front seat mod

I’m pretty sure 99.9% of gen 2 owners can agree that toyota’s engineers took inspiration from medieval torture devices when designing our front seats. Here is a quick and simple mod you can do to make your seats a little bit more bearable for longer trips.

Tools required:
14mm socket
dikes/wire cutters/diagonal cutters
pliers
90 degree pick (optional but highly recommended)
refreshing beverage

step 1. slide seat all the way back and remove two 14mm bolts from front of seat.

2. disconnect connectors from bottom of seat.
3. slide seat all the way forwards to gain access to rear bolts. remove plastic cover and remove.
4. remove seat and unhook seat back cover/flap and lift out of the way.
5. use your dikes to grip the hog rings and twist until it seperates enough to remove. repeat for all 3 hog rings
6. lift seat cover just enough to gain access to the seat back springs. each spring end is a 90 degree bend and hooked into a plastic ring on the side of seat. remove each end from plastic ring (4 total).
7. slide seat cover back down and secure hog rings. (this is where the 90 degree pick comes in handy.) use your pliers to pinch them back together.
8. follow steps 1-4 in reverse order to reinstall seat.
9. enjoy refreshing beverage

 

the mod is releasing some spring tension on the seat back so it doesn’t break your back on long trips.
it’s also an affordable (free) option for those that don’t want to pay for the cushioned seat covers i’ve seen advertised in other threads

preventing back pain while driving and saving my wallet from equally painful chiropractor bills

 

I realize my last response could come off as a bit snarky and I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot or get banned after my first post so let me try to explain a little more clearly.

The purpose of this modification is to release spring tension in the seat back so they’re hugging you instead of constantly pushing you away. Majority of new/late model cars are/were sold with super stiff seats so they maintain that “factory fresh” feel 5–10 years down the line. For those of us with chronic back pain the seats might as well be medieval torture devices.

We’re not driving Cadillacs or Rolls Royces so you shouldnt expect day and night results by doing this but it should help on those longer drives. If your seats don’t cause you any discomfort then that’s great! I wish I could say the same but unfortunately mine do and I don’t feel like spending the money I’m saving on gas on aftermarket seat cushions.

This is actually very popular mod among mid 2000s - mid 2010s subaru owners. The only reason I was able to finish my cross-country road trip in my old outback and not feel like Batman after fighting Bane was because of doing this mod half way through my trip.

 

in theory yes, you are correct but imagine yourself jumping off of a 10ft wall. Which would you rather land on? A mattress/foam cushion that would soften your landing by absorbing a good amount of your kinetic energy or a slab of concrete that would reflect it all back to you.
eveything in a car moves, especially the driver. so having a car seat that’s capable of absorbing some of your energy instead of reflecting it right back into you is very beneficial for long drives.
i should’ve noted in step 6 that there are 2 on each side so anyone that decides to modify their seat can remove the top 2, bottom 2 or all 4 depending on their specific needs.

exactly what i did when driving through middle of nowhere texas and i can tell you that it didn’t help