So I finally tore down the sides of the rear seats to determine if there was a way to modify it and make it fold nearly flat, as it's not only necessary requirement for how I haul the product for my business, but would also make setting it up to sleep in much easier. There's just a few screws on the side plastic, and then you just pry on the edges until they pop off. Just as I thought, the circular pivot point has a metal stop tab on each end to prevent it moving more forward or reclining too far back...my guess is so that the coil spring does not lose too much tension and bind up causing issues, but I could care less about the convenience of the seat flopping forward on its own. 1000005116 by ChaseE posted Jan 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM 1000005118 by ChaseE posted Jan 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM The plan is to use my Dremel and cut out a section of the metal at each point on each side, and then test the seat angle. 1000005122 by ChaseE posted Jan 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM 1000005123 by ChaseE posted Jan 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM I'll get the necessary supplies at the hardware store tomorrow and hopefully have an update.
UPDATE: got a fiber reinforced metal cut-off wheel for my Dremel at Lowe's today...this was much easier than I thought it was going to be! Took about 2 minutes per side on the first small seat to cut a diagonal angle as you can see in the picture. 1000005132 by ChaseE posted Jan 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM 1000005130 by ChaseE posted Jan 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM The result? The seat now goes completely flat without compromising functionality, other than keeping the coil spring removed so you have to move the seat down yourself instead of assistance from the spring tension. 1000005131 by ChaseE posted Jan 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM Now I just have to do the other seat, and put all the plastic back on. All in all a pretty quick modification once I figured out what I needed to do. To use this for hauling cargo that needs to stay flat and occasional using it to sleep in while maintaining use of the seats.
Everything's buttoned back up, not PERFECTLY level but less than 5⁰ of difference, so it'll do...also, with 450lbs of my product and supplies loaded up, the Prius Offroad springs are doing work and it's almost leveled out. Total time: 2hrs. 1000005139 by ChaseE posted Jan 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM 1000005140 by ChaseE posted Jan 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
