Four problems related to front seat head restraint have been reported for the 2013 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was stopped in traffic when a box truck drove into my car, pushing it into the car infront of me, over a curb, and then off the road. There was severe damage to each side of my car; including the crumpled backend. The divers seat gave out and fell backwards somehow causing the headrest to twist off leaving the leg of it bent towards by my head. There was no airbag deployment in the accident. The significant damage to the car deemed it totaled. How is it that there was seat, headrest, and airbag failure?.
The head restraints push my head uncomfortably and dangerously forward. This makes driving a literal pain in the neck. It also limits my ability to see straight in front of me out the windshield (because my head is forced foreward and down) and it severly limits my ability to turn my head to see behind my vehicle or to the sides of the car. Nhtsa has made a horrible, horrible "safety" law and Toyota and other manufactures have implemented it in the worst way possible. Not all drivers are bald, 6-foot-tall males. The manufactures and the NHTSA need to consider shorter drivers and drivers with hair (hair styled in buns, ponytails, braids, french twists, etc. Can effect the overall diameter of the head) before insisting that the head restraints lean ridiculously and dangerously foreward.
After buying a new 2013 Toyota Prius I noticed that the drivers headrest would work its way up to the highest position at any speed, not just the speed listed at the time of incident. Making the a potentially fatal design flaw, I am concerned that in a front or rear end collision this defect could either snap, break or increase the possibility of excessive injury to my neck. I took the car back the the dealer ship and was told that there was nothing that could be done about it. The service manager (robert) it was a design flaw. I have owned a 2008 Prius with no problem, my wife's 2010 Prius has no such problem either. I am wanting this documented so that if I am involved with the above mentioned accident type that something may be done about this. I am constantly having to release the locking latch and push the headrest back down. This occurs on average 5 to 10 times in an hour drive or less.
I would like to register a major complaint about the design of the headrest. It pushes my head forward at such an angle that it is impossible to sit comfortably in the seat. In order to hold my head up straight I must tilt the seat back beyond what is safe or desirable for driving and even that is not completely satisfactory for the angle of my head. Please require car manufacturers to provide adjustable or alternative headrests which can accommodate different drivers more safely. If ntsb is requiring the current design, they've made a big mistake.
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