Crooked front seats

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I've recently noticed quite a few older American vehicles in which the front driver & passenger seats are crooked, like slanted "cock-eyed" :confused: Does this happen from crashes or from obesity or...?
 
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southpawboston

New member
yes. it happens from both, but probably more often from obesity. in fact older asian cars from the 70s weren't designed with larger european and american men in mind, and our 1974 civic's driver's seat did just that... one half of the seat gave in a bit, causing a sort of twisted recline. my dad, the primary driver, was only about 200lb.
 

mommycat

Well-known member
yes. it happens from both, but probably more often from obesity. in fact older asian cars from the 70s weren't designed with larger european and american men in mind, and our 1974 civic's driver's seat did just that... one half of the seat gave in a bit, causing a sort of twisted recline. my dad, the primary driver, was only about 200lb.

Our Corsica had the seats do this, but it was never in a crash and the largest driver, my dad, can't have been over 180lb, so I wonder whether this really is the cause. If so, then I guess they just weren't designed for regular wear and tear. :confused:
 

southpawboston

New member
true, many cars just don't handle routine wear and tear well. my dad had a bad habit of slamming the car doors (why DO people do that???!!!), and more than once the driver's door would have to get readjusted to close flush with the rest of the car.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
The boys do that with the Suburban and it drives Cam absolutely NUTS. Of course he's not to happy with me either. Last fall I parked the Jeep downhill and since the plastic housing on the door (the part you hold when opening/closing it) is falling off :rolleyes: the door slipped out of my hands and swung back hard enough and far enough to dent the fender. in my defense though, I seriously could NOT hold it - it just slipped out of my hand.
 

wondering1

New member
My brother in law had a Ford Mustang when he was younger (and single) where he broke the seat right off the car. He wasn't even that big at the time compared to obesity rates now.

Regarding slamming the door, if these people have owned older 2 door cars, the door needs a lot of force to close. Maybe they've just not adjusted to a 4-door car (even if a lot of time has passed). They may also feel that they need to do this to ensure the door is closed. If their car has a door open indicator, then their concerns could be addressed that way.

My door open indicator has burned out...
 

southpawboston

New member
Last fall I parked the Jeep downhill and since the plastic housing on the door (the part you hold when opening/closing it) is falling off :rolleyes: the door slipped out of my hands and swung back hard enough and far enough to dent the fender. in my defense though, I seriously could NOT hold it - it just slipped out of my hand.

i hear ya! this past winter i was opening the door of my mazda and a gail-force winde ripped it from my hand!! the door check even broke (that flat rod thingie that attaches to the inside of the door and to the car that keeps it from opening too far), causing the door to open to about 90 degrees. but fortunately, the hinges had a secondary "safety net" design that prevented the door from opening farther than 90 degrees, so it did not hit the fender!! i just about had a heart attack, until i noticed that no harm was done!

Regarding slamming the door, if these people have owned older 2 door cars, the door needs a lot of force to close. Maybe they've just not adjusted to a 4-door car (even if a lot of time has passed). They may also feel that they need to do this to ensure the door is closed.

this is true! those older american cars had some seriously heavy doors! but it doesn't take too much common sense to be able to realize how light today's doors are and make the mental adjustment.
 

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