Change Prius seat

jk0

My girlfriend drives for Uber in her 2012 Prius, but it kills her back. She has to go to the Chiropractor every week.


I'm wondering if it's possible to change the seat to a more supportive one. Someone here: https://priuschat.com/threads/upgrade-replace-prius-seats-desperate.176828/ suggested a Lexus seat, but those seem to have electric controls, which I doubt would work in the Prius.


Any thoughts?

greyteam1959

Surely there would be safety / legal / insurance problems with changing a car seat for non original equipment one ??
Have you tried looking or sitting in a brand new 2012 Prius seat ??
Maybe her old one in completely knackered................

AdrianC

greyteam1959 wrote: »

Surely there would be safety / legal / insurance problems with changing a car seat for non original equipment one ??

No, why? Obviously, it would need to be declared to the insurer as a modification, but that's it.

OP - given airbaggage etc, it's nowhere near as straightforward as it would have been. Surely it would make more sense to just buy a different car for her minicab work? There's plenty of other hybrids around, if that's something that's particularly important or relevant to her. Although I'd have thought she'd get considerably better fuel economy from a diesel, given my experiences of real-world use of Toyota hybrids.

DUTR

AdrianC wrote: »

No, why? Obviously, it would need to be declared to the insurer as a modification, but that's it.

OP - given airbaggage etc, it's nowhere near as straightforward as it would have been. Surely it would make more sense to just buy a different car for her minicab work? There's plenty of other hybrids around, if that's something that's particularly important or relevant to her. Although I'd have thought she'd get considerably better fuel economy from a diesel, given my experiences of real-world use of Toyota hybrids.

If there are any savings in mpg, it may get zapped up and some by CAZ charges depending on locality.

jk0

Thanks. Oh, I did not think of insurance or airbags. Maybe that's why I'm finding it hard to find anything.

AdrianC

DUTR wrote: »

If there are any savings in mpg, it may get zapped up and some by CAZ charges depending on locality.

A 2012 Prius is exempt from the London ULEZ, even come 2021 when it moves out to the circulars. It's not exempt from the London congestion charge currently.

So no different to a Euro6 diesel.

Other cities might differ, but London is certainly the main one for charging.

jk0 wrote: »

Thanks. Oh, I did not think of insurance or airbags. Maybe that's why I'm finding it hard to find anything.

In terms of basic physical fitment, which is the only other factor, it's not at all hard. You might need to make some brackets to adapt whatever seat to the car's mounts, but they're straightforward for anybody with even a modicum of fabrication capability.

unforeseen

AdrianC wrote: »

A 2012 Prius is exempt from the London ULEZ, even come 2021 when it moves out to the circulars. It's not exempt from the London congestion charge currently.

So no different to a Euro6 diesel.

Other cities might differ, but London is certainly the main one for charging.


In terms of basic physical fitment, which is the only other factor, it's not at all hard. You might need to make some brackets to adapt whatever seat to the car's mounts, but they're straightforward for anybody with even a modicum of fabrication capability.

In other words, it needs to be a bodge job that will probably be not as safe or strong as it should be.

AdrianC

unforeseen wrote: »

In other words, it needs to be a bodge job that will probably be not as safe or strong as it should be.

No, not at all. It can be just as strong as the original, without any difficulty at all.

There are plenty of seat brackets available off-the-shelf.
https://www.andysautosport.com/seat_bracket/toyota_prius.html

This video shows how to fit them, and shows what the factory mounts are made of - just simple pressed steel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv1QaCdRURA

Why would aftermarket mounts necessarily be less strong?

wgl2014

Before changing the seat (or car), has your partner experimented with her seat adjustment? There's more to it than many people realise.....

Guide here: https://www.csp.org.uk/publications/drive-clear-pain

You can also get lumbar supports or seat covers that may offer some additional comfort.

Finally don't forget the importance of stretching and moving about regularly either in or out of the car.

unforeseen

AdrianC wrote: »

No, not at all. It can be just as strong as the original, without any difficulty at all.

There are plenty of seat brackets available off-the-shelf.
https://www.andysautosport.com/seat_bracket/toyota_prius.html

This video shows how to fit them, and shows what the factory mounts are made of - just simple pressed steel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv1QaCdRURA

Why would aftermarket mounts necessarily be less strong?

I wasn't talking about after market fits but your comment of

adapt whatever seat to the car's mounts, but they're straightforward for anybody with even a modicum of fabrication capability

Which implies a home made or back street bodge job. You don't need a 'modicum of fabrication capability' to fit after market. The whole idea being that they adapt and modify what is already present without needing those skills.

AdrianC

unforeseen wrote: »

Which implies a home made or back street bodge job.

No, it doesn't.

No such implication was present. You may infer it - but you would be wrong to do so.