bluedurama

Loving my new to me GX470. However shocked to realize that front passenger seat does not adjust up or down. Wife has missed this feature that all of our previous cars have had.

I have read other threads on the subject and was wondering if someone could not modify a drivers side seat mechanism to work on the drivers side. I am aware of the GPS disk etc. Any one taken this project on and been successful?

bluedurama

Sorry, mean't to change a drivers side mechanism to PASSENGER side. Dumb mistake.

bluedurama

Looking under both front seats I see radio/gps equipment. So I am thinking that a drivers seat mechanism would have enough clearance. Of course getting the controls on the other side could be difficult. If I can get my hands on a drivers mechanism I am going to try to get it converted to the passenger side. I am assuming that all the other cars in this class (Toyota) also do not have an up and down adjustment on the passenger seat.

Any wisdom appreciated.

BlackCat81

It's not just the mechanism that would have to be changed, you'd have to modify the body harness as well, since the seat harness connector would be different from side to side. Also, you'd need to follow the wiring diagram and see what controls it. If it runs through the BCM you're sort of SOL, since the BCM isn't programmed to understand inputs is not programmed with.

bluedurama

You are right but I was hopeing the up and down mechanism would work with just an extra tap into a hot source. I can modify around the harness connector as needed. Probably just a dream, but I will keep my eyes open for another mechanism and if I get one I will give it a try. I see that complaints about this seat has been on the forum for years so I am surprised someone has not successfully solved it. Thanks for the input.

BlackCat81

I guess if you find a seat frame for cheap it's worth a shot.

co4wheel

I would think you just get a 8 way seat from the drivers side and see if you can swap the backrest or just the base. I am thinking it would probably work. Feeling optimistic this morning.

chiph9

Don't forget that the passenger seat has the airbag on the other side from the driver's side.

Chip H.

co4wheel

Yeah, that and the armrest. So you need to just use the seat base. I would try and get the set of fronts. Extra cushion to use from the passenger side perhaps on the drivers side. Worth a try.

bluedurama

I took the passenger front seat apart today and could see that raising the cushion was a complicated process if even possible. So I got longer bolts (10M X 1.25 pitch) raised the front at the floor about 3/4 inch. A preliminary report from the wife indicates a probable solution has been found.

co4wheel

I feel the same. The Passenger front is too low in the front.

LoneHiker

Funny to find this thread, I was just going to do this myself. My wife says whenever we go downhill she's hanging by her seat belt because the front of the passenger seat isn't angled back at all to prevent sliding.

Thanks for the tip on the longer bolts.

bluedurama

You are welcome for the tip. There have been several complaints about the passenger seat on the forum. I am surprised someone has not come up with a solution, possibly better than raising the front before this. I am still keeping my eyes open for some seat mechanisms I can experiment with.

co4wheel

I did the same thing to my Infinti G35 a while back. I would recommend loosening all 4 bolts before trying to start the two raised bolts. Otherwise they could bind and you could strip out a thread you do NOT want to strip out.

bluedurama

Yes, I did this. The bolts are covered by a plastic cover that is easy to remove. I actually had the seat laying on its back so I could examine the mechanism. The seat now sits a bit above the floor in front but really not noticeable.