Anyone regret getting the rear facing seats?

[Max*]

Anyones kids NOT like the rear facing seats? I test drove an 85D a few weeks ago, going back this weekend to check out the 70D in comparison. They don't have the rear facing seats at the dealership for any of their cars or the local showroom, so if I do decide to order them I'm going in blind on a $3k item...

Also, do your kids like them for long car trips? (we drive up north to visit family for ~7 hours, and kids sit/sleep in their carseats OK, would they be comfortable in the rear seats on that long of a drive?)

I've heard the most common complaints (though the same people say their kids still like 'em): it can get hot in the summer, no air circulation, it's hard to hear the kids from the front seat and the headlights from other cars can be distracting? Am I missing something else?

 

[commasign]

I would recommend dark tint (35% or less) plus the Tesla sunshade and set the AC to fresh air and you should be fine. 7 hours in the rear facing seats is a long time, but so is 7 hours in car seats. With frequent stops and things to entertain them (iPad etc) they should be ok. But you may want to visit another store that does have the rear seats for demo or maybe check with the local Tesla or EV club to see if anyone has one you and your kids can at least look at.

For us, the rear facing seats are only used when we really need to fit one more person in order to avoid taking the gas minivan. It's not used very often.

 

[EKnight47]

It's a battle with the kids friends at pickup if/when we are at the capacity to need them. Our kids loved them at first and the novelty soon wore off. The kids friends think it's the coolest thing ever. I've never gone more than an hour with someone back there, though. We did just get a dark tint over the winter (more so to help our black lab - he prefers it flat back there btw).

To answer your question directly, it is the one item that I'd think twice about ordering again if I were to get another. I thought I'd feel that way bout the air suspension, but not a chance of let that go...

 

[Thud]

It's a battle with the kids friends at pickup if/when we are at the capacity to need them. Our kids loved them at first and the novelty soon wore off. The kids friends think it's the coolest thing ever. I've never gone more than an hour with someone back there, though. We did just get a dark tint over the winter (more so to help our black lab - he prefers it flat back there btw).

To answer your question directly, it is the one item that I'd think twice about ordering again if I were to get another. I thought I'd feel that way bout the air suspension, but not a chance of let that go...

I don't regret getting them at all, but I wouldn't use them for long car trips. Not just because the heat, but they don't recline either so if your kid falls asleep their head is just dangling down with their chin in their chest.

My 3-year-old (almost 4) loves it back there. I do have the sunshade which I will be installing now that it's getting warmer. When they have muddy shoes it's also convenient to keep all the mud segregated in the rear cargo area, with the all weather mat.

I rarely fold the seats down, I just pile stuff on top of the seats when I'm carrying cargo.

So long car trips no... But for taking to school, soccer practice, etc they are perfect, and will keep your 2nd row much cleaner.

 

[Max*]

I would recommend dark tint (35% or less) plus the Tesla sunshade and set the AC to fresh air and you should be fine. 7 hours in the rear facing seats is a long time, but so is 7 hours in car seats. With frequent stops and things to entertain them (iPad etc) they should be ok. But you may want to visit another store that does have the rear seats for demo or maybe check with the local Tesla or EV club to see if anyone has one you and your kids can at least look at.

For us, the rear facing seats are only used when we really need to fit one more person in order to avoid taking the gas minivan. It's not used very often.

Thanks, I was planning on doing 35%, so that works out. I don't really want to bug anyone local to check them out, as my kids would need to sit in them for a while for me to figure out if they'd like them or not (I have no issues bugging the dealership for a half hour test drive with the kids)

It's a battle with the kids friends at pickup if/when we are at the capacity to need them. Our kids loved them at first and the novelty soon wore off. The kids friends think it's the coolest thing ever. I've never gone more than an hour with someone back there, though. We did just get a dark tint over the winter (more so to help our black lab - he prefers it flat back there btw).

To answer your question directly, it is the one item that I'd think twice about ordering again if I were to get another. I thought I'd feel that way bout the air suspension, but not a chance of let that go...

Thanks.

I don't regret getting them at all, but I wouldn't use them for long car trips. Not just because the heat, but they don't recline either so if your kid falls asleep their head is just dangling down with their chin in their chest.

My 3-year-old (almost 4) loves it back there. I do have the sunshade which I will be installing now that it's getting warmer. When they have muddy shoes it's also convenient to keep all the mud segregated in the rear cargo area, with the all weather mat.

I rarely fold the seats down, I just pile stuff on top of the seats when I'm carrying cargo.

So long car trips no... But for taking to school, soccer practice, etc they are perfect, and will keep your 2nd row much cleaner.

My kids carseats don't recline either, and their heads dangle when they sleep anyways, so that's not a big difference :wink:

Didn't think about the mud/etc, that's a good point, thanks.


I have 2 more Tesla dealerships within drivable distance, I'll call them after tomorrow's test drive... I guess long trips may not work out, so it would leave only the daily driving.

 

[daviddavidw]

I love them. My kids are only allowed to eat in the rear facing seats, and have to sit in the far back when they have dirty soccer cleats on. It's done wonders keeping the main cabin clean (previous family cars are always trashed in the back seat). Plus, the kids generally like sitting back there as well) at least on medium short trips.

 

[MrClown]

They don't take much space and they allow more adults to sit in the main cabin when needed. Having the kids sit in the way back when their shoes/ski boots/other gear is dirty is definitely nice. I don't mind the back getting dirty and the all weather floor mat helps too. They don't mind both being back there for 1.5 hour drives. We haven't done longer trips yet. Now that it's getting warmer they definitely need tint and maybe the sun shade. We were worried that kids might be more prone to getting car sick facing backwards but that has not been a problem so far.

Not being able to hear them well is actually a plus in my book but it's true that it can be a bit harder to communicate with them. If we're listening to an audio book they need it turned up louder because there are no speakers back there (at least not with the regular sound package).

Right now, I'd get them again. We'll see how that holds up in a year.

 

[commasign]

One more thought. If you buy them now you can always remove them later if you find you need the extra hidden storage space. On the other hand if you don't buy them now, it might be an overly expensive retrofit if you find you need them later.

 

[supratachophobia]

Actually, I don't think they are offered as a retrofit anymore.

35% and rear sun shade is mandatory so as not to baste your children.

7hrs is not unreasonable but tablet is also mandatory. Check out Remote Camera on the play store. You can mount a tablet on the rear hatch (scosche had a magnet mount for 15 dollars that is awesome) and let them watch a movie while that app creates a Bluetooth server connection. When your phone up front connects, It activates the front camera on the tablet so you can check on them to make sure they are still back there. It does this without even disturbing the movie.

 

[mgboyes]

Echoing what everyone else has said pretty much:

* they're fantastic for occasional use and shorter journeys
* other people's kids will fight over who gets to go in them
* your kids will probably get bored of them (especially when they realise that from the third row they can't easily tell you what song they want next)
* there's no head/neck support or recline so if they fall asleep it looks pretty uncomfortable - consider a travel pillow if your kids are prone to nodding off
* for summer use you need to tint the rear windows.

But there's no downside of having them per se - you lose a tiny amount of storage space but otherwise they don't reduce the usability of the car at all. I can't see how anyone would regret getting them!

 

[jive_devil]

Actually, I don't think they are offered as a retrofit anymore.

35% and rear sun shade is mandatory so as not to baste your children.

7hrs is not unreasonable but tablet is also mandatory. Check out Remote Camera on the play store. You can mount a tablet on the rear hatch (scosche had a magnet mount for 15 dollars that is awesome) and let them watch a movie while that app creates a Bluetooth server connection. When your phone up front connects, It activates the front camera on the tablet so you can check on them to make sure they are still back there. It does this without even disturbing the movie.

Interesting app . . . just to be sure, is it actually called "Camera Remote" and not "Remote Camera"? I checked the Play Store and could not find it.

Also, I've had the rear facing seats, and agree with most other posters here - great for short drives around town, but I would not put my kids back there for more than an hour or two.

 

[Duckjybe]

The novelty has worn of with my child and she will only really volunteer to use them when a friend is along. She has had a couple of hot rides back there. Even with the Tesla sun shade its gets hot in the rear seats. You need the special film on the rear glass to reduce the heat to any significant extent. When the rear seats are ordered, Tesla should put the same coating on the rear hatch glass that is on the panoramic roof because it is amazing how little heat comes through it.

The rear seats are very handy though for the few times we have a full passenger load.

 

[joefee]

The grandkids loved them when we first got the car but now they're just extra weight to carry around 90% of the time. Although as posted above, they will come in handy if the kids are covered in mud or want to eat nachos and cheese!

 

[EarlyAdopter]

My daughter, now 6, still loves riding in the rear seats even after 2.5 years. But only during the day. At night there's no lighting back there so she wants to ride in the 2nd row.

I wish the rear trunk lighting came on with the ambient lighting option.

 

[Evbwcaer]

I've found them more useful for long trips. For short trips, lots of turns and stops in in-town driving they can cause car sickness. For highway driving it is no issue. The heat is an issue for sure.

 

[Max*]

Thanks everyone. I'll see if the other 2 dealerships next to me have them, but I'm about 90% sure I'll be ordering them anyways.

Not being able to hear them well is actually a plus in my book but it's true that it can be a bit harder to communicate with them.

My wife and I were joking about that it would be good too, but our kids are still fairly young (4.5 and 2.5, but he's a tall 2.5 so he passes the minimum height/weight)...

Check out Remote Camera on the play store.

Cool, thanks.

At night there's no lighting back there so she wants to ride in the 2nd row.

I didn't think about that either...

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One more thought. If you buy them now you can always remove them later if you find you need the extra hidden storage space. On the other hand if you don't buy them now, it might be an overly expensive retrofit if you find you need them later.

My wife said the same thing. (and I don't think they're retrofitable anymore)

 

[supratachophobia]

Interesting app . . . just to be sure, is it actually called "Camera Remote" and not "Remote Camera"? I checked the Play Store and could not find it.

Also, I've had the rear facing seats, and agree with most other posters here - great for short drives around town, but I would not put my kids back there for more than an hour or two.

"Remote Camera" on the Play store. Obviously I was so excited about it, i got the name wrong....

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Crap, totally forgot to say that the tint really need to be the ceramic type to do a good job.

 

[Draconianruler]

Kids love them except when going to school. They get embarrassed when I drop them off and all their friends are looking at them (or maybe the car LOL) :redface: .

Same recommendations as mentioned but I'll add that you should get ceramic window tint 35% or less to reduce the heat. Ceramic (or metallic) will reduce the heat much better than standard window tint but cost a bit more. Also, get the power lift gate option so the kids can get in and out themselves. Plus, they love closing it like a jet fighter.

 

[Alysashley79]

My kids are 7 and 9. Had the car for 18 months and not one regret about them. It does get a bit warm but if you pre cool the car before going anywhere it's not an issue. It's more an issue when the cars been sitting in direct sun all day and I forgrt to turn on the cooling before we get to the car. My kids have been in them for about 4 hours at a time but that's just because that's as far as we've gone so far with the tesla.

 

[FlasherZ]

I have 4 boys, who will turn 15, 9, 7, and 3 years old, this year.

The Model S replaced my Chevy Suburban and/or Chevy Traverse as our daily drivers, saving a TON of money on gas, and being just as versatile (in addition to being a gorgeous car).

My 7 and 9 year old boys ride in the rear-facing seats, and the 9 year old will swap for the 3 year old later this year. After tinting the window to 40%, they're far more comfortable. Summer can be iffy but if you keep the A/C on "fresh air" it circulates much better back there (and rolling the windows down for a few moments will purge most of the hot air while driving when you first get going).

Once we have no need for a child to ride in the back anymore, then I'll consider whether I want them removed, but absolutely no regrets for those who have a family like mine, and I expect to keep using it until my 15-year-old goes off to college, moves out, or we reach the limit of the 3-year-old riding back there - in which case the Model X on order will have to do.