Adjustable head rest for gen 3

[thrope]

Hi,

I have a 2013 gen 3 prius. I have always found the seats uncomfortable, but have developed a back problem and have now got some gel cushions and lumbar support to try to get a more comfortable and upright driving position.

But something I can't understand is the headrests which point forwards causing my head to tilt forward off vertical and putting strain in my neck. I have read about how these are a safety feature that are designed around a test dummy with the seat at a large recline angle and an unrealisitc and unhealthy curve in the thorasic spine. But the issue is what can I do in my car now.

1/ I know some cars come with headrests where the angle is adjustable. Does anyone know if any of these would fit in a prius? (ie from a different Toyota or lexus model)?

I've seen two other options.

2/ Turning the headrest round, this removes the problem but I understand is less good for safety because you don't get the head support in case of a read end collision.

3/ Bend the legs of the existing headrest with force (using a long steel pipe to leverage) to adjust to a sensible angle for your seating position (ie within a cm of the back of the head when sitting upright).

I wondered if anyone had any experience with any of these, or comments on this problem in general?

If I can't find anything for 1/ (I will also ask the Toyota garage) I was thinking I would buy a used headrest on eBay and try 3/.

 

Thanks

Robin

[TonyHSD]

Hi Robin,

I am surprised that Prius seats are uncomfortable for you, perhaps from all Toyotas I find them one of the better ones. For the head rest you have only one option; to adjust height as required. Any other modifications or alterations will compromise your safety in an event of accident., the worst is to turn the headrest around. Headrest rails have a couple of pre set positions, start with one step up and try all possible settings to see which one suite you the most. You car should have  lumbar support, you may want to try that too and re adjust the entire driving seat position. Try lower seat base with greater back rest angle . 

Good luck 👍

[thrope]

Thanks, I'm amazed anyone could find them comfortable actually. I've found them terrible from the start, and actually I attribute my slipped disc and resulting sciatica to spending more time in the car. It seems that they have been designed around forcing the complete opposite of every sensible ergonomic principle, and force you in the worst possible slouched position.

I understand the headrest leaning forward is from a completely mistaken safety issue where the test dummy has a huge bend in the thoracis spine (seat reclined, but upper body upright, and headrests set for this literally inhuman position).

Another issue I have is that the steering wheel doesn't come out far enough. I am 6 foot and if I set the seat to be comfortable for my legs the steering wheel is too far away. The back of the chair seems to be curved to force a slouched position, and then the headrest accentuates this by forcing the head and nech forward. I'm trying a variety of cushions now but strugglign to find something that works.

I may have to turn the head rest around again (I tried this before). The point is the headrest should be adjustable to be 1cm away or touching the head *when in a comfortable and ergonomic seated position*. Having it projected forward like this doesn't make sense to me. I saw you tube videos of bending the rails to get it to a more sensible position so I might try this. If I adjust this to have it correctly positioned for an ergonomic seating position I don't think this would compromise safety. I just wondered if it would be possible to get a more adjustable headrest from a different vehicle to avoid changing it by force.

Height adjustment is completely insufficient as well. Doesn't really help (to get it to where it would fit my head it hits the roof of the car).