good fuel economy, I'll bet its great ergos always help it be a top 10 seller.

Matrix wheel far as Civic towards driver.

Funny thing is Camry's steering wheels pull much closer to the driver than the 2010 Prius.

Also, I think Toyota needs to improve the steering wheel placement / adjustment for the 4th Gen Prius. The 2010's wheel is not that bad, but it certainly could be better IMO.

 

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post deleted ... bunch of complaining.

 

Finally figured out how to get comfortable steering this car most of the time - left foot a bit closer to me, knee up, hand on knee/wheel, steer. I figured this out while driving the rental 2010 Prius.



I've been driving an old Toyota pickup whose wheel is very close and other cars with close wheel, so this Prius has been a challenge.

 

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Edit 12/6/10 - The Corolla foam bottom has too much tilt at any height setting for me. Tried it for 4 months, too much thigh pressure, imagine that in a gen2 Prius. Prius foam bottom on this frame with nice sheepskin seat cover works much better

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May 2010 - I'm going to take another shot at making this seat better. I bought a brand new Corolla seat bottom foam cushion from Toyota (these are about $190 with tax) and I have Corolla bottom fabric coming next week.

Back in January when I first set the bare height adjustable frame in the car, I noticed the Corolla seat bottom foam offered quite a bit more tilt than the Prius foam. The Corolla foam and fabric I had was well used and wrong color, the Prius foam was new, so upholstered with Pri foam.

Since this height adjustable seat is a Corolla frame, it will fit the foam even better. I'm really hoping the feel and support of the seat bottom will improve a lot. I know it will be better, just not how much better at this point.

I'll be pulling the seat out in a day or so to get working on it.

 

12/6/10 As above, Corolla foam gives too much tilt and thigh pressure at all height settings. Tried it 4 months, doesn't work

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What I had seen in January is true - on this Corolla-based seat frame, Corolla seat bottom foam offers more tilt at given height adjustment than the Prius foam which means more thigh support.

FYI, the fabric bottom was bucks - $279 with shipping from out of state. Olathe Toyota Kansas sells OEM parts at discount-

www.toyotapartscenter.net

 

Fabric comes in tomorrow. Did 4 iterations shaping the Corolla bottom foam Saturday, drove 20 miles on new seat cushion. It's going to be the best it's ever been

 

Below is Corolla bottom foam and fabric ready to be installed onto frame.



I had a bit of a time securing a plastic tab between the frame and height adjuster gear. I shaved away a bit of plastic to make clearance for it to snap in place.

And there it is - Prius seatback with airbag installed (like before) and Corolla seat bottom with its better contour and greater amount of tilt than Prius foam.



I'll put it in the car tomorrow.

This time, I'll drive around only on the bare fabric for a while, maybe weeks. In January, I tossed a thick sheepskin bottom cover on the next day after finishing. The cover masked the fact that the seat bottom was not good enough to me.

This will be better.

 

12/6/10 First time having substantial thigh support in this 2009 Prius, hence the jubilation. It's too much thigh support at all height settings, or must slide too close to pedals. No go with Corolla bottom foam. Prius foam working much better.

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4 words -


It Is Fixed!

Really.


:rockon:

 

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