2nd and 3rd row seating for car seats and real people

[KL670]

We went to a local showroom today to test drive X. We're a family of 5, and 6 in a few weeks with our second child. So it's 4 adults and 2 car seats altogether. Since the 6th member is still in the tummy, we wanted to see how the x actually would fit our family. Before going on the test drive, I wanted to try to install our front facing car seat in the third row. I must say it was a difficult endeavor as the latches were buried quite deep in the seating pocket. I finally installed it properly only find to that when the second seat row moved all the way to the back, there was absolutely zero room between the car seat and the back of the second row seat. To me, that wasn't really an issue because I thought I could just move the second row seat up a few inches to make more room for the third row. But no, I was told by the sales lady. She said for safety purposes, the second row seats must be set ALL THE WAY BACK when the car is in motion. I tried sitting in the third row with the second row all the way back. It was impossible. Of course knee space was non existent but the worst part was it was so cramped that my feet had to go sideways to even fit back there. I literally couldn't even have my toes point forward. I'm 5'10 and weigh 180, FYI. Of course, when I manually adjusted the second row seat forward, it felt much better. But then again, according to the lady, that wouldn't be safe or allowed to do so.

To me, that idea makes no sense. You obviously can't fit an adult in the third row but if you put a car seat there, there's still zero room for the kid's legs. I'd like to hear some confirmation that thst idea was simply misinformation. X owners, please chime in. Thanks.

 

[Mark Z]

...I'd like to hear some confirmation that thst idea was simply misinformation. X owners, please chime in. Thanks.

The sales lady or Product Specialist needed to be more specific as my Delivery Specialist was very clear on the problem. The correct answer is, "The second row seats must be moved back until you hear the latch click." The second row doesn't need to be "all the way back", just until the click. Here are additional details that everyone should know:

The second row can be left in a forward position, but only if no one is sitting in the second row seats. IMHO, this would be to move cargo where the extra room is required.

A new software update now allows a single touch of the "Easy Entry" button on the side of the second row seat back to move the seat without holding the button down. That new feature makes it much easier to move the seats to the latch position or fully forward for easy of entry to the third row or for cargo capability. You can also hold the button down until the seat moves to the forward position or while moving back, until you hear the latch sound or to the furthest back position.

The second row seat will move fully back when no one is sitting in the third row. If someone is seated in the third row, the seat will move partially back with a tight fit for adult passengers. If the "Easy Entry" button on the second row seat back is used to move the seat forward just a little for more leg room, then an unlatch occurs and a warning will appear on the touchscreen. If the driver corrects the latch issue at the touchscreen, the seat will move back to latch with a tight fit for the rear seat passenger.

There are two solutions to add third row leg room without losing the latching:

1. Once the second row is moved back to the latched position, then move the second row forward with the bottom seat control. The unlatch should not happen.

2. The rear seat passenger or an assistant can keep their finger above the "Easy Entry" button while the seat moves back. As soon as you hear the latch sound, hit the button briefly. The seat stops with the correct leg room and the driver doesn't get the warning screen. Tesla needs to automate this, but until they do, you now know the secret to third row seating comfort for adults.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-seat/page10?p=1404632&viewfull=1#post1404632

One more thing... Extreme tilting of the second row seat before moving it can affect where it stops, especially in the forward direction. Manual pushing on a seat during movement will stop it as well. Some early seats may tilt slightly different during "Easy Entry" movement than more recent versions (I have one newer seat).

 

[leh22a]

Agree with @Mark. I've sat in the 3rd row multiple times and enough room when you move the seats forward. I'm also only 5'7". The seats can be moved forward after they have "locked" into their position. The car will let you know if the seat is not locked via alerts on the main screen. I have driven it many times with the seats moved to the farthest forward position and the car does not alert. So I believe there was Mis information or a miscommunication between OP and the service/sales person

 

[gmtom1]

The sales lady or Product Specialist needed to be more specific as my Delivery Specialist was very clear on the problem. The correct answer is, "The second row seats must be moved back until you hear the latch click." The second row doesn't need to be "all the way back", just until the click. Here are additional details that everyone should know:

The second row can be left in a forward position, but only if no one is sitting in the second row seats. IMHO, this would be to move cargo where the extra room is required.

A new software update now allows a single touch of the "Easy Entry" button on the side of the second row seat back to move the seat without holding the button down. That new feature makes it much easier to move the seats to the latch position or fully forward for easy of entry to the third row or for cargo capability. You can also hold the button down until the seat moves to the forward position or while moving back, until you hear the latch sound or to the furthest back position.

The second row seat will move fully back when no one is sitting in the third row. If someone is seated in the third row, the seat will move partially back with a tight fit for adult passengers. If the "Easy Entry" button on the second row seat back is used to move the seat forward just a little for more leg room, then an unlatch occurs and a warning will appear on the touchscreen. If the driver corrects the latch issue at the touchscreen, the seat will move back to latch with a tight fit for the rear seat passenger.

There are two solutions to add third row leg room without losing the latching:

1. Once the second row is moved back to the latched position, then move the second row forward with the bottom seat control. The unlatch should not happen.

2. The rear seat passenger or an assistant can keep their finger above the "Easy Entry" button while the seat moves back. As soon as you hear the latch sound, hit the button briefly. The seat stops with the correct leg room and the driver doesn't get the warning screen. Tesla needs to automate this, but until they do, you now know the secret to third row seating comfort for adults.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-seat/page10?p=1404632&viewfull=1#post1404632

Thanks for the great explanation. I hope a generous X owner will make a video and share it so we can all understand how the latch works. Hopefully TM corrects this via software soon.

 

[Roamer]

When the pedestal is locked back the middle seat position can be adjusted several inches forward and back using the seat side control. A few software updates back the seat locked back in the few inchs forward position and then had to be moved back fully with the side control. Now that is reversed. I like it better since we seldom have third row passengers. So now it goes full back and then must be moved forward with the side control to get rear seat leg room.

Every new car I have ever installed a car seat into is a tight fit the first few times you slide the latch into the attach point. I have latched my grandsons seat in every location with little difficulty. The second row seats are better than most because the latch points are covered by a fold up flap making it very easy to access them. The third row is actually really easy once you learn that the loop is very close to the seat surface and you don't need to shove the latch deep into the seat like on most other seats.

Should be very simple to put one seat rear facing in the third row left side and one seat forward or back facing in the second row left side. With this set up you would never need to move the second row left seat once everything is set. Get the second row kid out using the left or right falcon and the third row thru the right falcon. Easy access for all.

The side control provides approximately 4 inches of latched seat forward and back movement. Even more seat back room if the seat is also reclined full forward.

The sales people are still learning the car so double check what they say.

Also the car is constantly changing and improving with software updates. I found out by accident that recently seat movement programming had changed to one touch from touch and hold.

Just a side note. If you really crank the second row kids seat attach belt down hard the car thinks an adult is sitting in the seat and won't allow the seat full forward and back button to work one touch. I thought the seat was malfunctioning then figured out the kid seat was just pulled in excessively firm.

Hmmm, just realized that if you install that third row seat really tight the car may see it as someone in the third row and stop the second row seat in the forward position. Maybe mine has been doing that and I just didn't realize why it was doing it. My daughter likes the seat installed really tight.

 

[KL670]

Thank you very much, Mark Z, for thr very thorough explanation. My wife confirmed with me that she overheard that the sales lady I was referring to was thr store owner
I don't mean to be disrespectful but am appalled by the whole situation, given such misinformation.
On the positive note, it's giving me more hope about the potential purchase as we've placed a deposit and been asked to configure. Our plan is to go for a 70D as we don't road trip much at all and living in the Bay Area makes long travels relatively pain free.
I can't say I'm ready to order yet as I know it'll be probably a year from now that I take delivery anyway. I want to be more certain my whole family is comfortable in it.

 

[ModelX]

The people in Seattle during the tour gave my parents this same mis-information. They called concerned after the interaction, luckily Mark Z had posted about this already and I was able to send them the link!

 

[araxara]

Thank you very much, Mark Z, for thr very thorough explanation. My wife confirmed with me that she overheard that the sales lady I was referring to was thr store owner

She may have been a store manager. Tesla “Stores” are corporate owned. But even a lowly sales person should know the ins/outs of the car.

 

[Mark Z]

The people in Seattle during the tour gave my parents this same mis-information. They called concerned after the interaction, luckily Mark Z had posted about this already and I was able to send them the link!

This reminds me of the mis-information about not opening both the front and falcon wing door at the same time. Someone at Tesla Motors should standardize the instructions given, but even then there can be misunderstanding. Having several ways of doing the same task can add to the confusion, but is great for flexibility and ease of operation.

Having the forum helps the discussion on these topics. Hopefully several Model X passengers have tried the extra leg space suggestion and found that it works well. If not, Tesla kept the method of holding down the "Easy Entry" button for those who like that technique.

 

[Solarman004]

More proof for me that TMC is a fantastic reference, as much as the owner's manual. In our week old 6-seat MX, my son moved from the 2nd row to the 3rd by using the gap between the seats. The car was on (foot on brake), but in Park. The 2nd row seat was all the way back, but when I tried to give him more leg room using the touchscreen, I got the dreaded "Seat Unlatched" warning. It wouldn't clear unless I moved the seat to the full rear, knee-crunching position.
The OM did not provide an answer, but @Mark Z 's post in March (above) was just what I was looking for. Thanks, Mark!

 

[flyhigh123]

the 3rd row is useless when trying to put a rear facing child seat in both the 2nd and 3rd row... absolutely useless... one of the few things i hate about the design of the 2nd row seats...

 

[Mark Z]

The OM did not provide an answer, but @Mark Z 's post in March (above) was just what I was looking for. Thanks, Mark!

You're welcome!

I will look forward to check possible 2nd row movement differences when I get Model X back after seven weeks in service. There have been a lot of software updates occurring during that time.