Poll: Are you Satisfied with the Prius Seats ?

Hey iClaudius, glad you're back to help say 'there's something up with Prius seat(s)' .... as said before, I will never buy another car that does not have power seat that includes tilt and lumbar adjust.

 

Base (manually adjustable) seats have 2 connectors into them, power adjustable Prius seats have 3. I don't see the 3rd connector available to use, but I'm sure someone can tap into the harness and get the 12V needed for seats motors.

 

Geez, my niece's old 2002 Civic with 160k miles offers better driver's lumbar support than the base Prius. Toyota attempted lumbar support by putting a fairly small bump near bottom of seatback

 

I took another sit in the 'top of the line'? Prius liftback Softex Power driver's seat. Power lumbar adjust inflates at base of my spine, not small of back. Didn't experiment with different seat position all that much, maybe due to fact that steering wheel seriously lacks much telescope towards (this) taller driver(s).

Compared power seat in 2013 and later Accord Sport, EX/ L ... lumbar adjust in right place, small of back. Accord EX-L is a nice place to sit that's for sure, but I'd pass on the grabby Sport fabric, ugh.

 

I'm alright with the seat especially with this GT leather cover on it, but the steering wheel is stupid far away, even scoped all way out. Toyota blew it for the tall drivers.

 

Exact Fit Seat Covers - GTCovers.com


cycledrum's car, GT Covers genuine leather

Price? $205 per front seat (only got front row) $410 shipped.

Worth the price compared to a $76 'leather' driver's seat cover I bought from local store last June. Tried that for over 6 months. One size fits all, awful light gray color, had to fudge for airbag cutout, seat bottom portion didn't fit, one-piece. Skip that, get custom fit covers.

Calling around, seems most Toyota dealers rep GTCovers. The main reasons I went with GTCovers over Clazzio are -

30 day return policy even after installed (there is a 25% restock fee)
made in USA
GT only uses 1/4 inch foam backing (Clazzio uses 15mm (1/2") memory foam in center sitting area). Being 6'2" tall, the less foam the better.
entire front portion of cover is genuine leather (including bolsters). Rest is PVC (leatherette)

Some notes:
Color match to Dark Gray fabric is really good
Very comfortable!
Fit is very good. There's a bit of airgap in upper seatback right after install, but seat time makes it conform well (they are covers, not like original upholstery which has rods connected to rods in the foam cushions by hog rings)

Install note:
There is a flap on the Prius driver's seat between seat and the console. This flap blocks a side strap on cover from passing through correct place in the frame to reach other side strap. The strap would bunch up the flap. This is no fault of GTCovers, just Toyota making things more difficult for the customer.

I was able to make a slit in flap to pass the strap through, but locating and cutting the slit was not easy. Fortunately, the passenger side does not have the flap.

... and speaking of flaps ... GT uses a cutout and flap arrangement in side of seatback cover for seat airbags. I'm sure it's tested and would do its job.

... and one more thing , their customer service is very good. I first ordered microfiber covers and nearly two weeks later called up and said, don't ship!! then requested leather instead. They had no problem with it. I paid the upcharge and a week or so later they shipped the leathers.

They make and sew the covers after ordering, so it takes 10 to 14 business days to get them. No biggie.

See pic in previous post. I like how there's only two seams in the seat bottom. Fewer seams to sit on the better.

Not 'loose like a wizard's sleeve' eh, 32kcolors

I'll post up more pics later.