Operation Volvo Seats In A Prius Part 2

There is much more to this then meets the eye. Its well worth the endeavor. I congratulate you for your efforts.

 

More information is always better - so thanks for providing some on a great topic!

 

The drivers seat gives you two options. You resistor off the airbag or you connect it.

The passenger seat is the same but you have to deal with the weight sensors. If you could buy a pass. seat from a junk yard you could cut the sensors off and hook them up which will get rid of the AB warning on the dash.

Have I reminded you NOT TO TURN ON THE POWER WITH THE SEATS DISCONNECTED YET?

 

This really good, Wildkow. I have planned on signing up for a one-day TIS subscription on Friday and download all weekend. I keep getting sidetracked and my goal is to try again this Friday. The new baby keeps me busy and I want the weekend to get through the downloads.

I am wondering if the Prius seats can be made to be more Vovlo-like. At some point I would like to ask a professional upholsterer (sp?) if they could use the Prius seat frames as the starting point, leave the sensors and airbags, and rebuild from there. Maybe a special addition for seat height adjustment? Maybe THAT is a modification that Hybrid Effects should look into. There would be a booming business.

 

I custom fabricated some brackets to mount my seats. At some point I will make some better brackets. I had to move quick as the HORRIBLE PRII seats were killing my back. I actually parked my new prius and was driving my 2500 4x4 diesel at the tune of 75/day in fuel.

 

I'll log into TIS this weekend and take a look at what basic seat functions need to remain, what could be moved, and how much space can be created. I am interested in getting the car interior in a CAD program and looking at different options for seat designs. I like what ProblemChild did with his Volvo seats but my wife won't get in the car or let the kids get in the car if she has any doubt about impaired SRS.

Seat height isn't an issue for me or my wife but it is a big issue for others so I am interested in finding a solution. If I can get Volvo-like cushioning on my Prius seat frames that leaves the sensors and doesn't affect the SRS then I would have everything I want.

 

Keep in mind the airbags could be connected if you think the prius detonation signal matches the volvo seat charge. It would not do any harm to hook it up. Also the only airbag that may/may not detonate is the tiny handkerchief size airbag that protects your ribs/torso. All other airbags will detonate.

 

Good point - I forgot that I wanted to get on TIS to check the charge for the SRS firing.

I liked your edited signature...

 

Hey! I reall don't want to be a spoil sport, but a question came to mimd yesterday re: seat modifications in the prius. I can understand if they're outside of warranty or you don't care about any portential warrany problems with the seats if you consider the comfort is worth the risk. But what about insurance? With all the rules and regulations regarding crash ratings and air-bags and and selt belts and all the maintenence warning label. I'm wandering if an insurance company may reject a claim if they discover the seats had been modified by other than a certified technician. Any thoughts along those lines?

 

I have many thoughts along those lines since I'm in the legal field and deal with insurance companies on a daily basis. Any modification that causes or contributes to an injury or fails to eliminate a risk of injury may cause a claim to be questioned. Further, air bags are designed for a particular cabin space in mind. Air bag deployment in a "correct" cabin space can cause serious injury while protecting one from other potential injuries. An air bag too large for a cabin space could potentially cause "very" serious injury. In addition, your quoted insurance takes into consideration certain aspects of a car's safety mechanisms. If they're removed or tampered with, an insurance company could conceivably argue fraud in the contract. Just two simple points to consider. Some here don't want to consider such things. But, I think it's always better to weigh "all" the potential risks, then make your considered decision. That's my last thought on the subject as I don't want any "thread hijacking" talk to erupt. lol

 

Thank you mrblaise! I don't think you're hijacking the thread. This is exactly the kind of information we need to know. You go to the game with the facts. How you play is your choice. But I want to know what the pros and cons are so that I can make intelligent decisions. Or maybe emotional, but at least I what to know the trade offs.

Thanks again for the post.

 

Blaser felt the need to bring this up in every thread I posted about seats or seat rails. He even helped get the group seat rail manufacture killed.

1.) He has NO intention of installing volvo seats.
2.) If he is not installing the seats there is no need for him to post.
3.) I'll go get some popcorn as I can see the way this thread is going to go now. 40 pages of negative ranting and 1 or 2 posts about volvo seat installation.

 

Listen P.C., someone asked a question in a field where I'm highly knowledgeable. I said that it was going to be my only post on the subject and it will be. I'm only posting to you as I really don't know why you're so against someone voicing an opinion when an on-topic question has been asked. If no one would have asked the question, I wouldn't have responded. Some one did, so "I" did. Simple as that. I'm not going to remain silent simply because it may ruffle your emotionally charged feathers. I didn't bring it up, so why don't you get off my case.Further, I didn't help to get anything "killed". I, and others who care about safety, probably saved others from "getting" killed. I sincerely hope your projects and those of others work well. However, I'm not going to ignore a safety issue if someone asks a valid question, which is exactly what happened in this thread.

 

His post is alot more informaional than a political signature. And it's exactly the type of information I'm looking for in a forum. I want to know the pros and cons so that I can try to make an intellegent decision. He may not have been considering VolVo seats, it but I was. I'm the one that asked the question. He gave what I thought was a thoughtful responce. I believe it is a valid concern. Are you saying that it is not a valid concern? Or, if it is valid, that he should not have warned me. If not then share with us why it isn't a valid concern. If you want to roll the dice with you insurance company, that's your choice, and I support your right to make that choise. But why would you want to begrudge me the right to make my own choice. Perhaps he has been posting it in other threads. However, Ive been crawling all over PC for weeks and do not recall seeing it. It was a precise answer to my question. Perhaps I have the wrong impression if what PC is all about. The thought the purpose of PC, was to have a place where Prius owners, or anyone wanting to learn about the Prius, could go to ask questions, learn, and disseminate information, and it's O.K. to disagree on an issue. But not to censure opinions that you don't want to hear. You said he got the seat rail manufacture killed. Did he personally, on his own stop it. Or, was it because he made others aware of the concerns and they made an informed decision that they didn't want to take the risk. If you can show why he's wrong, I would like to hear that here too. I was really turned on by the Volvo seat and was actually looking at online salvage yards to see what kind of $$$ we were talking about. But if I understand your position, he should have not warned me, and if it is true, and I had an accident, and the insurance company denied my claim, Well that's just my tough luck.
I respect Richard Shumacher's opinion re: No city needs the "B" mode. I don't agree, but I respect it. The difference is that Richard gave information to support his position. I'll check it out when I get our Prius, and I'll share my information with him whatever the results. We both will have learned something. That's the kind of interchanging of idea's I thought PC was about.

 

Don't fret, dwreed3rd, PC is what you were expecting it to be. Unfortunately your previous search probably used the normal PC search feature which rarely finds what you are looking for. Also, Problemchild is referring to a thread where he just wanted to show folks how his project to install Volvo seats in his Prius was going. Problemchild was concerned that safety concerns were overtaking the fact that his thread was for others information. The safety concerns were valid to bring up so readers could make informed decisions but it got a little out of hand.

Mrblaise has a valid point and my entire design concept (its only a model) relies on leaving the Prius safety features untouched. Problemchild's installation exchanged the Prius seats for Volvo seats and he explains why he did that and that the risks were acceptable. I feel the same way he does about the Volvo seats and would do the same in a New York minute if I didn't have others to think about. My compromise is intended to keep safety, reduce the risk of a possible rejected insurance claim, and add comfort to a car that I love.

By the way, the burden of proving a modification voids a warranty is on the organization trying to void it. There are numerous posts and websites on the subject. What keeps Toyota from voiding your warranty because you put seat covers on or change your own oil?