Car seat

For the song by Blind Melon, see Car Seat (God's Presents).

"Driver's seat" redirects here. For the 1978 single by Sniff 'n' the Tears, see Driver's Seat.

This article is about the fixed seats installed in an automobile. For seats specially designed to protect children from injury or death in a vehicular collision, see Child safety seat.

A BMW car seat showing average construction.

A car seat is the seat used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand as much use as possible. The most common material is polyester.

Ergonomy: lumbar and thigh support

The lumbar is the region of the spine between the diaphragm and the pelvis; it supports the most weight and is the most flexible. The adjustable lumbar mechanisms in seats allow the user to change the seat back shape in this region, to make it more comfortable. Some seats are long enough to support full thigh.

Safety

Main article: Child safety seat

A child restraint system, also commonly referred to as a child safety seat or a car seat, is a restraint which is secured to the seat of an automobile equipped with safety harnesses or seat belts, to hold a child in the event of a crash.

Anti-submarine seat

This kind of seat incorporates specially shaped panels in the forward edge of the seat cushion, reducing the tendency for the occupant to slide beneath the seatbelt in a severe frontal collision. Anti-submarine seating is a safety feature which may be more important for the front seats than the rear seats.

Bucket seat and bench seat

A bucket seat is a seat with a contoured platform to accommodate one person, distinct from a bench seat which is a flat platform designed to seat up to three people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns.

Power seats

Main article: Power seat

The power seat adjustments in a Lincoln Town Car. Here the seat controls are located on the door panels, next to the memory seat controls. Above the seat settings are the memory control settings which also set the mirrors and pedals.

Some car seat systems are set up with a battery-powered automatic control to adjust how the seat sits in the car.

In suitably equipped cars, seats and mirrors can be adjusted using electric controls. Some vehicles let the driver(s) save the adjustments in memory (memory seat) for later recall, with the push of a button. Most systems allow users to store more than one set of adjustments. This allows multiple drivers to store their comfort settings, or a single driver to store several different occupant positions. Some vehicles associate memorized settings with a specifically numbered, remotely operated key fob, resetting a seat to the position associated with that fob when the vehicle is unlocked (e.g. key fob #1 sets seats to memory position #1, #2 to #2, etc.).

Seat construction

Parts

• Armrest
• Backrest, with lumbar support
• Headrest
• Seat base
• Seat track

Adjustments

• Backrest angle
• Cushion edge
• Fore-and-aft position
• Headrest angle
• Headrest level
• Lumbar position
• Seat depth
• Seat height
• The upper section of the seat backrest, may be tilted to the front for optimum, individual shoulder support
• Variable head support at the sides

Climate control and ventilation

Some vehicles includes the option of seat climate control (i.e. heating by seat warmers) and ventilation. Ventilation was introduced in 1997 by Saab and heating by Cadillac in 1966.

Backseats and fold-down

New car models includes fold-down seating (e.g. Honda Fit and, to a lesser extent, Toyota Corolla/Verso), to gain transport space.

See also

• Armrest
• Drop Stop
• Ergonomics
• Headrest
• Lumbar
• Maserati Quattroporte: massaging seat.
• Rear-view mirror
• Seat belt
• Sheepskin seat cover
• Upholstery