This is my first car with cloth seats and I don't mind them but every time I get out of the car I get a bad shock, sometimes hurts. It was driving me nuts. I took an anti static spray for clothes and sprayed the seat. Two weeks later and still not a single shock!
thanks for posting this. i get shocked all the time and for some reason didn't think of spraying a clothing "anti static" spray on my seats.
I hope not! FWIW, I get shocked in every car I own. Seems to happen more for my cars with cloth interior.
I ALWAYS got this shock during the winter time. Not so much anymore during the summer. It sure was annoying, sometimes I would even close the door with the side of my body to avoid getting shocked. It's the Prii's way of showing it's love. Accept it.
Same here, with the "closing door with side of body technique." Ouch. I'm so afraid to fuel up because of this, but having a leather kit installed so maybe it will help?
Just be sure touch the metal on the outside of the car when you get out before you grab the pump handle. Also never get back in your car while it's fueling your car.
I have sometimes resorted to touching the metal with my fingernail to avoid feeling the shock. This seemed to be more of a problem in Wisconsin (especially in the winter) than in California. You can also touch the body with a key or something else conductive to avoid feeling the shock. And according to not one but two (surprisingly similarly-worded) Car Talk columns from 1997, you can buy static discharge strips that drag on the ground and discharge static. I've also heard that the type of tires you use can affect the shock you get; the articles above confirm that low rolling resistance tires are worse. I can't imagine any Prius driver settling with something dragging from the car, or switching to worse tires, though... Anti-static spray seems to be the way to go.
Alright, thought I should mention this.. Who ever complains about this should just man/woman up and deal with the shock
I just place my hand on the roof of the car while stepping out, and the charge passes harmlessly into the ground. Here in Arkansas, our weather is so humid that most of the time we don't have the "shock" issue, but I do agree that it does hurt at times.
This gets posted alot here... You have static cling. Its your clothes. Buy Bounce Fabric softener sheets and put them in your dryer. They also sell this block that sticks to your dryer and lasts a long time too. Must use Bounce not the cheap store brand. If its a stubborn static issue just take a Bounce sheet and rub it on the seat itself. Works great and bugs will hate hate hate it. Check this out: snopes.com: Bounce Sheet Household Uses Tips If I don't have bounce in my clothees at work I can get a 1 inch blue spark from my fingers to the racks at work. It hurts.
I bought this ESD eliminator that I put together with my keys in my keychain. Whenever I get out of my Prius v (with fabric seats), I discharge the static electricity using that ESD eliminator. But I think I burnt the resistor in it last winter when it was extremely dry. So I bought more ESD eliminator for reserve. Sometimes, when I know it's extremely dry I don't remove my ESD heel strap (from work) until I get home. I will try that clothes antistatic spray, too.
