Just picked up my new Prius - HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, this is the first time in over four years with Prius groups that I've heard this stated so strongly. Usually the taller drivers have talked more about relocating their seat tracks back a little in order to better accomodate legs.

Guess I'll just hope some taller members respond to this.

 

Wow, 6'7", that's tall! :blink: I'm 6'2", so I don't personally have a problem, but you might try reclining your seatback a bit. I know that gets me a bit more headroom...

On a separate subject, Jack -- why did you drop the other user ID?

 

I was really worried about the seats, having read many comments about them, and weighing over 350 pounds and with a long torso (at 6'0" I sit a few inches taller than my 6'4" tall brother). So I tested them out in a rental and found I really didn't have a problem with them. Of course I'm used to reclining the seats more than most people, I imagine, when I drive--I find it makes me less tense.

Best of luck, though.

 

I am 5'4 and 120 pounds and I think the seats are living hell, too. I haven't bought a prius but test drove it last week and we are probably not going to buy it because I couldn't stand the seats. And this was after a ten minute test drive. My only suggestion is to do some google searches for a product called memory foam - - the most expensive version of it is tempurpedic but they have lots of knockoffs that are the same thing. Memory foam is used for pillows and pads - - maybe they have a car seat or cushion, I don't know. The nice thing about it is that it conforms to your body so it doesn't add a lot of height, just cushioning.

 

I can't take them for more than two hours straight without sciatica pain developing. I actually think the seat bottoms are too soft. I've encountered this in other Toyotas with cloth interiors. I found the cure was to get leather coverings installed. They're firmer, more supportive and spread the load across a larger area, eliminating the pain. I'm not THAT much of a load, average height and slightly over average weight male. Check into Classic Soft Trim leather. It's a better grade than any Toyota OEM leather I've had, equal to Lexus hides, fairly priced, all colors of the rainbow, a dealer in almost every town, and installation including door panels and headrests takes one day. If that doesn't work, and if you haven't titled the car yet, sell it for what you paid (or more) and try something else.

 

No one should have to drive a torture chamber. If I were you, I'd sell the car ASAP to a buyer the car fits better, and look into other options (perhaps the new HCH?). Though leather may feel a bit better, I wouldn't advise counting on a change of covering to make much of a difference, as it won't alter the (for you) unsuitable dimensions and lack of underlying support.

2nd Gen Prius seats have been very controversial. Reviewers as well as owners have rated them horribly uncomfortable to exceptionally comfortable. I initially wouldn't consider the Prius because of its lack of seat adjustments, but since having one have found the seats exceptionally good for ME (5'10, moderately heavy, leg inseam 30"). I can drive comfortably in them all day even though I'm 67 and get more easily stiff than years past. Strangely, they are MORE comfortable for me than my last car (1998 BMW 528i with leather seats), that was supposed to have among the most ergonomic seats around.

I think it has to do with personal anatomy and many though not all of those hating the seats the most seem to be tall, with the the seats especially bad for those with long (tall) torsos. It IS inexcusable that a car otherwise as sophisticated as the Prius doesn't have at least set of driver's seat manual adjustments for height, (bottom of seat) tilt, etc -- Hyundai does a great job of that in their Elantra in a $13K product.

I advise all my friends considering the Prius to take long test drives (at least 45 minutes). That's usually enough enough to tell the tale (tail?).

 

If you really have less than a hundred miles on the car, and you don't like it, I would not put another mile on it since it has barely depreciated. The value of a car is simply what someone would be willing to pay for it, and you would have no trouble selling the car with less than 100 miles on it for probably just a few hundred below MSRP, since no new Prius would ever sell for below MSRP, that I am aware of.

Plus, of course, you don't have to put miles on it to test or experiment with the seating.

The Civic is generally regarded as having better seats, so you can sit in a (regular) 2006 Civic and see what it feels like, since the upcoming civic hybrids use the same seat. But I'm just 140 lbs so the differences in seating isn't very pronounced for me, compared to a taller or heavier person.

Alternatively, maybe the 2006 Priuses, with leather seats, would be more comfortable.

 

When I was serious about getting my Prius, my local Toyota dealer was willing to do a weekend test drive on their demonstrator. So I made the trip to my hobby farm and back, knowing the 2.5 hour one way drive should reveal any problems.

I thought the seats were firm - just the way I like them - and great. Highway tracking iffy but I could live with it, the car would spend most of it's life in Winnipeg city traffic. Ride a bit too firm, as time goes on I'm getting tired of it and will try to find ways to soften the ride.

I hate harsh riding cars. If you ever have to drive on the potholed and frost-heaved nightmare we call Winnipeg City Streets, you'll know why I hate harsh riding cars.

The worst seats I have ever been forced to sit in were the 1985 Chrysler 5th Avenue my parents bought new. I'm sure the Geneva Convention specifically mentions them, they were torture devices.

 

Hi tcmailbu

Sorry to hear about your discomfort. You are unusually tall. Like most other Prius drivers, I have no problem with the seating.

"Potential Buyer" might have hit on the answer for you. Since your Prius is virtually brand new, you would have a very good chance of selling it for the same price you paid, suffering only inconvenience - of course, if it is financed that could complicate things a little. Some "wannabe" Prius owner in your area might be very happy to buy yours and avoid a wait.

 

I rented one for two weeks to see how it felt and what an actual commute was like. I'm about 5'5" and 162 pounds (I know, too fat). I wish the seats were power seats (like my old car) or at least more adjustable. Other than that I have no problem. I spent about 8.5 hours last weekend driving (2.5 hours driving with break) and had no problems from the seats. Sleep and hunger were the main factors for stopping.

A car is a major investment and you shouldn't be in pain to drive it. If new seats are too expensive, I would say sell the car. Have you looked other hybrids (assuming you want a hybrid)?

 

Hey,

I am 6'6", about 290, and I haven't had any real discomfort in the vehicle. I've driven upwards of about 90 minutes in it thus far (only had it a month). It's not "sofa-like," but I haven't had any discomfort... yet... Wish I could help, because I know about big guy/small car discomfort!

 

I bought my 2004 used from a man who was 6'7" and sold it because he could not adapt to the seat and because his head hit the roof.

 

I agree, it is uncomfortable. But I always thought that the steering wheel was too low, I never thought about the seat being too high. Oh well, half full vs half empty, I guess.

While I'm here, has anyone ever seen a post from jayman where he didn't mention his "hobby farm"? I'm just curious... It could be an interesting statistic to post.

 

Actually, he'd lose the tax he paid, but altogether I'd imagine that still shouldn't be more than $2000 wasted. Of course it would be really annoying losing that much so quickly but it's alot better than driving the car 1000 miles and then having to lose $5000+ selling it.

 

To say nothing about potential money spent on health problems because of the way the seats are.

 

-shudder- "memory foam"... Yes, very bad memories indeed... That stuff should be banned! I had a back injury from a fall and decided to see a chiropractor (who ended up doing absolutely nothing for my back despite thousands of dollars worth of "adjustments"- his advice after the first "adjustment" was "your back may hurt worse after treatment, if it does, use an ice pack and take some aspirin".. That should have been the first warning sign... The second was the fact that he prescribed a series of exercises that I had to do every day to "maintain the adjustments"); anyways, after months of no results (at least it was paid for by my company's health plan), !@#$ chiropractor recommended a memory foam mattress pad for my back, it came with all sorts of "approved by XYZ College of Torture and Chiropractic" labelling, and yes, when you first lie down on it, it feels incredibly comfortable, but try actually spending a night sleeping on it.... I've never had such a sore back in my life.. This actually went on for a week, with the chiropractor blaming everything else but the mattress, and I finally took the thing off and slept on my old hard mattress and I was absolutely fine the next morning.. Needless to say, that "memory foam" was sent back and I stopped seeing that chiropractor.. (I ended up going to a physiotherapist who did X-rays and found that the real cause of my back pain was that I had a compression fracture of one vertebra and a hairline fracture in L5- she also noted that the exercises prescribed were good, and are really what is responsible for much of the improvement people experience after going to a chiropractor; the purported spinal manipulations are mostly ineffective except for placebo effect).

Anyways, the problem with "memory foam" is that it gets softer where your body heat is, and because it's so soft, it conforms to your body, but the other side of the coin is that if it's soft and conformable, it doesn't offer any back support either, so you wake up with an aching back.. Basically, at best these foam mattresses don't do anything, and at worse, they exacerbate problems... Don't be fooled- stay away from this stuff..

I tried one of those mesh lumbar supports from Magellan's in the car and it helped a great deal, but I ended up taking it out because I found it pushed me too far forward in the seat and I kept catching the edge of the support as I got in and out of the car.. It does make my office chair much more comfortable though..