Leg pain...

My money is on the wallet. I'm only 30 and a few years ago I started having back pain when driving for long periods. I switched to a smaller credit card case I carry in my right front pocket, and the problem is gone...

 

I believe most Japanese cars with mechanical adjust use a pump handle style for height adjust, and do not offer a bottom tilt knob. Toyota FJ Cruiser is one exception I know of. Power seats are the best.

As for the washers, are you positive lifting the front of rails is not tweaking or bending the rear mount feet? The mount feet are designed to sit flush on the floorboard, both front and back.

 

The mounts are just stamped steel. They have enough flex that adding 3 washers didn't seem to be a problem. But a 10-way power seat is a better solution. I use the tilt adjustment frequently on my other cars, especially on long trips.

 

Reason I ask is the rear mounts are covered by removable plastic cover, but you can't see what is going on with them unless removing that cover.

The right rear bolt is horizontal, so that won't be a prob, but the left rear is vertical, so too much lift could tweak the mount foot.

But, they are tough steel though. Cannot drill through them with a basic drill bit. Need something like Boron (sp?) bit.

 

If the wallet affects only one leg, then the problem is that you are pinching the sciatic nerve. Wallet in the front pocket is safer from pickpocketing anyways.

But.. if you are in fact getting poor circulation, you'd be getting blood clots in your legs and it would be painful for both legs.

Your sciatic nerve runs from your spine to the back side of your thigh. Most likely you are pinching a nerve.

 

I got the wallet tip from my chiropractor and I'm glad I decided to follow it. Shortly before that happened, I also got a memory foam mattress and the combination of the two helped eliminate my lower back pain. I used to carry everything in my wallet, and now I have a credit card holder and a money clip to hold my cash.

 

Exactly the same here...the memory foam mattress and not carrying a wallet in my back pocket solved my issues too...

 

Yes, lots of leg pain in the right leg. Constantly. Have never experienced this with any other car before and used to drive a Volvo station wagon. Feels like Sciatic nerve pain. I'm totally average height and weight - 5.6, 130 lbs. Middle aged. We have leased a Toyota Prius 2010 for two years now (out of a three year lease) and as much as I like the gas mileage I get with this car, I have no interest in driving another Prius. I was in Germany for a month and rented an Opel Corsa and the leg pain was gone. As soon as I returned to the U.S. and started driving that Prius it returned. I have put the seat at the highest position possible and still have pain. I now drive with a firm cushion and that is helping. I have tried all the different variations of seat positions - to no avail. Only the cushion seems to help a bit. A car that cannot ensure a comfortable ride is not worth driving. There are plenty of other hybrids on the market. My husband occasionally drives the Prius and he too has experienced leg pain.

 

I am 6'-4" and 245 pounds, 65 years old. I have never driven the Prius for more than a couple hours without getting out and walking because of the beginning of leg pain. I find that if I wear slippers or no shoes, it essentially gives me more leg room. I will never attempt to drive the Prius for long trips, I'll need to use the Tundra or the Buick Century.

My wife who's 5'-6" and 73 years old has driven the Prius for several hours without any leg pain.

 

I drive 30K+ miles per year and always remove my wallet from my rear pocket. I'm about 6', 200 lbs. and keep the seat high and upright. (I try to avoid cars with sunroofs to maximize headroom.) As long as I can keep my legs level and knees well bent, I am usually comfortable. I can achieve this seating position in both current vehicles. If my knees are above my hips or the seat has to be tilted back, I develop pain after about an hour.

 

Good point about the wallet. I know a guy who had to have a hip replacement recently, and the doctor said the damage was done by years of driving with a wallet in his back pocket. I never would have thought about that. My wallet is not thick enough to be a problem. LOL

 

Anything in your back pocket while sitting can throw off your hip angle. You don't notice it since it's slight or the seat cushion is soft enough to compensate. But over years of doing it, the problem will creep up into your lower spine as your body tries to compensate for unatural hip position. Then all it takes is picking something up, or sleeping in the wrong position, or doing nothing at all when your back decides to let you know in the form of pain that something isn't right. But when I tell guys to take their wallets out of their back pocket, they look at me like I'm stupid. I guess they think that it's too simple of a solution that it couldn't possibly be the source of their problems. After that, I have no sympathy for them when they're whining about their back pain.

I'm glad I found this thread again. I've been meaning to install additional washers under the front brackets under the driver's seat and didn't know what size washer to get. I'm doing it this weekend!

 

I am 63, carry my wallet in the front pocket (have done this for years when my chiropractor said I needed a Wallectomy) and get the pain in my right leg, as well. I have tried adjusting the seat to no avail. I have put the seat at its highest position and lowest position while regulating the angle of the back. Next step is to get some memory foam and put it under my seat cover. My previous car was a Scion xB, and had no pain at all. I actually believe that it is the position of the console pushes my right leg to the left and therefore in an awkward, and unnatural position. BTW, my current milage on this tank is 50.4 mpg and I drive a 2011 silver Prius will be 2 years old in Feb.), with 19,000 on it.

 

It seems to me that you may have some circulation issues. I would get it checked out.

 

One other possibility is lack of strength with the back muscles. So a few back muscle exercises might help, but nothing too strenuous. It might be cumulative of what everybody has said.

Mike

 

Circulation in the legs is fine, actually had a doctor check it out. The back is fine, as well, have exercised for years and I am in very good physical condition. I am one of those guys with very little padding on my butt, so sitting too long anywhere becomes a problem. With so many offering the same complaint, I lean towards the seat being the problem.

 

I am not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but have you ever gone to a chiropractor? I know some folks consider this practice taboo - but I think you might benefit.

I used to suffer from mind-numbing pain when I drove/rode in certain cars. The first time I noticed it was when I drove in my friends' grandmother's Saturn. Then she got a Saturn and this shooting pain would start in my hip/lower back and shoot down. My right leg. I also noticed this in my friend's Mercury. I never noticed it in my Prius.

I had to get a rental car when my Prius was totaled and it was a Chevy Impala. I was already receiving (for the first time) chiropractic treatment for sleeping issues and neck pain. I noticed as soon as I got into the Chevy that I had the shooting pain. I was cranky and didn't want to drive anywhere.

I mentioned it to my chiropractor one day and I said "Well I am having this issue with my rental car....and I have had it with two Saturns and a Mercury. But not my parent's cars which are a Prius and a Mercedes" My chiropractor says "What have we learned here?" And I said "not to buy American?"

Anyway long story short he popped my back once and I climbed into the rental Chevy and never had any shooting pain again - I drove for 2hrs even and no issues - and before I couldn't even drive for 5 minutes.