terrible driving position

[William-w]

Hi Continue to drive my new vibe in the second week. I feel that the driving position is bad. I am 1.78Meter, If I want my legs comfrotable, I am too far away from the steering wheel. If I want my shoulder and arm comfrotable, my legs feel terrible. This car is more suitable for ladies or short guy. If a tall guy drives this car 400 Km, it will become painfull. If this design comes from Janpanese model, maybe it is designed for Japannese height standard in driving position. If I still fail in adjusting distance, I will never drive it in long distance. Fuel efficency is better than my old dodge neon 2.0 L, but driving position is worse than neon. Anyboy run into this kind of problem with this car?

[scherry2]

I'm 6.0 ft and i don't seem to have a problem even on long distances. its alot better than my old cavalier. be prepared for some replys there seems to be lots of all people here another thread on this http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=11989

[William-w]

I am not familiar with inch and feet. If transfer it to be meter, what is your height?

[nismo]

umm. yeah, i'm taller then silver. i'm 6'5 . But anyways, there is a up and down knob on the side of our cars. I put my seat all the way back and all the way down. So, yeah, I love the comfort factor in this car. I drove it from my house to Deleware without any problems at all. I actually pulled the seat up a little bit.Inder

[William-w]

so high. Perhaps it is just becuase I did not find my correct driving position until now. I will try again.My height should be arond 6' from 178cm, if I am correct.

[POLO]

I'm like 1.90m and i'm very confortable,i'm ok to drive to the moon

[MadBill]

178 cm. is 5' 10.07"BTW, most advanced driving schools preach an upright seating position that leaves your elbows bent almost at a right angle, with your hands on the wheel at 10:00 & 2:00 (or sometimes 9:00 & 3:00 with airbags) o'clock and close enough to place your foot flat on the floor under the brake pedal. For many people, this is closer than they are used to and feels awkward at first, but it give you much better leverage on the wheel and better modulation of the brake force. Try it for a week and you won't go back!

[kostby]

I'm 182.88 cm (6 feet, 0 inches)Sometimes it's not your overall height, but what proportion of your height is in your torso, upper legs, lower legs, and how big your feet are. I have long legs and wear size-12 shoes.One of the reasons I shied away from Toyota (rear wheel drive Corollas and Celicas) years ago was because I couldn't find a comfortable position behind the wheel in anything but the pickup truck. I haven't had a problem finding a comfortable driving position in the Vibe, even before I used the driver's seat height adjustment knob. I will admit that I don't often use the dead pedal on the left side, though. With an automatic transmission, it's usually more comfortable for me to put my foot on the floor. (That may have something to do with a severe ankle sprain I had about two years ago-- my ankle just doesn't bend into some positions as well as it used to!)

[ScottS]

Quote, originally posted by MadBill »178 cm. is 5' 10.07"BTW, most advanced driving schools preach an upright seating position that leaves your elbows bent almost at a right angle, with your hands on the wheel at 10:00 & 2:00 I would have to say that I find myself sitting very upright in my vibe, but I always seem to sit that way when I drive a stick shift. Sitting like this makes it way easier to "shuffle" the wheel too (instead of going hand over hand). BTW I am 6'2".

[joatmon]

When I first got mine, I had an occaisional leg cramp from the difference in position from what I used to drive, but I don't have any problems now. I say give yourself some more time and you'll get used to it. 1.9m

[kep427]

Quote, originally posted by William-w »Hi Continue to drive my new vibe in the second week. I feel that the driving position is bad. I am 1.78Meter, If I want my legs comfrotable, I am too far away from the steering wheel. If I want my shoulder and arm comfrotable, my legs feel terrible. This car is more suitable for ladies or short guy. If a tall guy drives this car 400 Km, it will become painfull. If this design comes from Janpanese model, maybe it is designed for Japannese height standard in driving position. If I still fail in adjusting distance, I will never drive it in long distance. Fuel efficency is better than my old dodge neon 2.0 L, but driving position is worse than neon. Anyboy run into this kind of problem with this car?You are not alone in this William-wI'm 5' 11" and find that I need to keep the seat far from the steering wheel so my legs aren't cramped. Hate having to "reach" for the steering wheel. This is the same problem I've had with other smaller cars.However, this the only real downside I noticed when I selected a Vibe. Lots of other good features overode this concern for me although I can see it becoming a real problem for those taller than me.

[goodvibe]

I find that the seat front up a bit and wheel all the way down works pretty well. 6'

[William-w]

good, Now I also find this position is good for me. we are the same size and shape, perhaps.

[vibe-04]

Hey William,Andrew from Ottawa and I'm 6-2 with the same problem. My right leg feels slightly off..kinda bent in the wrong way..just a little. On long drives I'll remove my right shoe and the floor mats to get more comfortable. Here's some things I'm looking into but haven't done yet (in order):1) Raise the front of your seat but leave the back as is. This will arc the seat while leaving it down and as far back as posible. Check out the link. http://home.comcast.net/~vibeowner/seats.htm (The link is from joatmon or Ragingfish ??)2) I'm thinking of notching one more hole in the seat track to give me about a centimetre (that's about 3/8 of an inch) of rear travel. Drill and dremmel should do it.3) If the above doesn't work, I'm going to a machine shop in Bells Corners and will get new anchor brackets made. Front and back 1/8" metal strips that will connect both left and right anchor points together so that it will have zero lateral travel. They would need to be one piece or else the seat would swing in an accident. I'll move it back about 1 1/2" so then I can use the seat track forward if I have to. I want to make my Vibe a perfect fit. Any thoughts are welcome!A

[AzFusionGT]

As was said, there's always an adjustment period in a new car. It took me a few weeks to get completely comfortable in my Vibe. The overall seating position is higher than I was used to, coming from an '01 Saturn SL2, but now I really like the feel. BTW - I am 6'2" and have a few extra pounds around my middle.

[MJN2]

I'm 6'3" (1.9m) tall, and due to how long my legs are (35in./89cm inseam pants), I have to have the seat all the way back, with the back reclined quite a bit, plus a couple of other little tweaks. Took awhile to get it *just* right, but I'm very comfortable on long trips. I've made a couple of trips up to the Toronto area w/my Vibe with no problems (other than a sore backside from sitting so long).Just keep messing around with the seat until you find a position you like. Just don't let anyone change it once you get it figured out lol.

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by MJN2 »(other than a sore backside from sitting so long).i'm a 'firm' believer of taking my wallet out of my back pocket while driving...especially on longer rides. It solved a horrible problem i had with my lower back!

[sensfanrk]

I'm 6'1", and I had the same problem with the seat. I found that my legs were ok, but my arms were stretched too much. I finally found my 'spot' but I'd still like to be closer to the wheel. When i lifted the seat up a bit, it seemed to move slightly closer to the wheel. What would be the ultimate fix would be a telescopic steering wheel along with the tilt. Anyone from GM listening?? lol.

[rubberman]

I am 6 2' and i have no problems the seats are great

[tecton]

im 6'9i have my seat all the way back, and reclined just a tad.....my right leg brushes the shifter platform...but its perfect...my shoulder is right beside the bpillari love the fit personallydriven for hours, very comfy seats

[tnpartsguy]

Quote, originally posted by MJN2 »I'm 6'3" (1.9m) tall, and due to how long my legs are (35in./89cm inseam pants), I have to have the seat all the way back, with the back reclined quite a bit, plus a couple of other little tweaks. Took awhile to get it *just* right, but I'm very comfortable on long trips. I've made a couple of trips up to the Toronto area w/my Vibe with no problems (other than a sore backside from sitting so long).Just keep messing around with the seat until you find a position you like. Just don't let anyone change it once you get it figured out lol.I'm exactly your height, but I bet a weigh more, 300 lbs. My Vibe's previous owner was a home health care nurse (44K mile in under 2 yrs!!) and the seat cushion has a spot in it that just doesn't have ANY padding left, so I've ordered a new pad. I too want one more notch of back slide, but I had to lower the seat almost all the way to get comfortable. While I have the seat aparts, I'm going to add some extra padding the the rails on eash side of the seat (pipe insulation should work)

[ALi3N]

about 192cm (6'4") and i have never had a problem. I made a 5000 mile trek across the US in my GT and was never uncomfortable.

[joholste]

dang we gots some talll peoples in here, i'm 5-10 and feeling short, ha ha but i haven't had a problem with my leg room on long drives, what i have the most problem with is getting a comfortable position to rest my elbow,it always gets sore on my trip home, from nc to kansas city MO which is a 1100 mile trip