DIY Thigh Support - Seat

Sorry, can't imagine how this mod may look like. Can you share pics with us. I have the same problem so my seat is always on the most down position to provide me an almost acceptable thigh support. The higher teh seat goes the les comfortable it is for me.

 

You do realize that the Prius front seats have a lever that allows one to raise the seat, don't you?

 

But the more you rise it the more it twists forward and the less thigh support you have.

 

there was a thread last year re this - simple fix, I believe by DeanFL. He removed the front 2 seat bracket bolts and installed washers to raise the front of the seat. I did the same after seeing his post and - much better. Seems as though when the seat is raised, the rear is higher than front and thigh support is lost. Toyota???????

But this simple washer install does wonders. Perhaps a PC Forum search will get it.

 

maybe that way to prevent blood clots on long trips?

 

Nothing like a power seat to get it just right.

How much heavier would a power seat be than the mechanical one?

 

I was thinking about this over the weekend. Seats are lacking the thigh support area. Was thinking about switching to racing seats so I could stay in the seat better too. Haven't decided yet. haha

 

I used washers myself. Raised it about 3/4 inch. Much better now. Did the exact same thing to my Yaris.

 

electric seats are heavy. I have a set of Saab seats in the garage for a project car. A few electric motors later and all the mechanisms to slide, raise, and lower the seat add considerable weight.

 

Thanks for the washer trick do not know how much is possible but 1-2 cm bring wonders.

And yes, I do have problems with blood transfer in my left leg. And even the Caddy CTS4 had fully electrical seats I never found a really comfortable position. After 20 minutes or so the left leg started to hurt. It's much better in the Prius although it's not optimal yet.

 

Found the thread from 2009. easy fix and works very well.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-modifications/64225-butt-seat-comfort-2.html

 

Have to give this one more bump. I just did this mod this morning and the difference in seat comfort is dramatic, including the passenger seat.

6'1" = steering wheel too far away, pedals too close, constant pressure on rear end, not on thighs and legs no matter what setting seat is set that is comfortable to me. Steering wheel always too far away, to me the worst thing about the car.

Went to Home Depot, bought ten 1/2" id hole loose washers, .20 each, thought they would be too big but were perfect.

1) Unbolted front driver's seat, bolts extremely easy to remove. Examined hole and bolt length, I wasn't going to continue if any part of threaded hole did not have some bolt in it. Bolt was a little more than 1/4" longer than thread depth of mounting hole.

Put three washers in, this was the most I could wedge in without pulling the seat up hard/high enough without putting pressure on the rear mounts. The three washers were right at 1/4". Rebolted seat.

2) Pulled out floor mats, hated the black on bisque/gray. The car immediately seemed bigger inside(to me). And gave me 1/4" more footsie room on floor.

3) Pulled up side trim, front kick panel, removed the styrofoam block for dead pedal, inserted a couple pieces of insulation cut to fit. Put back carpet, panel, trim.

Then I sat in the seat to adjust and immediately noticed the change. Pressure at my normal setting was now even from legs all the way to upper back. A serious improvement. The tilt did put me further away from the wheel again, but two clicks forward was acceptable for legs. Steering wheel too far, but that will never change.

Pushed left foot around in the footwell, now around an inch more room for left foot. The carpet has a plastic backing that actually keeps the dead pedal shape, but now as my left foot rests on it, it flexes down up to an inch. Left foot much more happy now. I don't think the carpet will be damaged at all. I'll put the block back when I sell it.

Adjusted the seat a tad more, it is now like sitting in a different car. So much so I went around to passenger's side, unbolted that seat, and put two washers under each mount. Bolted back. -It- changed, from flat and semi-comfortable to almost good comfortable.

I had put off doing this thinking a) it was dangerous, and b) I could get used to the seat. B wasn't going to happen, and I was doing terrible things like perusing the Sonata and Altima forums, and thinking trade-in value with gas up right now. And after thinking about A, I came to two conclusions: first, the rear seat, which could have two or three adults sitting there, or even kids, is stuck to the floor by two wire loops and plastic. Granted, it's stuck really good, but still....wire and plastic. Secondly, when you look at the front seat, the entire seat is resting on four small approximately 1" square areas, so moving up 1/4" just didn't seem that much different, as the washers are virtually the same size contact area.

Granted there's a tradeoff I'm sure, but if I get hit hard enough to strip the bolts out of the present threads and the seat and me go flying, I don't think 1/4" more thread length will make much difference.(arguments can be made, but then one could say why not add another 1/4" to bolt for even more safety, ad nauseum) And I probably wouldn't really care at that point.

But saying that, I won't recommend this mod due to potential safety concerns , but for comfort improvement this is a miracle fix for me.

Oh, and the floor mats. It's doesn't snow here. And I'll probably get replacements in a light color. Maybe. Because if I keep the carpet relatively clean, I'm good with that. And time to sell, just throw back in the still new black mats, covering up anything amiss.

Oh#2, regarding needing power seats, nah, my lowly cheap econobox 2006 Elantra had four way manual adjustments, tilt, height, recline and fore/aft. So Toy could have put in tilt with minimum weight gain. (and I think all passenger seats should have every adjustment the driver does)

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