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Aftermarket Model Y rear facing seat...

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As many of us await what the plan will be for 7 seater design, I'm curious if there might be an aftermarket play to take the model S rear facing seat and retrofit into a Y on a 5 seater. I believe Tesla will do the aftermarket install into Model S's for around $1,800.

Potential benefits:
-Nearly half the price of current 7 seater upgrade ($3K)
-No need to wait for 7 seater, do it today on 5 seater
-If Tesla doesn't offer rear seat option (but rather unusable front facing), provides great alternative

Downsides:
-feasibility in reusing model S seats
-safety: does model Y come standard with cross bracing (or need added like the model S)


Any thoughts? Would love to see what the model S rear seats look liked in a Model Y for a size comparison. Also very curious to see an inside picture from rear seats facing back... how many inches from head to glass for a child? More then 12?
 
Model Y does not have a rear support brace (nor a place for one since the bumper design is different).

Basically this would be a giant safety hazard and should not be attempted by anyone.
 
I would never get the 3rd row in any car after seeing this.
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Going back to the original question. The Model S RFS attach in five places. They latch into special hidden hooks in the back of the top edge of the second row seats. There are anchors that bolt to cast-in lugs on each strut tower, then another two bolts attach into t-nuts In a track at the edge of the footwell.

then there’s the extra rear crossmember that bolts inside the rear bumper to give extra energy absorption. Eight threaded studs that also help tie together the rear frame rails and bumper

Most MS have all the mounting points and threaded studs from the factory.

And, think you can’t get RFS installed after the sale for $1800 from Tesla. Would be nice for people that want them...

it would take a lot of rigging and risk tolerance. For your kids? Please don’t...
 
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Everyone has their own perception of safety. I grew up in the rear facing seat of my grandparents station wagon. In my parents van we used to lay down in the rear seat (which folder into a bed). I'd be much more concerned with a head on crash, then a fender bender in the rear.
Going back to the original question. The Model S RFS attach in five places. They latch into special hidden hooks in the back of the top edge of the second row seats. There are anchors that bolt to cast-in lugs on each strut tower, then another two bolts attach into t-nuts In a track at the edge of the footwell.

then there’s the extra rear crossmember that bolts inside the rear bumper to give extra energy absorption. Eight threaded studs that also help tie together the rear frame rails and bumper

Most MS have all the mounting points and threaded studs from the factory.

And, think you can’t get RFS installed after the sale for $1800 from Tesla. Would be nice for people that want them...

it would take a lot of rigging and risk tolerance. For your kids? Please don’t...

There is actually a service bulletin that outlines the after market install for model S RFS. I'm quite certain that is possible, it even showed step by step instructions for how they cut back carpet to install the latches. I'd have to dig for it, but pretty certain the seats were around $900 and labor was around $900. This include installing the rear support beam as well. Would have to confirm with local shop if this is still being offered, but it definitely was for some time.

Questions for model Y then become... is extra bracing needed, or is current structural design with single molding enough? Would / could model S aftermarket install work in a Y. I'm guess the attach points would create challenges, so probably would need some retrofit module.
 
The extra bar doesn't do anything when the car sits so low and so many people drive huge SUV's, it just gives it a rail to ride on top into the passenger/cargo area... That why the two girls that were in row 2 died in the accident above... there was nothing to stop a full size SUV doing 60 MPH into back of the car overriding the bumper...same reason most people who rear end semi's die... the semi bumper overrides the bumper and decapitates the driver and front passenger.

40% of rear end hits override the bumper due to the height difference between SUV/Trucks and sport sedans / CUV's, row override bumper strike ends up behind the drivers seat.

 
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Everyone has their own perception of safety. I grew up in the rear facing seat of my grandparents station wagon. In my parents van we used to lay down in the rear seat (which folder into a bed). I'd be much more concerned with a head on crash, then a fender bender in the rear.


There is actually a service bulletin that outlines the after market install for model S RFS. I'm quite certain that is possible, it even showed step by step instructions for how they cut back carpet to install the latches. I'd have to dig for it, but pretty certain the seats were around $900 and labor was around $900. This include installing the rear support beam as well. Would have to confirm with local shop if this is still being offered, but it definitely was for some time.

Questions for model Y then become... is extra bracing needed, or is current structural design with single molding enough? Would / could model S aftermarket install work in a Y. I'm guess the attach points would create challenges, so probably would need some retrofit module.

this is the link. You’ll notice it’s a thread I started. I’ve done the RFS install several times on Model S. Have no problem with that. I am concerned with the suggestion of
Jury rigging the RFS into a model Y that wasn’t designed for it. And I still think you are way off on pricing.

My DIY Rear Facing Jump Seats Retrofit (with Service Bulletin / Official Instructions)
 
As many of us await what the plan will be for 7 seater design, I'm curious if there might be an aftermarket play to take the model S rear facing seat and retrofit into a Y on a 5 seater. I believe Tesla will do the aftermarket install into Model S's for around $1,800.

Potential benefits:
-Nearly half the price of current 7 seater upgrade ($3K)
-No need to wait for 7 seater, do it today on 5 seater
-If Tesla doesn't offer rear seat option (but rather unusable front facing), provides great alternative

Downsides:
-feasibility in reusing model S seats
-safety: does model Y come standard with cross bracing (or need added like the model S)


Any thoughts? Would love to see what the model S rear seats look liked in a Model Y for a size comparison. Also very curious to see an inside picture from rear seats facing back... how many inches from head to glass for a child? More then 12?
Adding aftermarket seats and increasing the passenger count on a car which is certified to hold x number of passengers is a sure way of voiding your insurance coverage liability in an accident. Even adding seat belt extenders will void insurance liability.
 
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Adding aftermarket seats and increasing the passenger count on a car which is certified to hold x number of passengers is a sure way of voiding your insurance coverage liability in an accident. Even adding seat belt extenders will void insurance liability.
Interesting. How did that work for the Model S? They did aftermarket installs, were the cars certified for 7, but sold in 5 seat configs?
 
Not “aftermarket”. “After sale retrofit’. All legal. OEM. Tesla submitted it all to DOT/NTSB since that’s where we found the official service bulletin with part numbers, instructions, etc. A very small number of cars were excluded (And were listed by vin). Almost every Model S made has the mounting points ready to go.
 
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