Can I take the back seat out of my car?
And, how do you go about doing it?
It’s a Subaru Outback if that makes a difference.
Just looking for general tips. If I get down on the floor, will I easily be able to identifiy the bolts attaching the seat? Is it a complicated process?
Thanks.
I have an oddball friend who always takes the back seats out of his (granted, old junker) cars. He’s a stickly for power/weight rations. He’s been known to remove doors as well. So it can be done probably for any car. I know folks who track race their cars who’ve also removed the back seats.
As to how to do it, I don’t know. I can’t imaging there are too many bolts holding them in.
It’s easy to remove the back seat. I have an '01 Impreza RS that I installed a rear tower brace on. To do so I had to remove the seat. If I remember correctly, the back portion lifts off revealing the bolts that hold the bottom in place. I think there may be one bolt in the front too. Beware of the covering behind the seat back. I tore mine and had to duck tape it.
The back portion just “lifts off”?
Hmmm. I gotta get in there and mess around I guess.
Typically on a fixed seat (nothing folds down or up) the seat cushion can be removed by pressing or pulling some retaining clips at the bottom of the front of the cushion. The backrest portion is usually held by a few bolts which are visible once the cushion is removed.
If the seat cushion folds forward, or the seatbacks fold down, the removal process will be different. It may or may not be obvious how to do it. For proper instructions, get a factory service manual.
Ah, this is a folding seat.
Is there a source for factory manuals, or can I just bring it by my guys? They could probably do it in a half-hour, no?
On most cars, the back of the seatback is the inside of the trunk - when you remove the seat, there’ll be nothing to divide the trunk from the rest of the car.
Just something to be aware of.
Not a problem with a Subaru Outback. It’s a station wagon.
My only question is, is taking it out worth it. After all, the back seat of a Subaru folds done pretty nicely.
It’ll depend also on whether or not the seat is made to easily be put in or out. My family has a 1986 Isuzu Trooper II which, in a way to get around some import tariffs, was made so that the back bench seat could be easily bolted in with four bolts. The car was shipped seperately from the back seat and the seat bolted in at the dealers in America.
Depends what the costs are.
My wife uses the car for her business, and loads it to the gills 15-20 times per year, so much so that she loses her sight lines. And, she already has a rooftop box.
Primarily, we’re looking for some extra space, and the extra few cubic feet would make a noticeable difference, I think. I hadn’t even thought about weight savings, but that’s a nice added benefit, too, I guess.
Don’t bother, if it’s anything like my Impreza outback sport it’s just held on by 4 or 5 bolts. All you need to remove it is a socket set and a 15 minutes of just looking at it. On my impreza you need to fold down the seats in order to reach some of the bolts.
My Impreza also has a bar under the seat that crosses the body of the car. That thing is structural support and I don’t suggest removing it.
If this is to race it, bully for you.
If this is to gain cargo capacity, I might suggest having partition installed between the cargo area and the driver/passenger area.
You really don’t want to be in the driver’s seat if you have a fully cargo-laden van or station wagon without a partition. The back of your seat doesn’t cut it.