I hate my seats!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(erik king @ May 19 2006, 09:20 AM) [snapback]257789[/snapback]</div>

Amen. I spoke with my service rep, who had never heard of these extra holes. He's looking into it. He has heard of people who've had the seats moved, i.e. re-welded and mounted, etc. but that the outfit that did it required a waiver to be signed. Big caveat here: the car has been crash tested with the seats where they were on the design; messing with their location and/or cutting, welding, drilling new holes, can change how the seat will perform in an accident. Trading seats that have airbags for ones that don't (and installing resistors to fool the computer) seems like a very bad idea. I'd rather live with cushions or whatever and have the airbag there when I needed it. In lieu of moving the seat back, I've found that a thin cushion (like those they sell to cover wooden dining room chairs works reasonably well by lifting my butt and legs and offering me a bit more thigh support. In the stock seat with no cushion, my thigh is unsupported and the edge of my shoe cuts into my right ankle because my leg flops over to one side.

Bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mtsarpilot @ Jun 5 2006, 04:46 PM) [snapback]266287[/snapback]</div>

Sorry to everyone for this reply taking so long. This thing has gotten pretty funky to track down. My friend who's car was mod'ed has not found the paperwork on the mod. So I called the Toyota Body Shop that did they work. They insist this can't be done, and they never did such a thing. Hmmm, that's amazing. They looked up his service records and insist there is no indication of the work there either. So I have not been able to track down the part numbers used. We are wondering if they somehow decided there was some liability in this and have removed any record of it. Who knows.

One correction to the previous posts. The point about a 2nd set of mounting holes is not correct. That was a mis-understanding someone had.

I got together with him this morning and got pictures of the mod. The fronts of the rails were moved back by putting in a couple in steel plate to effectively move the mount location back. Here are pictures of the right front and left front mounts on the passenger seat.

[attachmentid=3855] [attachmentid=3856]


The rear is very creative. On the outer rail there was a plate put under the rail end mount that moves it back, best understood by looking at the pictures.

[attachmentid=3857] [attachmentid=3858]


On the inner side, it looks like they must have drilled a new hole to mount the rear rail end back.

[attachmentid=3859]

This is a passenger seat, but I don't see anything that would keep the same thing from working on the drivers side. Since we can't seem to get any information out of the Toyota shop that did this work, we don't know if these are stock parts, or if they are custom made brackets. They are bent into shape to contour the floor in the front.

Sorry for the large images posted here. I'm not seeing how to post thumbnails that can be clicked on to expand. I hope this makes sense from the pictures.

Joel

 

I just got an 06 a week ago. I really like it but need to move the front driver's seat back further. I'm taller and generally have the seat all the way back. In the Prius my shin gets sore beacuase my right foot must stay cocked back at an uncomfortable angle to work the pedals. I would really like another inch or two of leg room by properly and safely installing a seat track exteneder or similar modification. I'm new to this site and its navigation. Is there anywhere in the LA or San Diego area that can do this? I have seen various comments but not sure if I have seen a definitive answer and would not want to do it myself. Any help would be great.

 

Same here in DC area...HELP..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(erik king @ May 18 2006, 09:20 PM) [snapback]257789[/snapback]</div>

I hate your whole car.

 

For the individuals in LA and DC (not much we can do for the most recent reply) - Through the preceeding discussions in this string, it looks like the Toyota dealers across the country are all indicating they don't do this service. Even the shop that did the work posted above is now saying that they don't (don't know why). I'd suggest contacting some of the better body shops in your area, showing them these photos to see if they can fabricate brackets like these. It was easy for the shop here to do this one, as they only charged ~ $100. If you talk with your Toyota dealer, talk with their body shop, not the service department. That is who did this one.

Joel

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LARobby @ Jun 21 2006, 02:32 PM) [snapback]274763[/snapback]</div>

I found a good solution for moving the seats back 3 inches. The write up is above. I'll expand on the write up and address new comments. I first tried moving my seat back by installing plates, similar to those shown above in the pictures. I had a place in Attleboro, MA that retrofits cars for handicapped people do the work. They made 4 plates, drilled holes, attached them to the mount holes in the car, then attached the seat to the plates. This moved the seats back three inches, but also changed the seat angle (tilting it back), and raised the seats (by the width of the plates, plus some due to the plate angle). I thought you could angle the plates to lower the seat, but it you look at the car you'll see the seat rail positioning will not allow the back of the seat to be lowered.

I didn't like this retrofit since I wanted to seats lowered as well as moved back. I also wanted the same seat angle since I like to sit up straight in the seat, not lean back. I had the retrofit place remove the plates. They refunded my money since they hadn't met the requested specs.

Then I took the car to New England Wheels in Billerica, MA. As I said above, they moved seats back in many cars for Boston Celtics players and many other tall people. They've done this type of mod many times. I trusted them. They did a great job.

As described above, they drilled out the seat pedestals, welded on 4 inches of steel to the front of the seat rails, then welded the pedestals on three inches forward from the original position. This wound up slightly lowering the seat, since the rails angle slightly down. Moving the seat back lowers it a little. Also, all the sensors are attached so the safety systems work fine, as designed. There was no interference with the Nav system under the seat either.

I'm sure there are many other places around the country that do these types of mods regularly. One way to find them might be to call your local basketball team and ask who retrofits their cars.

I would still like the seats to be an inch lower, but haven't heard how to do that yet. If anyone knows how, please share it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mtsarpilot @ Jun 6 2006, 06:46 AM) [snapback]266287[/snapback]</div>

My dealer says no, there are no optional holes for remounting the seat. He thinks the reason is that moving the seat beyond the limits built into the car changes the airbag geometry. I don't know who to believe. At any rate, moving the seat mounts is apparently not as simple as unbolting the seat and dropping it into a new set of holes. This subject has come up elsewhere.
Bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jul 11 2006, 05:30 PM) [snapback]284614[/snapback]</div>

Prior to having my seat moved back 3 inches, as described above, I looked extensively under the seat. I didn't see any sensor that measures seat position. Some said the air bag deployment force varies based on seat position. If that's true, I can't find the sensor that controls it. I suspect it may not be true. Airbag cut off switches are used to protect children who couldn't stand the force of full deployment. This seems to indicate there is only one deployment force. Also, there needs to be lots of reduncancy and flexibility in the system since it must handle people of all different sizes, ranging from short to tall and heavy to light. Driver weight is probably a more relevant bag deployment factor than position of seat. In other words, a heavy short person would be much closer to the wheel then a light short person. They would also need more force to hold them back. But I don't see how the system could account for this. It seems it has only one deployment strength to cover everyone -- fully deployed, as opposed to partially deployed. If this is true, then moving the seat back 3 inches will have no impact on driver safety. Does anyone have documentation showing if airbag deployment varies based on seat position?

 

here's a screen grab of the postion sensor location

 

Does anyone know how insurance companies respond to having the seats changed-out or the seat rails extended? (I'm supposed to get my 06 Prius #7 in the next week or so, but am seriously thinking of replacing the two front seats with Recaro Topline Trend seats - which should exactly eat up my tax credit . . . )

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmzach @ Jul 17 2006, 06:24 AM) [snapback]287505[/snapback]</div>

My opinion is that they will only care if you put in a claim. If and then, they will only allow claims vis-a-vis the original seats.

They may have a rider that you can get that provides for upgraded components, like aftermarket radios and electronic equipment. A buddy had a special rider for his truck because it had a bunch of aftermarket stuff like wheels and a toolbox and it was covered (for an additional premium, of course B) ).

Never hurts to ask, anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon @ Jul 12 2006, 10:16 PM) [snapback]285391[/snapback]</div>

Thanks! As said in an earlier post, it's unlikely that having the seat three inches further back than the sensor indicates would impact air bag safety. The airbags are over-engineered, designed to work with very heavy or light people. A tall person would have the seat back nearly all the way, so the bag would fully deploy anyway.

The extra three inches of leg room makes the car feel much less cramped and more luxurious.

I'm still trying to figure out how to lower the driver's seat one inch. If anyone has ideas, please share them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wstander @ Jul 17 2006, 09:10 AM) [snapback]287537[/snapback]</div>

I called American Family Insurance agent and he said that AmFam offers just one level of discount for airbags, so that removing the seats and their side airbags will not affect that discount and that if I put in the Recaros, I should get modification rider to cover the additional cost of the seats. The rider will only cost $36 a year. That's easy enough.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmzach @ Jul 19 2006, 09:31 PM) [snapback]289096[/snapback]</div>

Yah but teh Recaros are nice seats and totally worth it! the extra money on your insurance is not worth it though... i say jus put em in and keep your mouth shut so you dont gotta pay twice for comfort.

 

I'm a tall driver also who uses a lumbar cushion on long trips which makes legroom even more critical for me. In fact, it's almost a safety issue since I can't get my foot on the brakes as fast with my knee cramed against the dash. Other than the one owner who had his seat extension done at the Toyota body shop, has anyone else had the stock driver seat moved back 2 inches? Also I wonder if this Toyota body shop could put in writing what they've done, including the price? I can just hear the dealers in Northern VA say how impossible this would be, or if possible how the cost would be well over $500.

Rob


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Solar_Powered @ Jun 8 2006, 11:46 AM) [snapback]267994[/snapback]</div>

 

Yeah, check out this passenger seat!!

[attachmentid=7474]


Where do we get one???

 

I wasn't seeing some of the more recent posts when I posted below. I'm not surprised the Toyota body shop disowned ever having extended the seat. It's interesting to note they extended it 2 inches, and from this I assume that 2 inches probably will not foul up the operation of the air bags. I guess I'll have to check with the Washington Wizards to see who moves their seats back.

Rob

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(robandjeanne @ Apr 14 2007, 02:49 PM) [snapback]423329[/snapback]</div>

 

I couldn't see the pictures. If there is no common area in priuschat to keep photos, and you send me them, I could post them in the photos area of the yahoo Prius-2G group. My email is [email protected]. Thanks.

Rob

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mtsarpilot @ Jun 20 2006, 03:38 PM) [snapback]274208[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rangerdavid @ Apr 14 2007, 01:59 PM) [snapback]423343[/snapback]</div>

In Japan, that's a driver's seat.