Driver's Seat Off Center? Normal?

[lojack323]

My driver's seat feels like it's a few degrees off center and facing slightly towards the left instead of straight on towards the steering wheel. Is this normal?

Story:

I was rear ended on the freeway about a week ago and just got my 4Runner back this weekend. It wasn't a horrible accident... guy fell asleep and caused a multi-car and I was the last one hit.

Saturday when I got into the driver's seat I noticed the position had been adjusted for the post-work detailing job the body shop did. When I set everything back to my liking now it feels like the driver's seat is angled a few degrees towards the left instead of straight on. I can't remember if this is normal (maybe a week in a rental got me screwy lol).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dillusion]

Its probably the fact someone touched your seat.

Once someone touches mine I can never get it the way i had it.

 

[meder24]

Does the seat slide freely when you adjust it via the controls? If there is any resistance, maybe something in the seat track was damaged during the accident.
It is unlikely, but you could also contact the repair shop and see if they had to remove or loosen the seat for any reason. If so, maybe they didn't put everything back accordingly.

 

[carlodonz]

This! Same here, so annoying lol. I wish there was a way to save the seat settings.

 

[<<<<]

It is not normal to have an angle against steering wheel. Your airbag should deploy square against you and not sideways, not even at slight angle. Check your seat mounts and tracks for damage or malfunction. G.L.

 

[Teamoatmealpie]

Phil says its off kilter too. All jokes aside, get that looked at. Maybe run to a diff body shop to just have them take a look or compare to a diff 4runner.


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[Aspen Thicket]

Sounds not normal.

 

[lojack323]

Does the seat slide freely when you adjust it via the controls? If there is any resistance, maybe something in the seat track was damaged during the accident.
It is unlikely, but you could also contact the repair shop and see if they had to remove or loosen the seat for any reason. If so, maybe they didn't put everything back accordingly.

Funny enough it actually slides smoother than before I took it in. There was an area of the track that always felt rough when it would slide through it and now it's gone. I also had an occasional "seat pop" for lack of a better term near the lumbar area that I haven't felt/heard since getting it back. The steering wheel was also pushed all the way in and up so I'm not sure what they were doing unless it was for the complimentary cleaning... I didn't see any work/labor mentioned in the paperwork about having to mess with the seat but I'll give them a call later today.

Its probably the fact someone touched your seat.

Once someone touches mine I can never get it the way i had it.

Lol, I hear what you mean but it's definitely not the seat adjustments.

It is not normal to have an angle against steering wheel. Your airbag should deploy square against you and not sideways, not even at slight angle. Check your seat mounts and tracks for damage or malfunction. G.L.

Will do, thanks.

 

[lojack323]

Phil says its off kilter too. All jokes aside, get that looked at. Maybe run to a diff body shop to just have them take a look or compare to a diff 4runner.


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I was thinking of taking it to a dealership for a second opinion on a separate issue related to the accident.

The tailgate is slightly to the left now, we're talking millimeters but you can tell once once you see it and it stands out. I brought it to the attention to the shop and I assumed it was because the latch on the bumper area was crooked from the accident. Now I know it's the tailgate and not the latch since that's fixed. They didn't seem to think it was an issue other than me being OCD (which admittedly I am when it comes to things like this lol). But I'm more concerned with it not making a proper seal when it rains.

 

[rsimi72]

Its probably the fact someone touched your seat.

Once someone touches mine I can never get it the way i had it.

So true!

 

[Big_Cuss]

Truthfully, the dash gauge cluster anshould be slightly off-centered, but to the right (for a left hand drive).

I noticed this on my Miata back in the day, and now my 4runner. My guess is that being aimed a couple degrees toward center makes a driver feel more like they're in the middle of the car. You can tell if you look very closely at the gauge cluster. The left side is further away by a few mm compared to the right.

Not sure if the driver's seat would match that, but either way, it'd be aimed more right, not left, so somethign def seems messed up with your car.

 

[lojack323]

So I spoke too soon since my last post. The driver's seat started to creak pretty much after posting. It's so bad that left and right turns or breaking will make it creak like something is loose. The plastic trim piece that goes around the base of the seat and houses the adjustment controls is also loose and slides up and down.

I called the body shop and they denied having to remove the seat. I mentioned that the steering wheel was pushed in all the way into the dash and the seat being adjusted all the way down and back. They said that maybe the detailer was "too big" to fit.

Does this seem like something that would be the result of getting rear ended or someone at the body shop?

This is the first accident I've been in the driver's seat for. Would insurance typically cover any charges if I take it to a dealership now for inspection? I left a voicemail for my insurance claims guy earlier this week and sent him an email but haven't received a reply yet. I'm not really sure how to proceed at this point... kind of feels like I'm getting jerked around by both the body shop and insurance lol.

 

[lojack323]

Slight update. I did a lot of consuling with Professor Google and it seems like the seat issues are coming from the rails and just happened to be a coincidence that it started when I got the 4Runner back. Sliding the seat a little forward fixes a lot of the issues and it feels solid vs loose. Just slightly uncomfortable since I like it extended all the way back but I'll have the dealership take a look at it (seems like some people had luck getting it fixed/replaced, others not).

Thanks for all that chimed in.