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Is it the driver's seat or my butt?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by qdllc, Aug 31, 2013.

  1. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Too much cost cutting leads to compromise. The car needs more balance overall.
     
  2. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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  3. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Sorry, that is just spin to hide your wish for power seats subsidized by everybody else. If power seats are something that 5% of the owners would call good value at $500, and it costs $500 to add them to every car on the line, then 95 people have paid an extra $47,500 so that 5 people have one less thing to complain about (maybe).

    Forget it. Toyota would be foolish to take your advice, and of course 95% of owners would be (rightfully) complaining that the Prius has gone up in price for naught.
     
  4. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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  5. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Whadya know, not one complaint about driver's seat discomfort in this midsize car in one year.

    Drive Accord Honda Forums - Search Results

    Who cares if Prius edged over the line for midsize interior room. It has a compact seat just like Corolla.
     
  6. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Me, for one. And I'm delighted that Toyota did not take the opportunity to stuff in an expensive seat I do not want, and do not want to pay for.
     
  7. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    It seems clear the Prius is a great commuter car.
    Longer trips some people (including me 25 BMI 6ft'er) have some seat discomfort.
    I should try some kind of padded drivers seat.
     
  8. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Maybe try bicycle shorts with padding :p
     
  9. iClaudius

    iClaudius Active Member

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    Unfortunately it is the same three people who find the Prius seats comfortable who jump in to the many complaint threads about the poorly designed seats that cause problems for so many.

    Because if only hundreds of thousands (your numbers) out of millions of Prius owners are satisfied with the seats, Toyota has a problem. But we knew that from the constant and varied complaints about the Prius' uncomfortable seats.
     
  10. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    I love the seats in my C :)
     
  11. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Time for a poll!
     
    Robert Holt likes this.
  12. nekoashide

    nekoashide Junior Member

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    My two cents? Both your butt and back need to conform to the seat, as a guy who lives in his car it takes a few weeks and a few thousand miles for them to fit together. If your sticking to that diet then your butt and seat need to reform to one another. When i got my Prius my first 400mi day was hell on me, but over the last few weeks it's gotten alot better with less butt shifting.
     
  13. iClaudius

    iClaudius Active Member

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    But will Toyota pay Gallup or some other company to do a poll or did you mean one of those not worth the electrons they are made of internet surveys?
     
  14. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    I think we all need to diet, then the seats would be perfect :sick:
     
  15. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I meant PriusChat. Feeling threatened ?
     
  16. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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  17. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    The only reason I comment is because usually the person originally complaining is looking for answers. It may seem obvious, but seat bottom cushions are made, as well as something as simple as those mesh seat back inserts.

    I've owned vehicles in which the seats were uncomfortable, and I've always through the use of cushions or other devices been able to make the seat work.

    I'd also say there is no possible perfection. With a large audience of purchasers, of a wide range of weights, heights and posture, designing a seat that is comfortable for 100% of the people is going to be impossible.

    People tend to complain if they have a problem...and simply say nothing if they don't, so I'm not convinced Toyota has a problem they would be wise to fix. Yes, we hear complaints...but I don't know what percentage of people vs. Total number of Prius sold, are really toxically unhappy with their Prius Seats. Prius is a pretty high volume seller for Toyota, so in comparison to total sales, the number of complaints may represent a relatively small amount. With The Prius Toyota is paying attention to creating space, and reducing weight...and The Prius isn't sold as a luxury vehicle. Therefore my expectation is not that The Prius necessarily would have the most comfortable seats in the Toyota line-up. This doesn't mean that I don't think Toyota should pay attention to the complaints and work towards improvement.

    The number of people who admit to giving up...and not being able to make The Prius seats work is pretty small. I've read a few posts from people professing the seats were too uncomfortable for them and they couldn't find anyway to make it work. But those posts I could probably count on one hand.
     
  18. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I don't know if any Prius has power seats, but my CTh200 did. So people who want a hybrid with power seats have an option, they just have to pay for it.

    For what it's worth though, neither my wife or I think the seat in the CTh is more comfortable than the one in our Prius vagon 2. At our age, we are a bit stiff after 3 hours driving and I suspect this will be true in just about any car.
     
  19. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Not necessarily so. There is the rule of "economies of scale." A $500 seat made for ALL trim levels is cheaper than making 2-3 types of seats for different trim levels. The more you make, the cheaper it is to make. Also, if the problem is butt comfort, just making a better padded seat is simply smarter.

    Frankly, I never understood why a power seat has extra adjustments. Why not just have 8-way seats with manual or power? Same basic mechanism with motor or hand controls. I'm not an engineer, so perhaps it's not that simple.

    Good point. Many things need a "break in" period to conform to the new owner. In things aren't better in a month, definitely look into a seat cushion at least.
     
  20. iClaudius

    iClaudius Active Member

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    None of which work as they then introduce their own problems. Good seat design is easy to do and almost impossible to fix if it is poorly done.

    This thread would seem to disprove that theory on two levels. We see constant complaints about the Prius seats and those who don't have a problem saying quite a bit in defense in some kind of misplaced product loyalty.