Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nyprius @ Oct 19 2006, 03:16 PM) [snapback]334936[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, guys, but we Aussies are large-framed too. We have had driver's seat height adjustment, rear disc brakes, decent tyres and supension etc as standard since Prius was sold here.
It is all to do with the way the cars are specified by the Country of sale's distributor....ie Toyota US; Toyota Australia; Toyota Canada etc etc. Toyota Japan simply builds the cars as specified to order. The only common specs worldwide are the body shape, paint colours and drivetrain.

Blame Toyota US for the way your cars are specified, not Japan. They just build the cars as ordered.

 

Not my day today. I just upgraded (cough cough) to Internet Explorer 7 and tried to download from Yahoo Briefcase. So, while trying IE7 out I got the following error from Yahoo when I clicked on the page for the document:
==================
Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage

Most likely causes:
You are not connected to the Internet.
The website is encountering problems.
There might be a typing error in the address.

What you can try:
Diagnose Connection Problems

More information
==================

Go figure. I merely switched to Firefox and got the files with no problem. Thought someone might like to know someone else had the same problem.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sleeka @ Oct 19 2006, 02:42 AM) [snapback]334946[/snapback]</div>

x

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sleeka @ Oct 19 2006, 02:42 AM) [snapback]334946[/snapback]</div>

Thank you for this excellent comment. It makes a lot of sense. Frankly, I was surprised that an excellent car company like Toyota would make such a stupid mistake like not putting driver's seat height adjustment in the Prius. The car has a sloping down roof in the front and back. If tall people cannot lower the seat, their vision is obstructed out of the front and back windshields -- a significant safety issue. In addition, for many people, seat height plays a major role in driver satisfaction. If the US Prius had driver's seat height adjustment, how many tall drivers would lower the seat? All or nearly all? Probably.

Given the economies of scale for a company of Toyota's size, the cost to add manual driver's seat height adjustment to the Prius is minimal (perhaps less than $25 per car). Yet the safety, comfort and drivers' satisfaction benefits would be very large.

It makes a lot more sense that Toyota US would make this mistake, rather than the parent company, which is most likely the best car company in the world. The US car companies are getting killed because they put profits ahead of all else. Of course, we can't blame them for this. The short-term nature of our capital markets and the fiduciary structure of firms requires it. Many Japanese firms took a longer-term view and put quailty first. They killed us when they embraced Demmings 100% quality philosophy in the 70s, while US firms rejected it. Now, the US is poised to get its butt kicked again by rejecting environmental issues, while Japanese firms embrace them.

Obviously, the first priority of Toyota US was not the comfort and safety of Prius drivers. They were probably looking at the whole Toyota line, wanting to avoid cannibalization of other models. So they probably selected an option/feature mix that would keep the Prius from taking too many Camry and other model sales, especially while they couldn't deliver large numbers of Priuses.

I think Toyota became great by putting the driver first. This wound up being the best thing for profits. Toyota US should take a lesson from their parent -- put the customer/driver first! Not having driver's seat height adjustment in the Prius was a stupid, short-sighted decision. I hope they will rectify this problem immediately by putting the feature in all future models, and by making an upgrade seat available for a nominal price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 2 2006, 10:48 PM) [snapback]296824[/snapback]</div>

I don't think it matters which side of the road the car drives on. I think the seats in a RHD Prius and a LHD Prius are identical. In my US based Prius the seats look the same, except control and seatbelt latches are on opposite sides. So we could order seats from the UK or Australia to replace our 4 way adjustable drivers seat with a 6 way adjustable seat. Just remember to ask for the UK/Australia passenger seat instead of the drivers seat. If anyone figures out how to orderpost it here. We just bought a Prius for my wife to commute in and she is finding the seating position painful after her long commute.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nyprius @ Oct 5 2006, 01:00 PM) [snapback]328603[/snapback]</div>

Would you mind posting some pics of how this was done? Welded/ relocated/ etc?

I would be very grateful.

Nate

 

Wow. This is great. Not that I'd do it...

Ok, I would try to do it, screw up, and manage to get the Prius seat back together, mostly.

Great idea, though. For the less technically inclined among us (and for those of us without side air bags), it might be better to just swap out the mounting brackets on a pair of Corolla seats.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Nov 10 2006, 04:17 PM) [snapback]347111[/snapback]</div>

I don't have any pictures, but it was pretty easy for New England Wheels to do. They've done it many times before. They didn't even need to see my car to tell me they could do it. And my car was the first Prius for which they moved the seats back.

Basically, they removed the front seats, drilled out the rivets holding the two pedestals to each of the four seat rails, welded flat roughly 5/16" x 1" x 5" steel to the bottom front of the seat rails. Then they welded the pedestals to the now longer rails three inches forward from the original position. Then they painted the new metal and welds black and reinstalled. The seat works exactly as before, except the full range of motion is shifted back three inches.

I still want to lower the seat by about 1". Having the seat too high is increasingly annoying. I'm getting close to the point where I'm going to take out the drivers seat myself, drill new holes in the four pieces of metal holding the seat to the rails, then rebolt it 1" lower than before. It looks like that's possible.

 

So, are you saying that the inner rear mount is now held onto the rail by merely 5/16" steel plate? I was wondering about the seatbelt, since the load is transferred through this area. Does the back overhang the mount?

Man, I could use a picture. I totally understand the front, just not the back...

Nate

 

Jeez! That was alot of effort, but congrats to your succesful results!
Is there anyway you can get a passenger side prius w/ side airbag
shipped here or anything!?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Nov 14 2006, 04:18 PM) [snapback]348962[/snapback]</div>

I wouldn't say "merely". The new welded on steel is about 4 times thicker and probably ten times stronger than the existing seat rail steel. The seat is as solid or more solid than before the retrofit.

Also, the welded on steel is in the front, not the back. That's because the goal was to shift the position of the seat rails three inches back. This required extending them in the front.

BTW, the welded on steel in the front is rounded off, smoothed and painted black. Looking at it, you wouldn't think the car was retrofitted. It was done by professionals.

Yes, the rails do extend over the pedastals in the back. the pedesals are welded on three inches forward from the original rear position. However, the rails are still under the seat, unless I have it all the way forward. The longer seat rails have virtually no impact on rear passenger comfort or leg/foot space. Even with the seat three inches back from the original position, there is still plenty of room for a tall person to sit in the back seat. For some reason, the rearward movement of the Prius front seats was unnecessarily restricted.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Aug 8 2006, 11:49 PM) [snapback]300014[/snapback]</div>

I've read ALL the messages in this thread in addition to looking at the extensive "mods." (Thanks to the person that "saved" the .pdf in his Yahoo briefcase) required to have the driver's seat obtain height adjustment. We just ordered (already in Port) a 2007 Prius Touring w/ cloth seats and as far as we recall this was the same as the 2006 seats..... NO height adjust.
Is there an "aftermarket KIT" available yet that can be installed, other than $1000+ Recaro's ??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Solar_Powered @ Aug 4 2006, 06:11 PM) [snapback]297990[/snapback]</div>

I'm also interested in a height adjustable seat. Mostly because my wife wants it higher and I just want to get more thigh support. Sounds like that in the lower position may address the thigh support. What about a higher seating position? Does the adjustable seat go higher than the standard one?

The other post that shows the height adjustment on the Euro-Prius seat shows it higher than what I measured out in my car.

Great mod -- you need to figure out how to put this into production! I think it could be a good business!

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

In our case, we just won't buy one. We've been looking forward to buying a Prius for months. Now that we can do it, my 6'4 husband finds he has to slouch to see out the window. Much of his height is in his trunk. Bummer. Toyota will loose our business as a result.
We've owned Toyotas for decades. This really disappoints me. What the heck are they thinking?

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

I tried to grab this document, but when clicked it says "Folders are not shared." Can you help me get this file anothee way? thank you!

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

Or, search the web for German salvage yards. The drag will be paying for pulling my aftermarket leather off for reuse.

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

I wonder which other countries have Prii with driver adjustable seats. Sure it would not be prohibitively expensive to ship overseas? I'm thinking, add $100 or so to a recycler's cost?

I was looking for replacement seat for US Camry and for a '00-01 model these can be had for as little $50 locally. I'd say folks would gladly pay $3-400 for a good replacement seat for the Prius (I would!).

I looked at my '00 Camry's seat and it is very similar: same rail distance same seat width. I'm tempted to modify one of these seats, with the added benefit of having a couple of inches longer lower seat cushion.

I also looked at just rising the front of the Prius seat by 1/2" to 1". I tried it with some wood blocks and the raised front position is nearly perfect for me, where the normal position leaves my upper legs with no support. However, raising the front seems unsafe - there are two prongs that go into snug holes next to the single bolt on each rail mount. These bolts come out completely when the front is raised by 1" and I am uncomfortable leaving the seat fastened by only one bolt (the original bolt needs to be replaced by a longer one, but even that would be unsafe IMO).

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

Oops, deleted as already asked and answered.

 

Re: Finally, I've got a height adjustable driver's seat

Im taking a different route. I am buying 2 volvo 6 way electric seats with airbags and mounting those 4 inches further back. The seats are far more comfortable then the krappy toyota seats.