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Keep or Remove Back Seat?

2764 Views 12 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Sons of Liberty
For those of you who seldom use your back seat, do you remove them for more cargo space and better fuel economy?

I just brought mine home tonight. I noticed the rear seats block the view out the back window.
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I leave mine in it keeps the dog out of my way. When I have them folded up I don't find the block the rear windows.

By the way what color is you element and your crv. My element is black and the girlfriends crv is silver also a 99

Nevr mind I just notice the lettering,
element is orange?
s2000 is yellow ?
CRV is white?
You guessed it right!
i think unless you have to carry cargo very often, it makes more sense to keep them in. although you use them seldomly, you never know when you will need to give someone a ride and then it will be much more difficult to put them in when needed.
just my opinion.
We took the seats out for the first time this past weekend. Let me tell you I know I am not the strongest person around....but I had to call my husband out to help.....they aren't that heavy....I just found them awkward to remove.....from now on I think I will be just folding them up unless I have major cargo to haul!

I am the primary driver....and normally don't drive with anyone else....so I simply leave them in....I do fold them up and hand them on the side of the E quite a bit!

Diane :)
I just took my seats out for the first time. The were a little awkward, but I think I'll get the hang of it. This summer I will probably leave them out, I'll mostly be hauling bicycles. Prior to tonight, I left the rear passenger seat down and hung the rear drivers-side seat. I don't like the blind spot (wall) with the passenger side seat hung.
I haul a drumset relatively often, and I can do it with one seat folded up. I haven't removed the seat yet 'cause I really don't have anywhere to keep it in my apartment! :) Aside from the 'panel van' style blind spot, I don't mind folding the seat up.

Amusingly enough, a friend of mine totally wrecked his van while he had the rear seats out. He ended up modifying the seats by adding a base and used them as a couch in his living room. It was always fun to "buckle up" for video rentals and pizza. Hehe...

Drew
I've left both mine in the car, with the driver's side seat up and the passenger's side seat down. If it ever happens that I need the space where the passenger's side seat is, I'll remove it. There are simply too many times when I need to be able to see back that way - backing out of parking places and traffic circles being the two I had the most trouble with over the summer.
I have mine in most of the time. When I camp, I take them out. I don't find them that awkward to take out and re-install, but they are heavy for me to carry to a storage space on my property. I leave them in and when I get to camp, I pull them out and slide them under the E onto a tarp when they are folded down flat.

I just know one of these days I am going to forget about them and run over them :oops:
I don't see by taking out the seats "improving" your fuel economy. If the seats are in your way "view" wise , recline them all the way down. It's all a matter of opinion and how you drive your car.
I removed my seats since it's usually only 1 or 2 of us. I like having the extra space free for easy use. Feels a bit like a van with this setup.
I removed the rear driver's side seat. I'm a Civil War Cavalry reenactor and I find this to be a perfect set up. I keep the rear passenger seat in, as it makes a good bed when I'm not "tenting." The area behind driver's seat is perfect for long items: guns, tent poles and tent canvas. In the far rear area I keep boxes with gun cleaning equipment and leather equipment. Also in the far rear I keep my saddle and saddle blankets. This arrangement works perfect.
I keep both seats in, but leave one folded up all the time. I only have one kid, and it makes it easy for him to get in and out. Also, having a hobby similar to SEPP, but more modern :lol: , it makes it easy to load long objects in and out of the vehicle, either through the side door or the back clamshell.

Besides that, I love the way people say "that's cool the way the seats fold!" when they ask to see in my E!

Regards,
SOL
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