ok, the other day we had to take our nieces home... 4 kids (including mine) and the wife and i.... this doesn't work in the prius obviously, but i'll be damned if i was about to use the 8mpg excursion! so i stuck my @ss in the back hatch. (p.s. i'm 6'2" 190lb)....it wasn't all that bad, but it had me thinking... Has anyone put a bench seat in a prius? any worthwhile thoughts?
I posted doing this several years ago, but I run the car on a mail route, and have to deliver out the right side window. Because of personal liability, I don't think you should do it, Beside the seat belt factor, though more individual seat belts could be installed, the basic change over to a different seat may not be as safe as what is in the car (though of course safer than riding in the hatch), hope you get my point. It makes my job safer when driving, in my opinion, and generally don't drive with others in my mail route car. For anyone looking by the way, a mid 80's mini pickup bench seat , believe from a Mitsubishi pickup, works well. More details about installing , especially so the air bag light isn't on, is buried in some earlier post of mine.
I'd be interested in figuring out where the side curtain airbags deploy... if you put a different seat in, you might be blocking their proper function. I do not know, I've never popped those bags.
It could be done. Anything can be done with a little ingenuity. However I would not dare try it do to safety factors.
Easiest way to go this in a gen2 is to remove the center console and replace with a cushion the same height as the two seats. Then make a seat back with strong steal bars that bolt to the floor, then add an old lap style seatbelt. If you get in an accident the person riding in the middle might be injured but at least the two regular seats will still be as safe as before. If you are just using the extra seat for short drives at low speed in your neighborhood, it'd be relatively safe, but any modification you do is gonna be a personal liability, especially if you're transporting someone else's kid.
Sounds like a very practical solution to me. I am not sure, though, if the police will issue tickets when they see. They are looking for every opportunities to issue tickets these days.
Yeah... every state and every cop is going to treat it differently... Usually their only issue is to see proof of a decent restraint system because most everywhere it's against the law to ride without a seatbelt.
it's not difficult to add proper seatbelts... and with a little reinforcement it could be made stronger than the current seats (prius seats aren't exactly world class...they basic, lightweight...minimalistic) i was mainly just curious if anyone had looked in to it/found a reasonably well fitting option. my vehicle was wrecked/repaired, so the airbags aren't exactly a huge concern of mine....my airbag light is already on and i HATE air bags (the wrecks i've been in, they've done more damage than good, that may not be every instance but in my experience has been) i was thinking something like the honda minivan or chevy truck center seats...where it's just a little middle seat portion, with a back that folds down for an arm rest. but i'd really like a shoulder restraint so...could be difficult. more of just a thought really. no police officer would question it. And as long as it was bolted in and had proper restraints, it's really none of their business. most are to busy texting/talking on the cellphones and being hypocritical a-holes anyways.
In that case, if you can find a metal worker to build you custom mounting brackets, head to the junk yard and look for a late model Toyota bench seat for a truck that fits and get started.
not sure i like the idea of an old truck bench lol heres more what i was thinking, it would retain the stock prius buckets, and still retain an arm rest (and cup holder in some instances) but i need to get out to some junkyards and measure what i find (theres tons of them with seperate middle seats... crv's, dakota, f150, some sables, etc.. : http://0.tqn.com/d/trucks/1/0/_/Z/1/Ram-1500-Armrest-2013.jpg http://www.exactseatcovers.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product_full/F480%20X7%201_12.JPG http://img0072.popscreencdn.com/152006200_-center-console-custom-exact-fit-seat-covers-gray-.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/t/99-DAKOTA-FRONT-SEATS-WITH-CENTER-CONSOLE-SEAT-COMBO-BLUE-CLOTH-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqZ,!lIE-lWQkBCBBP6KnKzVMg~~60_35.JPG
I have done this to three Pri so far. Each gets progressively better. It’s surprisingly easy to do. I love bench seats . Don’t judge the cleanliness, or lack there of, of my Prius. You don’t know the things she’s seen.0_o Note: A cheap Chinese stick welder is invaluable, but not your only option. There are tons of holes that fit bolts underneath the carpet
Note 2: I also crashed my two previous attempts with Bench seats of highly questionable construction and walked away just fine. My subwoofer did blow out the back windshield though, things should be bolted down, I know now
Nice work... I've always thought about this because first thing I did when I bought a Gen2 Prius in 2012 was remove the center console and replace it with a pillow. So much more comfortable and car looks nicer that way too. Have always thought about doing something much nicer with matching upholstery. Or alternatively, I wonder if you could find more modern bench seats from a newer model truck? Also someday I'm going to do this with a Gen3, but will have to tear out the flying buttress and redo the dashboard. I did find one example of someone who did that in a country with right hand drive... It looks so nice:
