A car seat is a

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

used in

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand prolonged use. The most common material is

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

Bucket seat and bench seat

1963 Rambler Ambassador 880 sedan gold-white K-j

Bucket seat with Schroth six-point harness in a 2010 Porsche 997 GT3 RS 3

bucket seat A bucket seat is a car seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from a flat bench seat designed to fit multiple people. In its simplest form, it contours somewhat to the human body, but may have a deep seat and exaggerated sides that partially ...

is a separate seat with a contoured platform designed to accommodate one person, distinct from a

bench seat A bench seat is a full width continuous pad forming the front seat of automobiles. The second row of seating in most sedans is usually a bench. The third row of most SUVs and minivans, which may be forward-facing or rear-facing, is also a benc ...

that is a flat platform designed to seat up to three people. Individual bucket seats typically have rounded backs and may offer a variety of adjustments to fit different passengers.

Folding seats

1921 Hudson Phaeton red-black AACA Iowa 2012 ir

Early touring cars featured folding auxiliary seats to offer additional passenger capacity. Some early automobiles were available with an exterior

rumble seat A rumble seat (American English), dicky (dickie/dickey) seat (British English), also called a mother-in-law seat, is an upholstered exterior front-facing seat which is folded into the rear of a coach, carriage, or early motorcar. Depending on it ...

that folded open into an upholstered seat for one or two passengers. Some vehicle models offer fold-down rear seats, to gain cargo space when they are not occupied by passengers. A fold-down front-passenger seat was a feature on the

Chrysler PT Cruiser The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a subcompact car that was built by the American company Chrysler from 2001 until 2010. Introduced as a five-door hatchback wagon, a two-door convertible variant was also made from 2005 until 2008. Originally planned ...

to fit longer items such as a ladder inside the vehicle.

Ergonomics: lumbar and thigh support

The

lumbar In tetrapod anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means of or pertaining to the abdominal segment of the torso, between the diaphragm (anatomy), diaphragm and the sacrum. Naming and location The lumbar region is sometimes referred to as the lowe ...

is the region of the spine between the diaphragm and the

pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...

; 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 and include adjustable lumbar

cushion A cushion is a soft bag of some ornamental material, usually stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, cotton, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften ...

. Some seats are long enough to support full

thigh In anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone tissu ...

and follow back curves.

Safety

The

National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted in the United States in 1966 to empower the federal government to set and administer new safety standards for motor vehicles and road traffic safety. The Act was the first mandatory fed ...

enacted by the U.S. in 1966 established standards of strength for automobile seats. These included requirements for proper anchorage and construction of automobile vehicle seat assemblies. The legal requirements in some jurisdictions for a child to sit up front is and they must weigh more than . Some studies have shown that drivers have an aversion towards carrying the full capacity number of passengers due to concerns over insufficient vision through the back window. * An anti-submarine seat is a kind of seat that 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 that may be more important for the front seats than the rear seats. * A

child safety seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...

or child restraint system is a restraint which is secured to the seat of an automobile equipped with

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

harnesses or

seat belt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...

s, to hold a child in the event of a crash. All 50 states require child seats with specific criteria. Requirements vary based on a child's age, weight and height. The

National Child Passenger Safety Board The National Child Passenger Safety Board, managed by the National Safety Council, maintains the quality and integrity of the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program in the United States. The program is used to train and cert ...

, managed by th
National Safety Council
maintains the quality and integrity of the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program. The program is used to train and certify child passenger safety technicians and instructors in order to assist caregivers in safe transportation of children. Side

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...

s are often built right into the outer edge of the seatback. Seats so equipped should not be covered which impedes the operation of the airbag.

Power seats

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

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

s can be adjusted using electric controls. Some vehicles let the driver(s) save the adjustments in

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

(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.).

Covers

Car seat covers are accessories that protect the original seat upholstery from wear and add a custom look to a vehicle's interior. They can help to maintain the resale value of the vehicle and maximize the comfort of the driver and passengers.

Seat construction

Parts

Armrest An armrest (or arm-rest) is a part of a chair, where a person can rest their arms on. Armrests are built into a large variety of chairs such as automotive chairs, armchairs, airline seats, sofas, and more. Adjustable armrests are commonly found ...

* Backrest, with

support *

Headrest Head restraints (also called headrests) are an automotive safety feature, attached or integrated into the top of each seat to limit the rearward movement of the adult occupant's head, relative to the torso, in a collision—to prevent or mitiga ...

* 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 Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 ...

to the front for optimum, individual

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

support * Variable head support at the sides * Cushion Tilt File:Flickr - DVS1mn - 54 Nash Ambassador (5).jpg, Fully reclining front seat backs to form a bed in a 1954

Nash Ambassador The Nash Ambassador is a luxury automobile produced by Nash Motors from 1927 until 1957. It was a top trim level for the first five years, then from 1932 on a standalone model. Ambassadors were lavishly equipped and beautifully constructed, ear ...

File:Chrysler 300F 1960.JPG, Swiveling front seats to ease entry and exit in a 1960 Chrysler 300F

Climate control and ventilation

Some vehicles includes the option of seat climate control (i.e.

heating In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, atom ...

by seat warmers or cooling) and

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Respirator, a ma ...

. Ventilation was introduced in 1997 by Saab and heating by Cadillac in 1966. In 2023 BMW pulled out of a plan to implement a subscription model on their heated seats due to public backlash.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Auto parts Seats