7 seater with 3 car seats in middle row

[irvineboy]

hi folks

Do you know if you can easily access the third row seats if you have 3 child car seats in a row, in the middle seats?
Looking for a SUV that allows you to do that. From my researching most SUVs require you to take out the car seats so you can fold down the middle seat and slide it forward to access the third row. I think MX allows you to keep the car seats intact and slide forward. Is that correct?

Other than a minivan, are there any other SUVs out there that allow this?

 

[Ames]

One of the great things about the X is that you can keep the car seats fitted and move/tilt the seat forward. Because the X seats are podium mounted they lean forward, both base and back together. Please note that this applies only to the 6 seat and older 7 seat models. The newer 7 seat X does not have podium mounted seats anymore.

 

[Akinch2]

@irvineboy before ordering our MX I did a ton of research on carseats and the best layout to allow for three carseats. The six seat makes the third row the most accessible for sure. However, we currently have three kids, but will most likely have more so I decided to go with the seven seat configuration to be able to keep the MX for as long as possible.

What I'm planning on doing is installing my older girls' carseats in the third row and then my rear facing in the second row. My oldest can buckle herself in the far seat and then I can just buckle my middle child pretty easily with the seat slide forward and the large opening due to the FWD.

This will also allow for guest to have the most room possible getting to ride in the second row, and also allow my wife the ability to deal with my youngest if needed (not possible with three carseats across).

Here are a few helpful links (helped me sell the wife on the MX) . Let me know if you have any other questions. We're set to take delivery in June!

You are being redirected...

Fitting four car seats in a Model X • r/teslamotors

 

[outie]

Are you looking at new or used X 7 seaters? As mentioned before the older 7 seaters have monopost seats that have electric motors to slide and tilt the middle row seats. I had this configuration and it was simple to access the 3rd row with car seats intact.

I no longer have that car and have the new bench 7 seaters now. My 3rd child is coming soon and I'll have to fit 3 car seats in the middle row. With the new bench seat you can still slide forward the bench, but no tilting. I've attached the photos below. The 2nd pic is with the 2nd row fully slide forward. With that space one can still hop in the 3rd row, but definitely not as easy as the monopost seats. The manual operation is really awkward and confusing.

I would be very hesitated to put a car seat in the 3rd row simply because there's really no leg room for the child sitting on the car seat. Their feet would be right against the back of the bench/seats. I've done it few times and feel sorry for my 4yo kid. I think she was sitting w/ legs crossed the whole time.

 

[irvineboy]

I’m not familiar with the podium seating. Define older versus newer? Is 2016 older and 2017 newer?

@Akinch2 @outie does the middle seats in the 7 seater configuration, tilt forward if all 3 seats in the middle have car seats?

 

[outie]

The 7 seaters in bench configuration came out July 2017. All 7 seaters before that had the monopost.

The bench configuration is 60/40 split, so 2 of the seats slide together (no tilting). See this video for better understanding:

In the old monopost the seats on both sides slide and tilt forward for easy 3rd row access without removing the car seats. The middle seat in the 2nd row slides a little bit only.

So are you interested in the new bench configuration or old monopost? It's too confusing to talk about both for each post.

 

[Dilvid]

I had this exact same issue. I was after the 7 seater myself originally as I’ve got 5 children. I didn’t find out till literally the day before I was about to order (even though it’s all I spoke about was the 7 seater config) that the seats had changed.

Luckily for myself the wife was getting a new car and we switched. She went for the seven seater (not a Tesla) and I then took the 6 seater config to get the electric middle row.

To me when they switched to this bench for the middle row they lost one of the huge selling points.

 

[jtdiddy]

The 7 seaters in bench configuration came out July 2017. All 7 seaters before that had the monopost.

The bench configuration is 60/40 split, so 2 of the seats slide together (no tilting). See this video for better understanding:

In the old monopost the seats on both sides slide and tilt forward for easy 3rd row access without removing the car seats. The middle seat in the 2nd row slides a little bit only.

So are you interested in the new bench configuration or old monopost? It's too confusing to talk about both for each post.

wow, the 7 seater looks perfect and very versatile.

 

[irvineboy]

So the new 2017 seven seater middle seats are not motorized? From the video, it looks manual. It’s nice that it reclines back but doesn’t seem like the seats are motorized anymore. Folding down for the middle seats are nice for extra room. I heard the 2016 cannot fold down.

Is the old monopost confirmation also 60/40? Or are each seat independent?

So if I am looking for the monopost seats that allows you to leave the 3 car seats in the middle row and allows access to the third row without removing the car seats, then I have to buy a 2016 Model X? Cons of a 2016 Model year, is no ap2 and issues with the falcon doors in 2016 models.

 

[HugoBoss]

We bought the new 7 seater X with folding middle row. We have a 7 year old that sits behind passenger seat, an almost three year old behind driver seat and a 1 1/2 year old in the middle you cannot access 3rd down with all three in the middle row. If we need to use more seats I will usually put oldest in the back. There is enough room for him. You just have to play around with the seating a bit and figure out what is best for you.

Looked at getting the older monopost 7 seater but didn't like the fact that by default seats would always go all the way back. I also didn't like the extra motors. I think the modelX has too many motorized things as it is. Not looking forward to break downs out of warranty.

 

[outie]

So the new 2017 seven seater middle seats are not motorized? From the video, it looks manual. It’s nice that it reclines back but doesn’t seem like the seats are motorized anymore. Folding down for the middle seats are nice for extra room. I heard the 2016 cannot fold down.

Is the old monopost confirmation also 60/40? Or are each seat independent?

So if I am looking for the monopost seats that allows you to leave the 3 car seats in the middle row and allows access to the third row without removing the car seats, then I have to buy a 2016 Model X? Cons of a 2016 Model year, is no ap2 and issues with the falcon doors in 2016 models.

Correct the bench seat is manual.

Old monopost is 3 individual seats.

If you want monopost you can find them built before July 2017. That includes both AP1 and AP2 (not not AP2.5). Even my 2018 has issue with the FWD so it’s not specific to the production date.

As you can see from my pic you can still access the 3rd row without removing the car seat. My adult cousin and his 6yo had no issue climbing in there with that space. Not as nice as monopost that tilts forward but it’s doable.

 

[Peteski]

We have the new manual operated 7 seater config. I don't think I would be happy from a safety POV fitting a child seat in the middle of the second row, but could be done I suppose. If I had to fit 3 child seats, I would probably go for 1 in the second row on the 40 split side and 2 in the back row with the middle bench slid forward to balance leg room for all. Access to the rear row would be relatively easy with the 60 spilt seat folded down, but still a manual operation.

The old 7 seater with individual motorised second row seats would be easier for sure in this scenario, but I'd much rather have a 2018 spec X overall. A lot of quality issues were ironed out in the last 6 months or so. The 6 seater is a great option too providing you don't need all 7 seats, as the second row seats are fully motorised and can tilt with child seats in place for easy one touch rear row access.

 

[mxnym]

I have recently replied to another thread loosely related to this, so here is the link to that reply (which is more related to your question than that thread is in general):
5 and 7 seater middle row

That having been said, if your primary concern is a 7-seater SUV with easy access to the third row while there are three car seats on the second row, I highly recommend a VW Atlas. With the panoramic sunroof, the thing is amazingly spacious and very easy to access. My wife is 5ft and can reach the center car seat to buckle and unbuckle. I am 6ft1in and can pretty much stand inside (bent over at the waist) the thing to install/remove the car seats in the second row. Additionally, either side of the split 60/40 bench can tilt forward when there isn't a rear-facing car seat in it and access to the third row is great. Other options I know of if you're too good for VW would be the Audi Q7 (not quite as spacious, but more powerful, more efficient, and better range) or a certain Infiniti SUV that I don't remember the name of (I had one as a loaner shortly before I purchased my X). I'm sure other high end large SUVs have this functionality as well, and as I mentioned in the post I linked to, I can't believe the Model X does not. That could change, but it certainly didn't when I got mine.

 

[Yinn]

hi folks

Do you know if you can easily access the third row seats if you have 3 child car seats in a row, in the middle seats?
Looking for a SUV that allows you to do that. From my researching most SUVs require you to take out the car seats so you can fold down the middle seat and slide it forward to access the third row. I think MX allows you to keep the car seats intact and slide forward. Is that correct?

Other than a minivan, are there any other SUVs out there that allow this?

My comment is based on an older monopost 7 seater. 3 car seats in the 2nd row will fit. Whether or not you can access the 3rd row seats will depend on if they're front or rear facing. In rear facing, there is significantly less room. If all 3 are front facing, there's plenty of room to get back there. No need to take anything out.

 

[RVD98072]

I have the newer 7 seat bench 2nd row. I also have 3 kids (2 of them in car seats - both forward facing). If you have an old 7 seater, this is not an issue. I like the new 7 seaters because all of the seats fold down for a lot of trunk space.

I have struggled with this issue a lot.

The 2nd row 60/40 seats have motors in them but it is a bit awkward in terms of when the motors will let you slide forward, move the seat back up, etc. I and others have had many instances where the seat would not slide forward when we wanted it to or wouldn't slide back up when we wanted it to, etc.

For awhile I had the 2 cars seats such as 1 is in the 2nd row behind the driver and another is in the 3rd row behind the passenger. This allows you to push the 2nd row passenger seat forward to adjust and buckle in your 3rd row child. The 2nd row 40 split is set up so that in the sitting position it is forward so there is enough leg room for the child in the 3rd row.

The problem is on the other wide where the child is behind the driver. In this case, the 3rd row is hard to access. The seat does slide forward (although the seat back will not tilt forward since the car seat is in the way. This makes access to the 3rd row difficult. If the cup holders on the 2nd row are out, it's very difficult to access the 3rd row since the 2nd row can't slide forward very much (unless you want to spill your drinks). After about 3 months of this setup, I believe that it is not good for the motor because you will be sliding the 60 bench forward without the seat back tilting forward. Perhaps because of this or not but my 60 bench motor went bad and after awhile the bench would not slide forward anymore. I have since gotten this fixed at the SC.

Yesterday I tried a new configuration where I put both car seats on the passenger side (1 car seat in the 2nd row and 1 in the 3rd row). The difficulty here is that it's hard to buckle in the child in the 3rd row but you can slide the 2nd row a little forward. This configuration makes it easy for 3rd row access on the driver side since the 60 bench seat back now tilts properly and the seat slides forward.

I plan to try this configuration for a week and then try moving the configuration so that both car seats are on the drivers side. I hesitate to do this because my 3 year old likes to sit in the 2nd row (my 4 year old likes the 3rd row) and my 3 year old constantly kicks the seat in front of her...

 

[HugoBoss]

I have new seven seater. I have tried a few different configurations.
What I prefer is 3 kids in middle row, pushed all the way back. X is used as five seater. Third row is folded.
Almost 3 year old behind driver
1 1/2 year old in middle facing back.
7 year old behind passenger.

When I need more than five seats than 7 year old goes in third row, Usually on passenger side. He can buckle himself. I bought a seat belt extender to make it easier.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00GGL34HS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Its for a Lexus but works on model S and X I have tried on both cars.
I always access third row from passenger side.
If I need all seven seats I will put 3 year old and 7 year old in third row

Adjust middle row forward so all rows have adequate leg room

 

[joseflorido]

I do have 3 carseats in the middle row and keep the third row folded to have more space in the trunk for a stroller and other kids stuff (amazing how many things you need to carry with 3 kids...). The carseats fit well, no problem.

 

[RVD98072]

In my case, about 50% of the time I am in the X I have 7 people, about 25% I have 6 people and the last 25% is <6 people so I rarely have the 3rd row down for extra storage.

Otherwise having 3 kids in the middle might work for us too.

 

[Peteski]

The 2nd row 60/40 seats have motors in them but it is a bit awkward in terms of when the motors will let you slide forward, move the seat back up, etc. I and others have had many instances where the seat would not slide forward when we wanted it to or wouldn't slide back up when we wanted it to, etc.

You should clarify, that these are motorised latches, not motorised seat sliding. It's only awkward because the latch switches are hidden and easy to activate accidentally when you don't intend to e.g. when just reclining the middle row seatbacks rather than trying to access the rear bench. I haven't used them enough to fully get my head around how they actually work yet in the various slide/tilt modes.