2 weeks into v ownership and heartbroken at discomfort of driving experience. I am 5'3", 125 lbs, and cannot figure out anything to make the bottom seat angle, back of seat or headrest tolerable. Drove two hours to store with back pillows, etc. Got a seat wedge and something for back. Still no go. Owned many cars and never had this problem. I don't have back problems in general, only due to this car. My right leg is very involved in maximizing mpg, but shouldn't be cause of all this pain. I know about federal headrest guidelines, but the reality is that I can't keep the car with this headrest, so one of them is going to have to go. Been trying headrests from any other car I can get my hands on. Haven't found one that fits. Has anyone else? Anyone my size having same problem with seat and headrest and come up with solutions? This car was a huge purchase for me and I hate to have to give it up and lose that much money if I don't have to.
my wife had this problem with an oldsmobile. tried everything, but no luck. wound up trading it in on a camry and took a beating. hope you fare better, all the best!
6'4", 230#s, do have a bad back, and am having the same problems. however pillows are making it tolerable!!!
You said you have tried adjusting the seat, but have you also adjusted the steering wheel position? By moving it also, you may be able to find a comfortable seat position that would also give you a relaxed arm position. I had to try many combinations of both wheel and seat adjustments to get it right for me.
There is a simple (?) solution. If it truly is the seat then buy a custom seat or have yours modified. Many people change out their front seats. Another thing you could try is custom base plates. Change the height and/or change the angle. Seating is a very personal thing. When you add spending hours at a time sitting in them they get even more personal. In a couple of high-end cars they make the driver's seat to fit the buyer. The seat is fixed and they move the pedals and steering wheel to accommodate the driver. And, a custom tailored seat is not unusual in race cars. You are "race car driver size". Get a custom seat or have yours modified or reupholstered. I am 6' and average/slim build. I haven't found these seats to be different from anything else I have driven (except for my BMW's), other than they are better and better bolstered. Probably not good for larger people because of the bolstering.
Can you adjust the seating position so that your header don't touch the head rest during driving? I don't think the head rest in modern car is comfortable to use during driving as the angle is tilted forward. I have a Mazda3 and the design is the same.
At one point, I grabbed the headrest from a friend's 2010 prius, and discovered it fit the prius v. I didn't actually try driving with it, but the angle was nowhere near as insane as the one on the v. I have finally found a position that kinda works for me, but I've never tried it for longer than 40 minutes at a shot. First time I have to go long distance I will probably end up flipping the headrest around and risking whiplash.
Do you know which specific model Prius it was? Might be worth seeing if the 2010 headrest could be ordered as a replacement part...
Do a search for seat cushions on the web. I found a gel cushion that is terrific. Gelcoproducts.com, and there are others. Also, someone with a vice could bend the bars on the headrest carefully and not compromise the safety excessively or the chrome stems.
Not sure what you mean about federal guidelines, but I turn the headrest around on every car I sit in. Still plenty safe and WAY more comfortable.
I'm sure you have resolved the issue by now but what I did is just turn the headrests backward. It makes the headrest sit vertical instead of sitting so forward in that uncomfortable position.
I removed the front headrests. Wife is 4'6 and about 85lbs and she doesn't like that it slightly pushes on her head even when it's fully raised. As for me I'm 5'8 250 and use a pillow for the back and no headrest. Why no headrest? Because I could barely drive 10 minutes in the car otherwise. Sadly I did not notice it during the test drive. If it bothered me in the test drive I probably wouldn't have bought it. Mind you the backseats are tons more comfortable then the fronts for us. Galaxy?
I find the car undriveable with the stock headrest in place (shoves my head forward a couple of inches - and I have to wonder if everyone has that head-forward posture defect - or if it has to do with my preference for sitting bolt upright). So I've flipped my headrest around. To get it so it's only an inch or so behind my head it needed to be a couple of inches up. The height adjustment doesn't work in this position, nor does swapping driver and passenger headrests (as it does on the Prius 1). Mine seems to stay in the right spot, but I plan to go to the hardware store, find some vinyl (or rubber) tubing about the same ID as the OD of the support struts, cut to the right length, split, then push on. I know I'm replying to a very old post, but this might help somebody who's tempted to reverse the headrest - or just remove it.
FWIW, I completely remedied the SO's long-standing dislike of v passenger seat comfort with a pair of 1.5" front seat track risers, which rakes the seat bottom enough to provide lots of thigh support. Should have figured that out much sooner. Headrests have never been an issue, though we are both on the tall side of the ergonomic spectrum.
