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Tesla 3rd row wasn't as safe as I thought...
- Thread starter Btr_ftw
- Start date
We appreciate having the rear jumpseats in our Model S and they're helpful when we want to carry extra people. However, it does get hot back there, and based on our experience, we cannot recommend using those seats for extended trips in warm or hot weather.
To help with the heat, we purchased a handheld 12V fan and a 12V extension cord. It also helps to play with the settings of the HVAC system to draw more cool rear toward the rear of the car. We set the A/C to pull outside air, point the front HVAC vents up, close the backseat HVAC vents, turn up the HVAC fan speed, and of course lower the temperature setting.
For anyone purchasing a new Tesla vehicle, we'd strongly recommend buying the Model X if you want to have room for more than five people. Tesla seems to be discouraging new buyers from configuring the Model S with rear facing seats by charging quite a premium for them (was $4000 last time I checked, versus $1500 back in 2012). Another downside of those seats is that motion sickness is more likely to be an issue for kids back there, mainly on curvy roads, thus requiring the driver to slow down.
Still, if buying a used Tesla on a budget, finding a Model S with rear facing seats can be a blessing. They really can make the vehicle more versatile. Just be aware of the limitations.
To help with the heat, we purchased a handheld 12V fan and a 12V extension cord. It also helps to play with the settings of the HVAC system to draw more cool rear toward the rear of the car. We set the A/C to pull outside air, point the front HVAC vents up, close the backseat HVAC vents, turn up the HVAC fan speed, and of course lower the temperature setting.
For anyone purchasing a new Tesla vehicle, we'd strongly recommend buying the Model X if you want to have room for more than five people. Tesla seems to be discouraging new buyers from configuring the Model S with rear facing seats by charging quite a premium for them (was $4000 last time I checked, versus $1500 back in 2012). Another downside of those seats is that motion sickness is more likely to be an issue for kids back there, mainly on curvy roads, thus requiring the driver to slow down.
Still, if buying a used Tesla on a budget, finding a Model S with rear facing seats can be a blessing. They really can make the vehicle more versatile. Just be aware of the limitations.
I have the rear shade, it definitely helps but 120F is dangerous. I'm not sure even with tint and the shade it would stay cool enough without sufficient circulation.
Thanks as usual for your informative content. Glad that your marriage made it through Deloris.
Cirrus MS100D
Member
I disagree with this and just have not experienced this in real life, but with one big caveat: We have 35% Wincos IR tint around the entire car, but this is especially important on the rear trunk window. It's a gigantic piece of glass! If you are going to regularly put kids in the trunk, you *have* to get some sort of high quality tint on it. The *only* time my kids have ever complained back there was in August when it was 100F and we were literally driving the car to the tint shop. Since that day, we have never received a complaint from our little friends back there, no matter how hot it's gotten. Maybe this is different in Arizona or Texas, but in PA, we get 100F days with crazy humidity.
Granted, I also make a point to keep it cool when the car is sitting in the sun all afternoon so it's not roasting in there when we get back to the car. (FTR, they won't even get into my FIAT if it's been sitting in the sun until we blast the air conditioning for a minute.) You can honestly sit back there yourself and feel the cool air flowing back there so long as you:
1. Set the temp to LO
2. Set the fan to 7
3. Set the air to "fresh" (or whatever) and *not* recirc
We actually turn on the rear vents and angle them up, as I think that makes a big difference, but this is just anecdotal evidence.
As soon as you push the fan beyond 7 (or maybe it's 8?) it will flip to recirc automatically and you cause cooling to be reduced in the RFS. Would it have been better to have dedicated vents back there? Of course! (Hell, we give the kids blankets in the winter time for this reason since we don't like to have them wearing their jackets in the car to get a better snug fit on the seat belts.) But the fact is, we just haven't experienced any issues *with* our tinted Model S. We just couldn't get ourselves into an X and the 3 isn't big enough for what we needed. The S slotted in perfectly into our lives with the RFS being one of the biggest features for us.
Granted, I also make a point to keep it cool when the car is sitting in the sun all afternoon so it's not roasting in there when we get back to the car. (FTR, they won't even get into my FIAT if it's been sitting in the sun until we blast the air conditioning for a minute.) You can honestly sit back there yourself and feel the cool air flowing back there so long as you:
1. Set the temp to LO
2. Set the fan to 7
3. Set the air to "fresh" (or whatever) and *not* recirc
We actually turn on the rear vents and angle them up, as I think that makes a big difference, but this is just anecdotal evidence.
As soon as you push the fan beyond 7 (or maybe it's 8?) it will flip to recirc automatically and you cause cooling to be reduced in the RFS. Would it have been better to have dedicated vents back there? Of course! (Hell, we give the kids blankets in the winter time for this reason since we don't like to have them wearing their jackets in the car to get a better snug fit on the seat belts.) But the fact is, we just haven't experienced any issues *with* our tinted Model S. We just couldn't get ourselves into an X and the 3 isn't big enough for what we needed. The S slotted in perfectly into our lives with the RFS being one of the biggest features for us.
Not sure if anything has changed, but it was certainly a real problem back in 2013, and Tesla acknowledged it:
Email from Tesla regarding cooling 3rd row seats
Elon tweeted about it, too:
Elon Musk on Twitter
More recently:
Elon Musk on Twitter
Email from Tesla regarding cooling 3rd row seats
Elon tweeted about it, too:
Elon Musk on Twitter
More recently:
Elon Musk on Twitter
Even with recirc on, even with window tinting, even with the Tesla sunshade, even with portable battery powered fans, it's too hot back there if the temp is above 80-90F. I would never put my kids there if it's 100F outside, that's crazy.
I've had to run the AC on lo for the whole drive where it got chilly up front and was barely acceptable in the RFS for a trip when we decided to not take the 2nd car.
Do the seats work in a pinch? Sure. Do I use them? Very rarely and never in the summer.
I've had to run the AC on lo for the whole drive where it got chilly up front and was barely acceptable in the RFS for a trip when we decided to not take the 2nd car.
Do the seats work in a pinch? Sure. Do I use them? Very rarely and never in the summer.
Cirrus MS100D
Member
Meant fresh air on, whatever, I followed the instructions, the rear seats suck.
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