I have noticed that my car feels every bump in the pavement, and sometimes it's painful to my recent back injury. Are the shocks stiff because it's winter here? Will the ride improve in warmer weather? Can the stock shocks be adjusted? Thanks for any replies.
Prius have always had complaints about uncomfortable seats... There's probably some adjustments you can make with seat accessories? Hard to say one product is better than another though because there are so many body types. You can also try lowering tire pressure. And for me personally, I do yoga and lots of physical exercise on parts of my body as training and while I'm driving so I can drive a Prius 8-12 hours non-stop without much discomfort.
I find the drivers seat to be very comfortable for long road trips. The 19 inch wheels and low profile tires will cause a more harsh ride. Switching to 17 inch wheels and better tires will soften the ride quite a bit. Or maybe using an ergonomic seat cushion.
Seats are much improved over the previous generation, as is the handling which means the chassis will be stiffer. Did you test drive the vehicle before buying it? If you want a softer ride, trade your G5 in for a G4.
Low profile tires are the problem. it does not matter what car you put them on, the ride will suffer. Being cool has its downsides.
It's the 19" tires on your XSE. Switch to a 17" or even 16" wheel & tire combo and it'll make a difference.
High tire pressure gives slightly better mpg with a rougher ride. I always use the lower door jam recommended pressure. However no matter what you do, larger diameter wheels end up with lower profile tires (less rubber between the road and the wheel) which creates a harsher ride. The flex in the tire rubber is a major ride comfort factor.
More likely he neglected that portion (and more?) of the Pre-Delivery Inspection, that they charged you dearly for: cars from the factory often have tire pressures at max sidewall, to avoid flat-spotting. Dealerships need to drop tire pressures, but they’re very good at cutting corners, doing as little as possible.
This is more on Toyota corp. Checking the tire pressure is no longer on the pre-delivery inspection checklist. If you're lucky, the tech doing the inspection will be experienced enough to know that models built in Japan* will need to have their tire pressure adjusted. But it's more likely the inspection will be done by a newer hire that is just following the checklist they were given. *models built in the US and sold in North America often do not have over-inflated tires as their static transit times are shorter
Same complaint as the OP. Could there be shipping blocks in the springs which should have been removed by the dealer before delivery?
