1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Swapping front seats

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by lrg, Dec 25, 2011.

  1. lrg

    lrg Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2009
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The left front seat on our 2006 Prius is starting to wear a bit (it's leather). I'm wondering if I can swap the two front seats side to side since the passanger side is like new. The seats both look the same and since there are no electric seat controls on either one it looks like a fairly simple swap. Anyone do this? Is there anything I should be aware of before giving this a try?

    Thanks.
     
  2. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2004
    1,531
    508
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    You will want to check if there is an airbag mounted to the outside of each seatback. I vaguely recall a little black tag that marks its presence(?) They are meant to go between your head and the side window in an emergency. If you have the airbags, and you swap the seats, the bags will now pop open uselessly in the middle of the cabin if they go off.
     
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2010
    3,326
    1,512
    38
    Location:
    Santa Fe, NM
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    This cannot be done easily. At best, swapping the leather bottoms is possibly not too hard, i.e. taking the leather off the frames and making the switch. But the tops have special considerations due to the side airbags, and the frames are not interchangeable due to the occupant classification sensor/ECU located underneath the passenger seat.
     
  4. lrg

    lrg Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2009
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Ah yes, I forgot about the airbags. Thanks for pointing that out.