The seats on my Gen III Prius have been KILLING my lower back! It's been my biggest car problem by far. I think I've found the cause of the problem: It's the headrest. I bought a lumbar support pad a few weeks ago. It made the problem worse! I realized that the headrest actually tilts forward. Take a look for yourself: It tilts your head forward, so your shoulders cannot touch the seatback. So I ditched the lumbar support and removed the headrest. Now, my shoulders comfortably rest against the seat and my lower back is much more comfortable. My next step, of course, is to find some headrests which will fit without tilting forward. Any suggestions? [EDIT] Following the advice in this thread, I put my headrests back in, but backwards. This works so well that I wonder if they were supposed to be that way to begin with.
Just my 2 cents: leave the headrest installed, and see a doc. I've had back problems off and on, but I don't think there's anything specific in Prius seats making matters worse. And yeah if you for example get rear ended without the headrest, not good.
To echo Mendel Leisk's comment above, just be aware that the headrests are active, apparently, to protect against whiplash.
I can not in good conscious ever recommend anyone drive without headrests. It's a safety issue. So, I have to say, it's a "solution" that isn't a solution. not worth the risk of injury.
I've never had any issue with my seats hurting my back. Perhaps repositioning the seat might help. Maybe recline it more, or...?
Lots of people reported back problems with the Prius seats. It's very common on PC. I'll try putting them in backwards; I don't know if that will work. Maybe they've been backwards since I got the car
The headrest is adjustable, try putting it all the way up to it's highest setting. The contour of the headrest is different, according to the height you set it.
Wife turned her's around first day, been that way ever since. All the way down, so the protection is still there, but the lean forward is not. She had the same complaint.
if you get rear ended without your headrest installed, there's a high likelihood you'll break your neck//// just saying....
Ok, I put my headrest back in, backwards. Makes a huuuuge difference. Thanks everybody for all the help.
I found the headrest tilting forward to be a bit of a pain, but ultimately, it came down to setting the tilt of the back of the seat correctly. When done right, it lets the head rest level, looking forward. Have it too far forward or back and it's not comfortable.
And just to be the stinker in the group, I've never found the Prius seats to be uncomfortable. Drove about 700 km (most of the day) with no problems. And yes, the headrests are "active". They tilt forward when the car is hit to reduce the "whiplash" effect. It's good to keep your brain from sloshing around in your skull.
@Rebound Sometimes when a question is posed there's some vital info not divulged. You're not for example, commuting 500 miles daily, lol? Anyway, if you're having significant pain, say to where it's hard to get out of the car, get it checked out, see the doc.
Nothing like that. People have complained about Prius Gen III seat discomfort since 2010. It's nothing new. You can search and find lots of threads about it, and others mentioned reversing the headrest.
I agree. However, over the years I've read enough posts and complaints that I realize that for a lot of people The Prius seats just are uncomfortable and problematic. I suspect I'm still in the majority, in the acceptability of Prius seats, BUT...I actually consider myself lucky. Whether they are comfortable to you may have to do with a LOT of personal factors. Height, weight, and even condition of your back and spine. I'm with you, that they are fine to me. I realize they aren't fine to many. I think in an effort to reduce weight, and maybe cynically also cost, Toyota doesn't make The Prius seats the most comfortable possible. Hopefully maybe they are paying attention to these complaints. While I have no problem, I'm conversely not against improvement.
