Uncomfortable Prius v Driver's Headrest

How about getting a set of DVD headrest that have tilt adjustment. Some of the sets offer 15 degrees of adjustment, I find them very comfortable. However I believe you have active headrests. At active part I believe is not in the headrest itself but in the seat. In an accident the headrest should actually rise and come forward to offer you extra protection. The DVD headrest are most likely more heavy than the factory headrest so I don't know if it causes any problems with the active technology. Actually any changing of the headrest could cause an issue with that.

 

Federal headrestraint safety regulations changed in 2009 to make headrestraints more effective to prevent whiplash injury. In most cases this meant that headrestraints grew taller and closer to occupants heads which spawned consumer complaints for all carmakers with folks citing that headrestraints were too close for comfort.

Anything you do to modify headrestraint setback will compromise it's intended safety purpose, so please understand that's what you're doing if you start meddling with the headrestraint system.

Speed doesn't kill; stopping does. A headrestraint too far behind your head permits your head to accelerate too much before restraint to prevent whiplash, and also permits neck angles resulting in cervical injury.

 

More to this point, if you are injured in an accident, modifications to any safety system (including seating) may compromise your outcome and insurance recovery.

 

Unfortunately many folks start out with an "it will never happen to me" posture that quickly morphs to looking for someone else to blame because "nobody told me" when something actually does.

 

We were able to fix this for my wife just by rising the seat and then leaning it back a bit more. When you change the height of the seat it change the tilt of the base.

 

Raise the headrest (you can adjust the height) so that it is behind your head instead of your shoulders.

 

Prius Headrest: Seats | eBay
There seem to be a few headrests available for not too much money. I agree with you, it's extremely uncomfortable -- my head is weirdly shaped, narrow and protrudes toward the back, as opposed to the heads of whoever designed these new seats who must have flat or concave skulls.

A passenger who took a road trip with me last week started complaining about her headrest as well. Now they're both turned around, pending acquisition of a neutral position replacement that fits.

 

I found that raising it up a notch or 2 gave me just a tad more room to lean my head back.

 

Mine is turned around backwards now, and will stay that way till I find something else. Was thinking of touring the dealer to see if headrests from any other models might fit.

 

You can try this and see if it will work for you guys. Car Seat Headrest Memory Foam Pillow for Travel Air Flight by Dreamsweet D6B | eBay

 

I went by the dealer today. When I walked up to the parts counter with my headrest in hand, he already knew why I was there. Long story short: I found a regular Prius in the showroom and checked out the headrest it has. Good news, its interchangeable with the v headrest and is slightly shorter and thinner. Meaning that it's a good substitute for v owners who can't get comfortable.

Sitting in the showroom car with the headrest fully extended I could get fairly comfortable even though the headrest still contacted the back of my head. Due to the slightly different profile of the headrest, putting it all the way down gave a little bit more relief for my knobby head even though its not the best position for safety. Putting my v headrest in the same seat was HUGELY different and pushed my head way forward. So I'm interpreting this test as meaning that the regular Prius headrest has less forward tilt mainly due to being thinner in cross-section. I also sat in a Rav4 which also has a compatible headrest to the v, but the seat was too different to make a good comparison. Eyeballing the 2 Prius headrests side-by-side, they appear to have the same degree of forward tilt based on the angle of the posts at the bottom surface of the headrest. Too close to see anyhow.

The bad news: Dealer wants $500 for ONE Prius headrest in SofTex, and $400 for one with regular fabric. Looks like eBay is the only sensible option.

 

Update:
I snagged a light grey 2011 Prius headrest off eBay for $70, and its a perfect fit for me. My head just barely contacts it but it doesn't push me forward at all. Looking more closely at the 2 headrests side by side, its obvious that the Prius headrest has a lot less forward angle to it, plus being a bit thinner and shorter.

Now if I can only find one in light grey Softex, I'll be a happy guy.

 

Do you happen to know how the years match up? I have a 2013 Prius C and I have the same problem - it totally prevents correct posture. Yes I can tilt the seat back to keep my head from getting pushed forward, but then my pelvis isn't angled properly. So my choice is between the possible injury sustained in a possible accident, and the guaranteed cumulative damage of sitting with a posteriorly tilted pelvis.

My car before this was a 2008 VW Jetta with a totally straight headrest, and I sat with the seat practically straight up. Last December I was rear-ended with enough impact to throw my tight fitting winter hat into the back window, and I had no damage to my neck at all. I wasn't even stiff afterwards. So I feel pretty trustworthy of the alignment that I know feels good to me. Am I wrong in thinking that these new headrest designs are in order to compensate for poor posture that most, but definitly not all American's have?

Oh, and if you find the grey softex - I'd be very happy to buy the cloth one that you have!

 

I went to a dealer and swapped around some headrests till I found what worked. You'll first want to verify that the front seat headrest posts line up - which they should but don't take it for granted. Any 2010-2013 Prius headrest is the same and fits my v just fine. Rear seat headrests don't fit in the front.
Softex is unobtanium, probably be a year or two before that shows up in junkyards and eBay. No way I'll pay the dealer $500 for one. There's a couple cloth light grey ones on eBay right now for $100-150.

But try them first at the dealer, the c might be different from the others. The v is certainly different from the regular. Take your headrest in and compare it for thickness and post angles, then stick one of the others in a c and sit in it.

 

New designs place the head restraints close to occupants heads to reduce head and cervical injuries by limiting head acceleration in rear impact collisions.

Vinyl is sold in roll quantities, typically 2,500 square feet. The Toyota vinyl is custom milled so you're not going to locate it in secondary markets.

Leather on the other hand is purchased one cow at a time and can be custom color dyed. I'd suggest you consider hooking up with an auto upholstery shop, and give them the time to source some color-matched leather you're happy with. Then you can grab any color head restraints you can locate and have the shop make you custom covers in the leather upholstery you'd approved first hand. You can pick out your stitch style and grain type, and any good upholstery shop will also be able to do embroidery for you, so you could add a Toyota or Prius logo if you wished for a truly custom design.

 

Aloha,
Been driving the v TWO now (when I can...wife's car) for two months. Try the following: tilt seat bottom back (long lever, pump down), slightly recline seat back, adjust lumbar support. Once this is done, adjust seat distance, adjust steering wheel tilt and telescope (should be able to rest your wrist on the top of the steering wheel without stretching, elbows not locked).

 

Maybe you could try adjusting your seat back a bit? When I got my F150 last year I did not like that the headrest pushed my head forward when I was sitting. Someone on an F150 forum suggested reclining the seat back just one click.
It worked perfectly. I don't feel like I'm leaning back at all and the head rest is no more than half an inch from the back of my head. I rarely notice that it's there.

 

I'm struggling with this too. Loved my 2004 Prius seats. Hate the v so far. I have to lean the seat way back to get the headrest to stop pushing my head forward. But at 5'2" I just can't seem to find any combination that supports my shoulders and allows me to actually sit upright.

I understand lots of people drive with their seats reclined. That has never been comfortable for me. I wish it had the same seat my old Prius did! Time to look for junkyard headrest, I guess.

 

FWIW, I grabbed a leather headrest off eBay. (there's also a grey cloth one available right now)
If it works out I'll possibly be willing to sell this grey cloth one at some point.