Removing rear seats

[TopPlonker]

Hi All,

I seem to have outgrown my car, due to hobbies (mountain biking and fishing) my little daily Fiesta is feeling a bit cramped.

I've been thinking of getting a van but the car I have is spot on mechanically and I've just spent a lot on it so I don't want to get rid of it either.

I'm thinking of removing the rear seats and putting in some carpeted plywood to make it flat like a van.

Is this going to cause legal issues with insurance or MOT's?

Would this make my vehicle a modified car causing issues in the future?

I did some googling but I can't find a common consensus.

Thanks!

[Haltamer]

What about a roof rack?

Half width box and a bike rack on the other side, Space for all and you keep your passenger room - Only problem I'd forsee is if the carparks you're going to have height restrictions

[Onelastattempt]

I removed the complete rear seats from a relatives Fiesta as she wanted to fit a dog cage big enough for two medium sized dogs. It passed 4 mots with no problems, If I remember right you will need a decent torx bit to remove them.

[Silvanus]

I did it with a Passat and turned it into a mini camper van with no issues. Also did it with a Grand Voyager, plied out the back so we could use it as a tip car during a renovation, vans needed to book, cars didn't.

[Yellow Lizud]

Just do it. No one will give a toss.

[Super Sonic]

Onelastattempt said:

, If I remember right you will need a decent torx bit to remove them.

You might need an air ratchet.

[TopPlonker]

Onelastattempt said:

If I remember right you will need a decent torx bit to remove them.

It's ok, I have an angle grinder

[OutInTheShed]

I wouldn't expect your insurer would see it as a notifiable modification, but it might be worth asking?

[skeeterm5]

TopPlonker said:

Hi All,

I seem to have outgrown my car, due to hobbies (mountain biking and fishing) my little daily Fiesta is feeling a bit cramped.

I've been thinking of getting a van but the car I have is spot on mechanically and I've just spent a lot on it so I don't want to get rid of it either.

I'm thinking of removing the rear seats and putting in some carpeted plywood to make it flat like a van.

Is this going to cause legal issues with insurance or MOT's?

Would this make my vehicle a modified car causing issues in the future?

I did some googling but I can't find a common consensus.

Thanks!

I took the back seats out of my truck and also removed the seat belts, it went through the MoT without an issue.

[KTMsm]

I can't see it's an issue - plenty of people remove them from an MPV

[Sebring440]

Why don't you just fold the seats down?

[Roboticarm]

A few years back my Celica had a leak which resulted in the rear seat, which is essentially a big foam pad wrapped in leather, being very wet, I removed to dry it (after fixing the entry point of the leak) and it took weeks to dry, so much so that the car went in for an MOT.
I got an advisory for "rear seat removed" that was it.

Worth a 5 mins chat with your insurer if you go beyond just removing though

[K4sper]

OutInTheShed said:

I wouldn't expect your insurer would see it as a notifiable modification, but it might be worth asking?

My brother's insurer certainly took a different view in respect of his track-modified 328i - to the extent that the increased premium for removing the seats meant it was only economical to keep them installed and remove the at the track, every singe time

[Bigends]

K4sper said:

OutInTheShed said:

I wouldn't expect your insurer would see it as a notifiable modification, but it might be worth asking?

My brother's insurer certainly took a different view in respect of his track-modified 328i - to the extent that the increased premium for removing the seats meant it was only economical to keep them installed and remove the at the track, every singe time

My son removed his from his daily driver which he also uses as a trackday car = informed the insurers - no charge.

[E-bmw]

Removed the seats & belts etc from my 328 no issues with MOTs for 6 years I had it.

[aka_kerrly]

It has been a few years since I last MOT'd some cars with no rear seats, if you remove the rear seats it is wise to remove the rear seat belts too, then it is a lot more obvious you cannot take passengers & no belt for the MOT inspector to look at/check.

Or, if the Fiesta has 2 piece split rear seats that don't fold completely flat it may be easier to remove the seat backs and leave just the bases in.

[Randy Winkman]

Sebring440 said:

Why don't you just fold the seats down?

Exactly. The lower CofG will mean much better handling too.

[donkmeister]

TopPlonker said:

Onelastattempt said:

If I remember right you will need a decent torx bit to remove them.

It's ok, I have an angle grinder

I've clearly missed a gold thread about all jobs needing air tools and angle grinders recently as I've seen this popping up a bit - any chance of a link?

[carl_w]

donkmeister said:

I've clearly missed a gold thread about all jobs needing air tools and angle grinders recently as I've seen this popping up a bit - any chance of a link?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[donkmeister]

carl_w said:

donkmeister said:

I've clearly missed a gold thread about all jobs needing air tools and angle grinders recently as I've seen this popping up a bit - any chance of a link?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Thank you kindly!

I'm surprised no-one offered the suggestion of applying heat, that's a sure fire way to get screws out of ABS plastic.