Unfortunately, the tracks are not identical from the inside to the outside as I recall, and swapping out the seats is not possible. Never mind the seatbelt situation.
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I thought the seat handle position was a little strange too. Although I am curious...you said the tracks are not identical. Is it possible that the seat itself may unbolt from the tracks? You could actually swap the seats, but leave the tracks to the sides they fit on? Also, it looks like the outer attachment point for the seatbelt, and in inner atachment point for the buckle are in very similar, if not identical positions. Maybe they could be swapped at that point as well?
Another possibility...(depending on how the recline mechanism is set up)...is there any chance just the back of the seat could be moved from one side to the other?
Holicow... Happy BD! I actually decided on the "rake" of the seat by means of unbolting the driver's seat, and then using a piece of wood that I placed under the front of the seat, and then under the back of the seat, to try out the different positions before making more permanent changes. Front "up" to me felt artificial, and not very comfy. Back "up" felt more natural, and after thousands of miles driving the Insight thusly, I can tell you my back doesn't act up like with some other car seats.
Corey872: Good thought... I didn't think of that ("swap the seats, but leave the tracks to the sides they fit on"), and I've got a busy three or four weeks coming up, but looks like I'll have to find some free time to do some investigating and tinkering... sure would love to have those silly handles on the outside at last...
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Driving on down the road in my 2001 CVT, going "Boogety Boogety" ...and until avatars are provided, my car looks just like the original silver Insight on the header, above... =)
The original seat bolts in the Insight (at least mine) don't appear to have a standard marking system. The ANSI/SAE system would display radial lines to indicate strength. The metric should display something like 8.8, 10.9, 12.9, etc to indicate strength. The Insight bolts display (see if image upload works):
(post edited by moderator - the image upload was blocked by tripod)
I am not familiar with this marking...perhaps JIS spec? Also...I never made a note when mine were out, but do the bolts screw directly into the aluminum frame or is there some type of steel insert in the frame? If the bolt threads directly into the aluminum, it is likely that even the weakest grade steel bolt would shear the internal aluminum threads before tensile overload of the bolt.
Actually, It IS possible to swap the seats. I did it on my 2002 Insight, (i now have a 2003) and drove for 25,000 miles that way. It did take a little work with the belts, and also slightly modifying the black plastic covers down low on the sides. But it worked out well, and saved wear on the other seat. Billy.....
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2005 Red 5 spd, color video cam w/5' monitor instead of outside mirrors, no rear wiper, tint, clear-coated & highly polished, car shows on weekends, LMPG 89.5
I suspect it would take a huge amount of force to shear the bolt or strip the aluminum. I use socket head machine screws for all my design work because they are stronger, have better cut threads, lack sharp edges, and look professional. Naturally wanted them on the seat too.
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Kip Munro
The laws of physics don't need changing, but rather our attitude and values. 72.8 LMPG
Has anyone else tried swapping the passenger and driver's seat? It does seem that they are backwards, with the adjustment levers on the inside of the seats. I have put up with this for years, but with gas $4/gallon I am thinking that I want to keep the Insight as long as possible, and why put up with this forever (or until the battery dies or there is something better).
Why were the seats put in this way to begin with? The map pocket is on the back of the driver's seat (in the U.S.) Here's my guess. The seat with the map pocket and the lever on the right should be the passenger seat in a left hand drive car, then the levers would be on the outside. But in Japan, they use right hand drive. So the seat with the map pocket was put on the left, and the levers end up being on the inside. This does not explain why every other car on the road, except the Insight, got it right. Needless to say, my dealer was not impressed with my logic, and refused to swap the seats at no charge to me.
Problems with swapping the seats that have been mentioned on this thread include: 1) rear bolts may be rusted in place. If I can't get the bolt out with Liquid Wrench and a moderate amount of force, I suppose I would quit at that point. 2) the tracks are different on the two sides. They look the same to me, but if they are different, can't you just move the seat and the tracks to the other side? 3) seat belt attachments are different on the two sides. It looks like the attachments could be unbolted and the attachments put on the correct side.
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Re: Short answer: No.
