Seat comfort

Grant,

Thanks for the report, and I'm glad that you're happy with the Recaro seat. It sounds great.

I think I've seen elsewhere that your model seat -- the XL -- costs around $900 USD, plus installation. How much did you pay?

Also, would you know if all the Recaro seats (e.g., the one with a side airbag) fit in the Prius?

 

Rule #1 - Don't put a $20 pair of polyester seat covers on seats and expect to be comfortable (like I did )

So, I spent $40 + tax on patterned velour covers from Autozone with separate headrest covers, and they fit like gloves!

I'll be looking at how much area to trim out to make way for the side airbags.

 

I have had my 2009 Prius for only one week and I cannot stand driving it. The seats are murder. No amount of adjusting the seat position or adding foam or back supports help. I now dread getting in this car every day, knowing that in less that 5 minutes my back will hurt and there will be a painful kink in my neck because of the POOR ERGONOMICS of these seats.

In all the vehicles I have owned, these are by far the WORSE SEATS EVER. Added to that the lack of any sort of lumbar support (in this day and age, and particularly in this kind of car) makes driving this vehicle impossible.

Sorry for the rant, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a $28,000 car to have good, comfortable seats, or at least offer optional seats with lumbar support . I'm sorry I didn't discover this Forum until after I bought the car and was experiencing back problems after driving the vehicle for only 45 minutes.

Had I known about the seat problems I would have never bought this car. What has happened to Toyota? I have owned 3 Toyotas in the past and never experienced such a discomforting ride in my life until this Prius.

I too will sell this car as soon as I can, and you can bet my next car will not be a Toyota, period.

 

For the benefit of other readers, how are you built? Opinions about the seat comfort vary, but mostly are related to physical size. I am close to the target size for the seats, so I find them fairly comfortable. They aren't the best car seats I've owned, but not bad either. Others have posted similar problems to yours.

If you search around on this site you will find many posts about improving seat comfort.

As for owning a future Toyota, I have personally sat in the new 2010 Prius and can tell you the new seats are a big improvement. The driver's seat is height adjustable, the steering wheel telescopes, and both front seats have power lumbar support and seat heaters.

Tom

 

Well, here it is. Diver's side Ricaro seat in 2007 Prius. Installed at World Ford in Pembroke Pines, FL. Seat has heat, air conditioner and adjusts just about any way you want. Cost 2k, install 200. It took the technicians 8 hours to install. The biggest issue was with the resister that tells the SRS system that there is a side air bag there. The resister must be 2.2 ohms. The one I used tested at 2.25. The light on the dash went out.

Happy Pants
Grant

 

After almost a year, and just under 40K miles of sitting in the drivers seat of my 08 Prius I am having a hard time continuing to sit in it.

I know there is a lot of talk about the seats and all, and I hate to add to it, but (butt) the seat is truely terrible.

I used to have a 2004 RAV4, one of the reasons I got rid of it was the seat was soo uncomfortable. Now here I am, and Toyota has taken the seat out of my RAV and put it in my Prius!

The thing that is maddening is that the Prius seat is uncomfortable in the same exact way as the RAV seat was. The seat has no support under the thighs (i am 5'1" at best), the sides seem to stick into you and I still can't understand if that is because they are too narrow or what the deal is. It is truely a dilemma and I have reached a point that I don't know what to do about it.

The car is expensive (with a pkg 6) and difficult to get rid of after just one year, and I don't know what the left side of my body is going to be like after another couple of years driving as much as I do.

This is very frustrating. Butt, I am not alone.
I just hope they got the message for the 2010 model.

 

I have a little under 32k on my 2008 in under 11 months. When I had my new Roadwire leather installed, I had them install extra padding in the seat and seat back. Not too much, just enough. I have no problems driving the 150 roundtrip miles I drive every day. With the Michelin MXV4 tires, it's a sweet ride.

 

I see your quote above, but I worked out the two big problems with the seat and rearview mirror for only $45, so I've no intentions of selling mine asap. Now, onto you.

As Tom said, what's your height and what do you think is wrong with the fit?

Try to work the problems out, 'cause you'll lose a ton of money in selling the car.

That said, for my build I agree with you on the gen2 seats. I focused on seating at the San Jose car show just last week. They had a $15k Toyota Yaris with the vertical height adjuster, much more comfortable seats than the Touring Prius, for me.

Anyrate, respond so we can work it out.

 

I'll bet that is soo comfortable!

Ouch! $2.2k

 

Yes, they did get the message for the 2010. It has the vertical height adjuster and telescopic steering wheel. Seat shape is said to be improved also.

It's time to try some remedies with the seat in case you haven't already.

I'll tell you what I did and hopefully something sticks.

I have fabric seats, added dirt cheap seat covers after about 2 months. About 4 months, it hit me, thighs are just dangling about front of seat while slouching a little in seat to see more under rearview mirror. Not good in a $30k ride.

Had foam shop cut a wedge, 3" tall. Then another 2" which was still pressing into thighs a bit much. It's a bit of trial and error. Got another piece 1.5"x5"x19" for front edge of seat, underneath $40 velour covers from auto parts store. Bingo, I'm happy.

As for seeing under the mirror, fix was to flip it over. Little weird, but, hey I can see.

 

Well, I have a couple of things I have been considering.

First a wedge affair for lumbar support and am not real sure about the left edge/side of the seat. It seems it is always sticking into me and hitting the nerve that runs up your leg. And it is not that I am soo wide, so it is hard to understand what the problem with this is.

I have thought that perhaps an automotive upholstery shop and see if they have any ideas or additions that may be made to the seat.
I guess I am hesitant since I am kind of a purist when it comes to customizing. I don't mind all kinds of aftermarket things, but the seats. I guess it is just not right that the seat be soo freakin' uncomfortable.

Coming from a new beetle with sport seats, that were like recliners this just doesn't seem to be acceptable. But as was stated, it is deal with it or loose lots and lots of cash.

Anyhow, those are the things I have considered.

Thanks for the input.

 

Hi djg12,
I hear what you're saying about it ... I called Toyota corporate last week, opened a formal case about the non height adjustable seat in all Prius 2nd gen cars after confirming with Toyota parts and service that they do no mods whatsoever on factory seats at the dealer level.

I spoke with a customer relations manager to close the case, exhaust all Toyota resources on this. They feed the input back to design which they say was all done in Japan on the 2nd Gen car.

I was quite angry, wondering how the 2nd gen car did not receive a vertical seat height adjuster in 2006 when a number of new features came out. It is what it is though, and only mods can fix things now.

I'm sort of a purist too and not much into mods, but I did find the velour seat cover to help quite a lot. I don't know what to say about covering leather seats, that would 'hurt' a bit.
I sat in a Rabbit last week and recalled how VW seats are very comfy and sporty.

I'm looking forward to sit in the 2010 seat. I think many will say 'wow, a really comfy seat in a Prius, who'da thunk it'.

Here's what mine looks like for all to see. The foam wedge (foam shops can cut these to your specs for about $5) only sits on the front edge of the seat, blends in giving a lip on the edge.

I don't feel bad now since the seat is comfortable and I'm through messing with it. Good thing is the fabric will be totally clean whenever I should sell it.







Let us know if you try a mod or two. Cheers.

 

I went to REI and bought a self-inflating lumbar cushion that works great. I tried a lot of other things first. Relax The Back has other pillows but they will be more expensive and I didn't find them to be any better that just the inflatable lumbar pillow. Relax The Back does have a self-inflating seat cushion for one's butt, but I found I didn't need it. The one at REI was about $30 and you'll find it in camping supplies. If you leave the valve open, the pillow will inflate to just the right pressure for each moment. I drove several thousand miles with the cushion and had no complaints. I am 5'7", not obese but not skinny either, and a senior citizen. Good luck!

 

Thank you cycledrum and howardbc and all for the input.
At first I was not sure what would be the cure for the seat. But have slowly been leaning towards lumbar support and now that I have seen the wedge to extend and lift the leading edge of the seat bottom that might not be a bad idea either.
I guess there is no other alternative but to ''mess" with it and find a solution/compromise.
The easiest seems to be the lumbar support to start with. REI is one of my favorite retailers so I will head off there and see what I can find for support and I can oogle the kayaks while there and dream of warmer weather.

Thanks again for your help and input.
Once I try stuff I will update the seemingly on-going seat comfort thread.

 

This thread has had a long life (hmmm ... wonder why ). Here's my two cents:

Lumbar Support: I think people's back problems and solutions therefor are a very idiosyncratic thing. What works for some may not work for others. What works for my back is the mesh back support that people first mentioned here way back in 2006. darrelldd said that he liked it but found it to be a bit of a pain because he would always have to adjust it up/down because it would slide on him. For me, that hasn't been a problem because I like it all the down anyway, so I have gravity on my side. But it is kinda ugly. Here's a photo:

[imglink]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/8380d1207091681-great-back-support-your-seats-005.jpg[/imglink]

But I've since covered it up with a sheared sheepskin cover which I've always wanted anyway. Although my sheepskin cover is not a beauty, it's comfortable and better looking than the mesh back support it covers:

[IMGLINK]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/8382d1207091681-great-back-support-your-seats-020.jpg[/imglink]

Thigh Support: cycledrum's wedge sounds like a good idea. At less than $5, it's definitely worth a shot. Also, you can buy an extra set of OEM seat covers on eBay for less than $50. Using one of the front seat bottom covers from such an extra set of OEM covers might look better than cycledrum's aftermarket seat cover. Note that you would have to add your own straps (I did), as the OEM covers are normally attached with upholstering hog rings, which you probably shouldn't use here because it would result in a tight OEM fit and squish down the foam wedge too much.

Leg Room: While height and tilt adjustment would help a lot, the biggest failing of the Gen II Prius seat is that it doesn't have much backward travel. I'm only 5'6" now, and I can drive comfortably with the seat pushed all the way back. The Prius seat must have about 3 or 4 inches less backward travel than any car of any size that I can remember. But the only solution I've heard is to extend the seat rails 3 or 4 inches back, and I know of only one person here who found a handicap modifier to do that for him. His modifier was in Bellerica, MA. But maybe you can find a modifier near you (first look for companies that modify cars for the handicapped).

The New 2010 Prius Seat: It's sweet. Noticeably more supportive and comfortable all around, with height, tilt and lumbar adjustments, and with 3 or 4 inches more rearward travel. **

The New 2010 Prius Steering Wheel: In addition to tilt adjustment, it's now telescoping. I've always thought the Gen II steering wheel was a half inch or an inch further away than any car I can remember. The new telescoping feature should remedy that.

All in all, I think the new 2010 Prius seat and steering wheel are terrific, and should result in greater comfort and a better driving position for many more people.

** EDIT: The 2010 Prius has height adjustment, which I understand also tilts it slightly up when you lower the seat down. The lumbar adjustment is optional, but even the standard seat without this option, has noticeably more lumbar support -- it's very comfortable for me. I think the Gen II Prius has no lumbar support -- it's seatback is just shaped funny.

 

Hi all.
It's sad to read all of your problems with the seats in this car.
I have a 2009 Prius and it does have height adjustment on the drivers seat.
Strange they don't offer that in NA priuses. (mine is a european model)
So I have lowered the seat all the way down, which is absolutely wrong for me, ergonomically, but I have to be able to look out, right? (I am 6'6").
I have no issues with the travel distance of the seats though, I'm not even in the back-most position. But thigh rest? not so much. My knee is positioned on the gear knob.
Well being as tall as I am, I am used to not sitting ideally, so I am quite happy with the seats all in all.

 

My solution was to follow another ambitious member's method of re-configuring the seat frame so that the back of the seat is about an inch lower than stock. This gives me thigh support and gets my head away from the roof, but when my legs are comfortable the steering wheel is about an inch too far away to be really comfortable. It's perfectly fine for commuting but my shoulders ache after a few hours. And I drive more than a few hours on a regular basis.

Fortunately they fixed this for 2010. Unfortunately replacing the entire car is a rather expensive solution.

 

The Seat Comfort thread lives on!!

Seriously though ...

I kicked the bad habit of braking with my left foot. Braking with right foot, I sit straight in the driver's seat and the seat feels much better.

Long story -

Was driving Wed. evening on freeway, stop and go traffic, braking with left foot, as always, a habit I've had from other automatic transmission cars.

I'm thinking, 'this Prius is really great except the seat sucks'. In left foot braking, I noticed my knee doesn't really fit under steering wheel, have to turn foot to right to hit brake pedal.

That night, tried only braking with my right foot, while leaving left foot firmly planted on the footrest. Soon after, I was sitting straight and was comfortable in the driver's seat.

I drove 50 miles today and again felt great in the driver's seat, continuing proper, right foot braking.

My foam wedge, seat cover, and inverted mirror set the stage for comfort, now proper braking and placing my left foot on the footrest sealed the deal for comfort in my Prius driver's seat.

 

Seat comfort was a high priority for us when we went new car shopping last summer.
Almost bought a lexus for that reason and they sure are quiet. We loved the Prius too but the seats and sound levels had to have to some work. So before ordering our Prius I checked with the local shops and found one that would guarantee our comfort and satisfaction.
We order the pkg 5 so we could get customized leather since it was going to the shop anyway. As you know the factory seats are fairly hard and flat. I wanted the soft bucket seat feel as much as possible with the little Prius seat frame. They shaved as much foam as possible from the butt area and then tapered toward the front, added gel pads, seat heaters, electric lumbar and the Katskin premium leather covers. I took it back twice to get some minor lumps shaved and tailored.
By the way, the shop did a lot of other special stuff for me but the other major item was the soundproofing. They totally removed all the interior trim, door panels, flooring, roof panels etc, and installed all new foil backed sound deading material. ( I got some neat pictures of this work)

Well I could go on but the bottom line is we call our Prius "Lexie" now, which is short for baby Lexus. The seats are very comfy and the interior sound levels are down close to the Lexus. We are totally pleased with our decision to go this way.

 

Well, this post will certainly do nothing to help a 2nd Gen seat become any better and will likely be just sour grapes, but here it goes ...

Last night, went to Fremont Honda, sat in a new Civic (not Si), the driver's seat, ergos and sportiness are pretty much off the hook (Very comfortable). Tons of legroom, seat bottom tilts down nicely, steering wheel telescopes very far.

I've seen the reviews how the Civic is a 'driver's car' over a Corolla, so had to go see. Too bad they don't make a 4-door Civic with hatch. Don't like the Fit.

I won't be paying a shop to cut into my stock seat, nor put in aftermarket seat rails, etc... so, looks like this 09 will be out of my hands in Summer of 2010 or 11. I cannot give credit to what Toyota did in the driver's seating of the 2nd Gen Prius.

Hopefully, Toyota got it 'right' on the 2010 Prius. I'll be looking at other brands too next year.