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replace seats for comfort

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by vertigo2k, May 28, 2005.

  1. Marlin

    Marlin New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(longjohn931\";p=\"99167)</div>
    Whoa!!! Hold on a minute... What airbags in the seat back? I checked toyota's web site and they don't list them as an option.

    I would be very distressed if I do indeed have airbags in the seat backs. First off, one of the reasons children are limited to the rear seats is because an airbag could kill them.

    Second, we have a little DVD player that straps to the seat back. It's usually in my wife's car, but she and my daughter are going to take my prius on 10 hour trip next week, so the DVD player will be in my car. I don't relish the thought of the DVD player getting accelerated into my daughter's face by an airbag.
     
  2. Venturer

    Venturer New Member

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    The airbags in the front seat backrests deploy to the side of the driver. (I think) I haven't read anything that indicates that they do anything for or to the rear passenger.

    Doug
     
  3. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Venturer\";p=\"103173)</div>
    According to toyota.com, packages 1,3,4,5,6 have side airbags in the front and rear.
    http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2005/prius/options.html
     
  4. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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  5. NuShrike

    NuShrike Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin\";p=\"103090)</div>
    Pages 72-78 of the 2005 Prius Owner's manual.
     
  6. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

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    Some have had the seats removed and put in Recaro seats. The problem is that the sensors are now disconected for the side airbags and they got a continuous airbag warning. That can be fixed with a resistor, I understand.
     
  7. 200Volts

    200Volts Member

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    I used 3 large washers under the front seat bolts for a while. The bolts are metric, go to the hardware store and get some that are about a half inch longer then stock. This way the seat mount will not loose any strength in case of an accident.
    I also tried a piece of 1" foam on the front half of the seat. This transfers pressure from you butt to your thighs and helps with circulation.
    They are way too sticky also.
     
  8. vertigo2k

    vertigo2k New Member

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    My place solved that problem, I'll explain below.

    I'm the one that started this thread -- lovely to see so many responses. You all have gone through the same pain I did. Some of things I tried but was unhappy with:

    1) lumbar pillow: helped, but wasn't really great. the problem that caused most of the discomfort was the lack of side support (I have a long torso, so my center of gravity is high -- I tend to slid like a teeter totter in the seat) and lack of thigh support (my thighs get tired floating all around -- I need something to hold them in place, especially the gas/brake foot.

    2) Since the original issue caused by my long drive was a bruised tailbone (not necessarily the fault of the Prius seat), I bought a cushion from Relax the Back that had a cutout for the tailbone. This cushion actually made my posture worse, and increased by teeter totter verticle instability. Plus I was up so high that my head was milimeters from the top of the Prius. Also the rear view mirror was blocking a lot of my forward vision! The cushion is great if you aren't in car, though! (http://tinyurl.com/7rsqq)

    3) Recaro. Yep, I decided that I drove too much to put up with the seat. I bought the bottom of the line Recaro seat, the Trend:

    http://www.speedwaremotorsports.com/seat/r...rendTopline.asp (not who I bought it from, but Recaro's website doesn't have direct linking to product pages)

    Even the most basic Recaro is a quality ergonomic experience, though. This one has adjustable lumbar (through a squeeze pump), thigh extenders (just like my 540 used to have!), great thigh and side support, and a gortex cover to wick away sweat/moisture. I *love* the seat.

    It cost me $1,300 to get it installed. $795 for the seat, the rest in tax and installation. Spendy? Hell yes. But I wasn't going to compromise.

    The guys at Griffin Motorwerke in Berkeley were awesome. Couldn't recommend them highly enough. They sell a hell of a lot of Recaro seats, and know them very well:

    http://www.g-werke.com

    Mine was the first 04/05 Prius to install a seat in, but they had done a 2001. It's funny, the owner of the shop Terry loved my Prius. He couldn't stop raving about it -- saying how much better it was than the 2001. He says he's going to buy one. This is from a guy who owns an insanely souped up Audi (this is what his shop does).


    Some other notes if you are actually still reading this:

    1) The seat didn't come in any color even close to my beige interior, so I choose black. Yes, it looks a little goofy, especially because the passenger seat is still orginal, but I am in for comfort, not looks. Also, I figure I won't have the Prius forever, but the Recaro can be installed in any car. I prefer black/black in cars, but couldn't get that with the Prius

    2) The seat is *much* lower now, and that is GREAT. I feel so much more like a normal driver now. I'm not all that tall (6'), but my torso is very long, so I felt like a tall person. There are actually three height settings for the seat. It's adjustable by taking out four bolts and moving the seat into one of the slots. Looks pretty easy to do. I'm at the lowest setting.

    3) The replacement Recaro does not have the side airbags. Griffin told me that because the trend has such pronounced side supports, side air bags are less necessary. True? Who knows. I hope I don't have to find out.

    Yes, the airbag sensor is in the seat. How to get around it? They bought a resistor that simulated the airbag being plugged in. This is apparently something they do a lot, so they knew exactly what to get. I have no airbag warning.

    4) Of course, I kept the old seat for when I sell this car.

    Hope this helps some of you! Please let me know if I didn't actually answer anything in this long post :)

    I'll try to take a picture sometime this week.

    --mike
     
  9. Sid

    Sid New Member

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    vertigo2k,
    How about a pic of the Recaro in your Prius?
     
  10. notsure

    notsure New Member

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    Has anybody sat in factory leather seats? I am aiming to get the leather seat package, but if they are lousy I would go for the recardo (we have them in our pinzquaer love the feel) and not spend the money on the leather seat.
     
  11. 200Volts

    200Volts Member

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    Kragen now sells a black, "leatherette, Recaro style" for only $120. I wonder how strong and safe they are???????
     
  12. Cattmatt

    Cattmatt Junior Member

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    2) The seat is *much* lower now, and that is GREAT. I feel so much more like a normal driver now. I'm not all that tall (6'), but my torso is very long, so I felt like a tall person. There are actually three height settings for the seat. It's adjustable by taking out four bolts and moving the seat into one of the slots. Looks pretty easy to do. I'm at the lowest setting.

    [snapback]114722[/snapback]​
    [/b][/quote]

    Question: did your Prius have the nav-DVD under the driver's seat and still get that low with the Recaro seat?

    I don't understand why so many people favor RAISING the front edge of the seat if there is sciatic trouble. Everything I experience tells me to lower the front edge so that there is less pressure on the back of my lower thigh.
     
  13. 200Volts

    200Volts Member

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    Raising the front of the seat does put more pressure on the thighs, thus lowering pressure on your butt(and somehow this lowers pressure-or misalignment of your spine). This is a million times more comfortable. You can try this by folding a medium sized towel and placing this under your thighs at the front edge of the seat. Race car seats often have a complete opening for the bottom of your butt.
     
  14. tom_farr

    tom_farr New Member

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    Magellan also offers an inflatable pillow with a strap to hold it in place. I'm trying that now, but a round-trip from LA to SF left me nearly crippled. Seems that the upper part of the seat squeezes my shoulders... I'll start checking those 3rd-party seats mentioned in other posts.
    Tom Farr
    Silver '05
     
  15. LA FREEWAY

    LA FREEWAY New Member

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    Londo-Cat It's LA FREEWAY! I need your phone number # reply to [email protected]

    talk to you soon. :)
     
  16. londo-cat

    londo-cat New Member

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    I would really love to see some pictures of Recaro seats in a Prius. Anyone have one?
     
  17. notsure

    notsure New Member

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    I have recaros in our pinzquaer, they are great seats. Not cheap $1000 per
     
  18. samoan_ridah

    samoan_ridah New Member

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    Any updates on getting the pics of the Recaro. I would love to get the seat "lowered" a little as I too have issues with front visibility being obstructed by the rear-view mirror.
     
  19. nyprius

    nyprius Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samoan_ridah @ Apr 5 2006, 02:49 PM) [snapback]235390[/snapback]</div>
    I took my 05 Prius to a handicap retrofitter that adjusts cars for Boston Celtics players. They drilled out the two pedestals from the four front seat rails (driver and passenger), welded on three inches of steel to each rail, then welded the pedestals back on the rails three inches forward from the original position. Now the seats slide an extra three inches back. There is still plenty of leg room in the back and my 5'3" girlfriend can easily reach the pedals when she drives. Since the rails angle slightly down to the back, sliding the seat back more lowers it a little.

    I would still like to have the seats lower though. I have to duck down to look up at red lights and my vision out the rearview mirror would be better if I was lower. But there doesn't seem to be an easy fix to lower the seat. 4 triangular plates come up from the seat rails to hold each seat. It looks like you could drill lower holes in the plate and bolt the seat lower. This might make the seat an inch lower. I'm not sure it would work though given the shape and bend of the plates. Has anyone found a way to lower the seats?

    Thanks, Frank
     
  20. jimklausner

    jimklausner Connecticut Yankee

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jun 30 2005, 01:07 AM) [snapback]102702[/snapback]</div>
    Please let me know what you buy. My "bottom" is in jeopardy until I add cushioning to my driver's seat.