Cloth Interior

I have no issues with my dark gray cloth interior in my 2007.

I think if you have one of the lighter colors -- the misty gray or the bisque -- it will show more dirt and stains over the years.

Other than some German manufacturers, I don't know anyone who has standard vinyl seats anymore. As a general matter, most people prefer cloth over vinyl as the standard upholstery.

 

I'm also a little nervous about how the cloth will wear. It does seem flimsy in comparison to the cloth seats in my Tacoma, which lasted 11 years without a single fray. Only time will tell, maybe it is stronger and more stain resistant than it appears. I also agree the arm rests should be something solid that is more easily cleaned and wear resistant. I find myself avoiding resting my arms on them because of that. Maybe if they get too dirty or worn I won't care anymore.

 

I have the bisque interior, and I realized the potential staining. I sprayed the cloth areas with ScotchGard fabric protector. I hope this will help. I have two kids who tend to be hard on car interiors, too. I will update in a few months. My genIII is only 3 weeks new.

 

You're screwed

After a year or two you can get some of those classy leopard pattern seat covers.

 

I was gonna post about the same thing. I'm more worried about the armrests on the door and the center console. The texture is fuzzy and doesn't seem durable.

 

I was really concerned by the interior quality and how it would wear. I first thought it would wear quickly as it appeared to do so at first but so far it is holding up rather well - and it gets a lot of hammer.

 

The cloth seats on the Prius are total garbage, they are hard to clean, gets worn out really quickly. This is why I got leather seat covers for them. I didn't buy a IV or V because Toyota basically wanted $4000 for leather seats!

Imageshack - dsc2610.jpg - Uploaded by Imageshack user <--leather seat cover vs crusty 14K cloth seats

 

Hey that looks great Some leather seat covers look cheap but those look quality and appear to fit well.

Where did you get them? Could you send me the link? You'd make a grumpy cabbie a happy cabbie.

 

Search for Clazzio leather seats Prius on google, you will find it. Also I recommend doing a heater element while you are at it for heated seats if you live in the cold climate.

Yes the car smells new now, I love it Also my dog loves it. Here is a funny story. My little dog liked to sleep on the driver side when we left her in the car. A few days after I put in the passenger seat cover(the driver seat was still cloth at the time), I noticed she started to sleep on the leather instead of the cloth seat. You know it's bad when the dog preferred the leather over the cloth

 

Smart dog. Leather is better.

 

A few smart people around here recommended genuine sheepskin seat covers.

Try this. Go to any decent local auto parts/access. store. Spend $75 for a 'one size fits all' genuine sheepsking seat cover, preferably 2-piece. If you like it, great, keep it, or maybe return it, then get custom fit covers. If not, then just return the cover.

Sheepskin may look a little funny, but tell you what ... super comfortable.

BTW, I tried a leather seat cover without seat heater ... junk. Cold and clammy. Yuck. Good fitting neoprene covers are worth a look though.

 

The cloth they wanted to make it look like suede. When the mechanic at Toyota first saw the car they thought the car came in suede and all shaked their heads thinking this is tototally wrong.

Well it is not suede but cloth. Could they get better cloth? Yes and I believe this is part of the cut down cost incentive to make more money on this new gen Prius. Like I have said a few threads now the quality of this car is below par compared to the Gen2 Prius.
All other cars with cloth has much much better high tech cloths except toyota. You've got to wonder sometimes just how much Toyota care about their customer satifaction these days.

 

I do have to agree with you there hsiaolc. The Prius interior is probably the worst I've seen since the velour interior in the Datsun Violet I owned way back in 1987 when I first started driving.

 

Worst thing is they are getting away with it!!! People are flocking to the Gen3 Prius.
I particuarly like the cloth material in Audis, they are really good. I didn't want to upgrade to leather (wanted to charge me £1750) and then I have to geat heated seats for that. So I guess I will stick with cloth, I have two sets now so when one gets worn out or bad I will put on a new one.

 

No, the Gen3 quality is not inferior to the Gen2.

Push down on the plastic elbow rest on a Gen2 Prius. Flimsy. My driver's side elbow rest has a crack that will need to be fixed eventually. How did this happen?....

From lifting my butt off the seat in failed attempts over 1 year's time to get comfortable in the uber-small Gen2 stock seat. $1,200, three seat modifications, 1 month straight of building a custom seat to get reasonably comfortable.

Toyota puts a hugely improved seat in the Gen3, more power, more solid chassis, more interior room, not one rattle in 3 rentals I've driven, better looking, can actually continue to see Nav screen while doing audio or climate settings, etc, etc...

But, Toyota, do get that rearview mirror more up and out of the way, please! Tall people want to see where they're going too!

 

Design fault does not mean less quality in material. Just because they have improved on few technical issues does not relates to the material downgrade they have chosen in the name of saving weight to gain the extra mileage.

Just because you havn't got any rattle in the 3 rentals (so you don't own a prius?) doesn't mean that most of us doesn't have the rattles (which most do if you read the forums other posts).

Not to mention the Satnav is the worst one i've used and the most over priced satnav for what it is. In my 6 years of using Satnavs only this one has managed to get me lost. Not to mention the rubbish route it chooses for you when my garmin can do a better job.
Radio? Mine still doesn't work when I turn on my lights. Rattling? I found one already even when I put so much foam on all the places I have and others have experienced as well.

Please when you own a Gen3 Prius then share your experiences.

 

I also am wondering how long the cloth will last. I have the dark grey and I Scothguarded everything, but I know that in 5 or 10 years I won't care nearly as much so even if it does wear or stain it won't matter. If the seats do wear at a point where I care then I'll simply get covers. In retrospect I wish I had not used the Scotchguard - the fumes are noxious until dried. New car hysteria got me!
Oh, you can buy covers for the center armrest. I made one out of an old grey shirt and some velcro. The side armrests are unusable for me.

 

Just a thought, but if you do wear out the original seat fabric in, say, 6 years, you could buy another Toyota seat bottom fabric piece. I priced a Corolla seat bottom fabric from Toyota - it was ~ $350, so bit pricey. Not that hard to reupholster a car seat, even I figured it out.