Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I am posting a few different, related threads, as different people might have different feedback and be clued in by the subject line. This is the last one. I have a bad back and was a little concerned about the seats. The problem is that until you drive the car for a while, it is hard to know, and they won't let you take a 2 hour test drive. Anyone have a sense of the longer term comfort of the seats for people with back problems?

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

The seats in the Prius are very comfortable. Lumbar support is sufficient, but not adjustable. Neither is seat height. I would like both of those features, even if they were not electric but mechanical, however that isn’t offered.

But I have found the seats to be very comfortable on longer drives. The fixed lumbar seems to be in the correct position and the correct firmness to be comfortable but not annoying. The cushions are firm, but supportive. The back seat is also very nice and comfortable, if that means anything to you.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I have to disagree there, to be honest. I find them a bit hard, narrow and unadjustable. Though tilting the seat more upright helped with the lower back, they're still not great for long rides. Hey, I may be 18, but my butt still hurts when I'm driving for a while.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

My DW and I just completed an around-Lake-Michigan trip (1135 miles) in 4 days. Spent more time than normal driving that distance because we took scenic (slow) roads when possible.

I have a moderately touchy back (both of us: age 64), and my DW is recovering from a recently ruptured disc in her spine. She does strengthening exercises at a Neuro-spine center.

Guess what. Neither of us had a problem with our backs from riding/driving the Prius. Hotel beds -- that's another story. Although this is clearly not a definitive test (other than for us), it was based on repetition over several days, and therefore is not an insignificant data point.

The best vehicle we've had for back comfort was a 2001 Honda Odyssey. The Prius is neither better, nor worse, than the Odyssey(for us personaly, of course), and it had an adjustable lumbar support. We towed a trailer thousands of miles w/the Odyssey, so our comparison is fair.

I vote thumbs up for the Prius seats!!

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Many thanks for the feedback!

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I have had long-standing lower back problems and, as much as I like my Prius, it was killing my back. The seats "feel" comfortable, but the reverse angle (butt lower than the knees) compresses the disks in the lower back. After a while, anyone with lower disk problems is going to know it!

I finally stopped by a back store and bought a hard wedge--the soft 'memory foam' wedges are comfy, but you end up sliding off the seat in turns--combined with the bucky I've had for a while (with about 2/3 the buckwheat removed), the seat now works great.

PS Other than this one (huge) issue, I LOVE my car. And should get a cut from Toyota as since November I'm responsible for at least three other folks buying Priuses.

-sd

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I had a very severe back injury at age 17 (5 years ago) and only recovered to about 85% range of motion.

Now that that's out of the way, I absolutely love the Prius seats. For my body size and shape they're the perfect fit. Now I'm not really big or really tiny, just average, middle of the road 20something girl. I have never had back pain driving in this car even on longer trips. And this is coming from someone who spent $2000 on a Tempur Pedic mattress just so I could get some sleep because nothing else worked.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I haven't read if heated seats are an option on the Prius...

I too have a bad lower back (as does my wife) and for what it's worth, we find in our smart fortwo cdi cabriolet that the two stage seat heaters melt away any pain that is developed at work or whatever. The seats themselves are good. Also, the seats in that car are high and so the knee/butt relationship is also good.

So, if heated seats are an option on the Prius, get them!

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Nope, they aren't :(

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

The Prius II seats are a huge improvement over the Prius I seats. I've got no back problems at all and the Prius I seats cause my back to hurt after more than an hour or so in the car. Prius II seats haven't caused me any problems so far, and they don't seem like they will as they have much more lower back support and better side to side support too. There are some good back support things that can strap on to car seats so they don't slide away for those with above-average sensitive backs that should be able to fix up the lack of technology in the seats. Also there's massage (vibration) and heating strap-on things that plug into the cigar-jack that may provide additional comfort and pain relief.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I'm 39 years old and my back is OK. Could be better. I did a 24-hour trip with a friend and my back was fine.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I have no problems with my back. Unless I'm in my Prius for more than 45 minutes. Seats are sub-Toyota quality.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

you want bad seats for a bad back? buy a chevy cavalier. we rented one last week while on vacation and my back is still aching.

i was so happy to get back to my prius!

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I find that the seats are good for my back, but the backs of my legs get numb after many hours behind the wheel. I rate them above average.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I find the seats too hard and unsupportive. I do not have a back back, but my back starts to hurt about 30 minutes into driving it. I've had the same problem with newer Echos & Corollas. I have never had any problems with my ES300, though.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

For most of the short distance driving I do the Prius II seats are ok for me.
For long distance driving I have to say I find the seats extremely uncomfortable, for my shape and way of sitting. I find the seats too 'dished out' for lack of a better way of describing that, with too little lumbar support. That combines with the shoulder support being too close to the spine, and standing out too far, which for me results in the shoulders being pushed forward. In conjunction with the dished out shape, by back is just totally curved, and after long driving my back really hurts.
The other day I had a long trip with two 4.5 hr trip sections, and at the end of the day my back was killing me!
I have decided I need to do something about that, and will first try a variety of external add-ons, and if those work I may have a custom seat upholstery place add inserts beneath the leather.
However, for fairness I should add that my wife loves the Prius II seats. My previous car was a 2003 MINI Cooper S (it had height adjustable seats and adjustable lumbar support), and I loved the seats and ergonomics of the car, the best I ever had in that respect, but my wife hated the seats in the MINI.

I wish Toyota would offer more options for the Prius. I would gladly pay extra for seats that have: adjustable height, adjustable lumbar support, heated seats.

M

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I just recently sold my 2005 TDI and bought a new 2008 Prius. I remember noticing when I first got my TDI how comfortable the seats were. I could do 5-9 hour road trips without a single complaint. I could even hold my Mini Shnauzer in my lap for extended periods of time with no pain. I really enjoyed the adjustability of the seats. Bottom cushion tilt, slide front and back, and raise up and down. It also had lumbar adjustments, which I left on full.

I get the Prius and have noticed that it's almost as if I was sitting on a level board with a small cushion on it. I need the bottom to tilt back so that my rear has some sort of...cradeling effect...hahaha. I feel that the Prius seat puts a ton of pressure on my tailbone. I had my dog in my lap for about 5 minutes before we had to litterally pull off the highway and see if I just had my seat was adjusted poorly.

Now. I know I shouldn't have him in my lap in the first place but....ya know.

I'm getting ready to go on my first roadtrip from NC to DC (5 hours) and I'm not happy about what Im expecting.

If it's too bad, I wonder if you can entirely switch out the seats to something else...All those back supports you can get to strap on are a risk, you never know if they will help. But I guess they are cheaper than new seats entirely.

Such a delima! The ONLY reason I regret my VW so far. Otherwise, VW is crap.

Was that too much info?:P

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I've been looking for a recommended seat for sometime. I had checked the local salvage yard looking for a fully electric seat and found some that might have worked. But this is the first seat recommendation that has credibility.

I'll go see if they have any look for a pair. The seat mounting is fairly straight forward but I needed a seat that made sense.

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

So you're putting new seats in your Prius? My jetta seats were manual. the only electric feature was the heated seats, if that matters.

And you say that its easy to change seats in cars?

Also, my man thinks that the prius seats are comfortable and that the VW's were too 'buckety', but I'm small and liked the curving of the seat. I'm sure the Pruis seat would be fine if it only had the -much missed- bottom cushion tilt, in my opinion. Maybe you can figure a way to install that feature instead of entirely new seats. I don't know how easy that would be.

But fill me in on what you think is able to be done to fix this seat problem. It's my only -but big- complaint so far.

Thanks,
Ashton Ross Taylor

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Excuse me everybody, but the jetta only had raise up and down, not tilt. But when you raised the seat, it tilted a bit.

You know what else? I think the way toyota (and most other makes) seats lean back is difficult and dangerous (I guess when driving) compared to VW. The Jetta had a twist feature on the side to move the seat back. It took a while to do so, but with the toyota I find that with the lever I almost lay the seat all the way back when trying to adjust, and it's more difficult to find that perfect spot.

Anyone else agree?

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

As to the comfort of the Prius seats (or more correctly, lack of comfort) - that is probably the number 1 reason why I went for the TCH instead. I couldn't sit in the Prius for more than a few minutes without my back getting sore. I had just come out of another car (2002 Saturn SL2) that also had uncomfortable seats, and I wasn't willing to continue down that path. I don't regret my decision. I can drive my Camry for 5 hours solid with no discomfort - it's astounding, really. I've put 19,000 Km on it now, and still no perceptable problems with the seats. Even my wife doesn't complain - and on all previous cars she couldn't sit still for more than an hour. If the Prius had seats like the TCH, I would have bought a Prius.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Prius seats definitely need to be tested out by the driver as long as possible. I was planning to get a Prius for my next car and was very disappointed, after extensively testing the Prius from various dealerships and renting one for two days from Fox Rentals, that it was not going to work for my achy back. I tried various back pillows and couldn't find one that worked for me. :(

I was leaving the dealership feeling frustrated because I was going to have to start car searching all over again when the guy asked me if I had tried the Camry. I hadn't because it was more than the Prius. I figured what the heck and I am SOOOO glad that I did. My back felt comfy right away despite my next stop being the chiropractor! I know have almost 8k on my TCH. A friend with a bad back recommended the TCH as well, so
please add our two recommendations to Randy's!

Okay, yes I know this is a Prius thread. My husband got the Prius two months after we bought the TCH. We use his car for trips for under an hour if we both go and that works out for us. Or if we need to haul home an 8 foot Christmas tree! ;)

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

OH, well. I drove my '06 all summer across the country. I've really got a bad back, thinking even about surgery. So perhaps no seat will work, although the '99 GMC truck had an adjustable seat.

But back to the Prius and me. I found I had to get out of the car about every hour or so, or I could not walk any distance at all when I reached my destination after 6 hours or so behind the wheel.

I certainly would want a seat with a lumbar pad of some sort, something my '95 SL Saturn had and the GMC truck.

If I could, I'd replace the Prius with some other seat - if I knew what to look for. The Camry seat?

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Somewhere in the GH database are threads with the info about the shop in Berkeley (not too far from LB!) that does custom seats for a Prius. And also a thread explaining why the Camry seat doesn't work in the Prius for reasons that IIRC are possibly design related??

On a side note, check out some of the non-Western ways to treat dis-ease before trying surgery. I visit a chiropractor regularly, massage once a month, watchingmy intake of sugar and caffeine, and drinking lots of water have all made enough of a difference for me that I didn't have to have the surgery that a surgeon recommended for me 20 years ago.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

CA girl, don't know if that's Calif. or Canada. In any case, it's about 300 miles from LB to Berkeley. So, but that's good to know thanks.

Mostly what I do is ride 150-500 miles/week on a bicycle. I found a great massage in Rhinelander, Wi. But that's around 2000 miles. I stay hydrated. Hard to ride any distance unless I am, but usually it's Gatorade.

I did find physical therapy and a new improved way of getting out of bed has helped.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

A couple of you alluded to custom seats that can be installed. But I didn't see anything more specific. I do live near Berkeley, if you're talking about California. Do any of you know of a source for custom seats for the Prius?

BTW, I just bought my brand new Prius yesterday. I installed a couple of cushions today. Make that three cushions! But most of the seat bottom cushions put my head into the ceiling, and I'm just 5'6”.

I think I've got good support now for the lumbar spine, but can imagine that the angle of the seat is going to get old. I'm used to a car with total power seats with lots of adjustment, so I could just change it when one position got tiring.

I have a long history with back pain and car seats. And the dealer has a 3-day 300 mile money-back offer, so I've got to decide if this will work for me. It would be great to know how to get more information about custom seats.

Thank you!

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I thought I would have to crawl after driving the Prius for 6 hours. I found the solution (tho not perfect) is to break every 2 hrs or so, and get the seat all the way back.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Back problems are pretty much like Tolstoy's description of the difference between happy and unhappy families. Different from each other (neither a quote nor a paraphrase, but I think a segue).

Last year on long drives I found I could barely walk at the end. This year I set my front seat all the way back (I'm around 5'6'') and that seems to have solved my problem.

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Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Hi, I am 71 & have had back surgery & have driven toyotas for25 years. Purchased a 2007 Prius in May of 2007. I live in Minnesota, drove to colo. the last of feb. A total of 2,732 miles. Averaged 45 miles per gal for the complete trip. 61 gal of gas. I find the seat very comfortable for me. I am 6 ft tall. My wife had a new hip & both knees replaced in April of 2007. She was very apprenhensive about this trip. It went well. Have no complaints about the seats. Very good on the back.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

You might check with the car rental companies. More and more of them have hybrids available and a couple of days of rental could answer the question.

Bob Wilson

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Bob's advice is good. However, even before you spend money on the rental, try pushing your seat in your present ride all the way back. That will at least get you started towards a solution. Mine doesn't cost you anything.

As I've stated in earlier postings on this matter I found getting my seat all the way back worked. In fact, it's a good thing the car has cruise control as I can just about reach the gas pedal (though easily hit the brake). Six hours driving that way and I was still able to get out of the Prius and go for a walk.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I purchased a 2008 with package # 6 on April 24th the next day at work I touched base with the other 6 Prius owners and the all said the same thing that their backs hurt after a 2 to 3 hour drive. On the 25th I started my vacation to Myrtle Beach from Maryland and after the 6 hour drive my wife and I were just about crippled . We are both 64 years old. I traded a 2007 Camry Se v6 which you can ride in all day long with no problems.Average mileage 22mpg overall.. But I still love my Prius and the 48 to 53 MPG it gave us on the round trip. Now we stop at the states visitors centers and walk around to get the kinks out. Can't wait for the 09's there may be a second one in our future. Sgt Tip

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

Exactly my experience when I drove from my home into the Mid-West last summer. I couldn't walk after 5 hrs. Even walking around every couple of hours didn't help much. This year with my seat all the way back, I was covering 400+ miles (easily 6 hours). I was able to get out of the Prius and go for a walk.

Oh, if you can, use your arms to help you get up.

Yep. I've even contemplated surgery.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

I test drove the Prius prior to buying my Camry Hybrid. The seats were a major factor in the decision.

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

It's been 3 years now since I've owned my 2005 Prius. Bought it new as a replacement for a Passat (complete lemon of a car). Completely satisfied that I've made the right choice in buying the car (excellent MPG at around 50 mpg and totally cool technology)...but it has 2 major design flaws: (1) blind spot on the right rear and (2) terrible driver's seats. I can live with (1) because I'm a careful driver (ALWAYS look back at right rear side before switching lanes)...but (2) is becoming unbearable, esp. after 1 hour driving on CA's bumpy, bad roads.

I put in 500 miles per week commuting between the Central Valley (Sacramento) and San Francisco, and my back is really suffering from the drive...after 1 hour, my back is really uncomfortable. I knew when I bought this car that the seats did not get favorable reviews, but now I'm totally "feeling the pain." It's tolerable, nagging pain but completely annoying & uncomfortable after a long drive. Spoke with Toyota shop and they were not able to offer any real solutions. I drove a 2008 Prius lately as a rental and the driver seats are no better.

Questions: (a) Has anyone been successful in alleviating their back problems when sitting on a Prius? (I've seen a physical therapist so I don't live with back pain...except when after I've driven the Prius long-distance.) (b) Any ideas if future Prius will have a "luxury" edition? (c) Is there anything that can be done with the shock-absorbers or suspension system that can alleviate this problem?

Many thanks.

Pat

Re: Prius seats and bad backs?
 

If you haven't tried pushing your seat all the way back (or far enough back to stretch out your legs), give that a try. Somewhere in this thread someone did suggest a seat builder in your area.

Prius Seats Cause Sciatica, Kidney Pain, Back Pain, Neck Pain...Let's Sue.
 

I have spoken with several Prius drivers who state that they thought the back pain was just them not sitting correctly, but after hearing that there are several complaints about the zero lumbar support, zero cushioning, limited height customization...we need to get together and formally file a law suit against Prius for literally causing drivers mild to severe back pain. In one instance, a close friend of mine had bouts of sciatica....she has owned Priuses since 2006 and trades in for newer versions. The pain was so excruciating that it brought her to tears when she arrived at a restaurant we were to meet at. Another friend who was meeting us as well, had to carefully maneuver her while in the drivers seat, so that he could pick her up and carry her out of the Prius. If you look at the design of the seat carefully, you will notice that the seat is Concave. This causes the small of the back to bulge outward rather than retain its normal curve, this affects the sacrum where all of the lower leg nerves, etc. gather so it is a critical point on the body where the Prius seats, the way they are designed places all the pressure on that area. Prius either needs to offer replacements that are ergonomically correct (supporting the posture) or pay us our money back for the cars so we can purchase other cars and they should trash 2004 to 2018 cars and start from scratch. They must have designed the seats so that during a crash, the body goes concave, inward upon impact from the front...their seat being concave supports the body "while it is in impact mode"...they do this to get higher safety ratings to sell more cars....higher safety ratings=more sales. But, the driver is mostly sitting in the seat, not getting into high impact accidents. So they need to redesign the seats so they are supportive of the natural curvature of the spine. In addition, the curvature places weight not only on the sacrum area but the kidney area as well...so some drivers may find themselves having to urinate more often than usual....it's because of the design of the seat. Okay, lets get together and sign a petition to have our seats either recalled and replaced or $25,000 to $40,000 each so we can get cars that will not destroy our postures, our backs, our kidneys, our necks, our legs.