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Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it?

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 1:00 pm
by KSNeptune
One of the reason I bought my Vibe was because of the creative cargo carrying options. I've put the front seat down so I could stick some 8' lumber in once, but never yet used it as a platform to work on.So, anyone make good use of the passenger seat when it's folded down? If so, describe what you do with it down.KSNeptune

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 3:35 pm
by Vibe
Frankly--I wish it had the pocket rather than the table. I used to reach behind the passenger seat to use the pocket as another storage spot.But who knows--I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 11:04 pm
by baltimore17
I'm looking around the house for a wall I can tear out and rebuild so I have an excuse to go out and bring home some 8 foot 2x4s. Or big, long pipes! Oh boy, I know there's a bathroom somewhere around here that needs some serious renovating.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 12:35 am
by NovaResource
I drive my 5 year-old daughter to school every day and she has to sit in the back seat in a booster seat. She sits on the passenger side and I fold down the front passenger seat for her to see out the front better.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (NovaResource)

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 1:02 am
by shenandoah24
Nova--you are a good daddy!!! That is so sweet to let you little one see out the front like that!!!!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 2:37 am
by Lorin
Speaking of no car seats....Dad rented a New-Yorker for a vacation trip when I was 7. I used to sleep on the floor up front, and there was still plenty of room for my 17 year old brother to sit comfortably!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 2:41 pm
by red
Ever since my 8 year old daughter saw that it could make a neat table for her beanies and game boy stuff, its been down almost since day one. I always get a double take from fellow coworkers when they see the seat folded down in the parking lot.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (red)

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 9:31 pm
by Sputnik
quote:Ever since my 8 year old daughter saw that it could make a neat table for her beanies and game boy stuff, its been down almost since day one. I always get a double take from fellow coworkers when they see the seat folded down in the parking lot.Great idea! A Beanie table!! Wouldn't my boyfriend hate that? First they're taking over the apartment and then the car (there's already one in the car).

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (Vibe)

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 6:41 am
by KSNeptune
Looks like no one actually uses it as a work platform. Perhaps the marketing guys were a bit wrong. I too would have preferred a pocket on the back.KSNeptune

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 9:43 am
by cibomatto
I had to fold the seat down to carry a friends double string bass in my vibe.. How cool

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 6:56 pm
by Stang2Vibe
I would happily use it as a workstation if I had a laptop computer. They just don't make them as fast as a desktop for the same price or with the same size screen. I'm very happy with my Dell desktop and won't be trading it in any time soon.I've had the seat down to show a few people how it goes down. I also find that the headrest on the back seat hits the back of the front seat when I want to put the back seats down. This is because my girlfreind is rather tall (she's about 5'8") and she moves the seat way back. She gets upset if she has to readjust the seat all the time, so I found that I can put the rear seat down by folding the front seat forward a little. Overall, I fold down the rear seats much more often than I do the front seat.I did fold the front seat down to use it like a work table when I was installing my carbon fiber dashboard kit, though. So I guess I've used it a few times since I bought the car.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 3:59 am
by esjones
I wish that it folded FLAT. The time or two I've tried to use it as a lunch table, I was afraid that the drink would fall over.- ESJ

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (esjones)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 4:04 am
by NovaResource
quote:I wish that it folded FLAT.It does fold flat. You have to make sure the back is all the way upright first (not reclined) before folding it forward.Read pages 1-7 and 1-8 of the owners manual.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (esjones)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 4:05 am
by Triton
I haven't needed to fold it down as of yet. It will be cool when I need it to carry something really long.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (NovaResource)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 4:31 am
by Frosty
quote:I drive my 5 year-old daughter to school every day and she has to sit in the back seat in a booster seat. She sits on the passenger side and I fold down the front passenger seat for her to see out the front better.My three yr old grandson gives this feature Thanks for the suggestion.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (AtWork)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 6:27 am
by PBFlash
I've folded mine down a few times to hold my skis.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 11:23 am
by philndz
if im givin one or two peeps a ride home from college....a 3hr drive...they will sit in back and i'll fold the seat flat and set the laptop on it and play dvd movie on it...fm modulator puts sound through the cars stereo.....hey silver!!!-Phil

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 11:04 pm
by philndz
hehe...! could be quite a little enterprise....im not that mean...its easy for me to give them a little entertainment and i kinda enjoy just listening to the movies too....weird i know. its a really good setup...not many cars you could do this with...yey vibe!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 12:50 pm
by snowbeast
i used it recently to write some last minute thank-you cards. since i wasn't prepared, i had to write directly on the semi-bumpy surface of the seatback. the seat folds down well after some adjustments (seatback upright before folding-so one has to reach across the passenger's seat to the lever on the other side), and the grippy surface of the work area doesn't show up too much if one writes directly on it. i did have to find a place to put all the things that were on the seat before i folded it down, but that's minor. it was neat to have something so conveniently located for those last minute things! in my other car, i would have had to write against the steering wheel/dashboard/window-not as fun! i would also have missed out on the interesting expressions on people's faces as they walked past the car, watching me writing on the seatback!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2003 2:41 pm
by Project Shadow
I'm a travelling hydraulic specialist and have used it as a work table for calculators, books, etc... I didn't care when I bought the car but I like the feature now.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (NovaResource)

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2003 6:42 am
by esjones
quote:It does fold flat. You have to make sure the back is all the way upright first (not reclined) before folding it forward.Read pages 1-7 and 1-8 of the owners manual.Yeah... or the label on the table surface itself. I noticed that today when I was washing the car. Felt pretty dumb.- ESJ

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2003 7:18 am
by Lorin
So that's the key! I couldn't make it work and gave up, planning to look it up sometime later - that was a month ago!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (philndz)

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:13 am
by bellwilliam
I do the same thing with my Vibe. my wife always sits right behind me, and my baby sits in right rear seat. with my laptop playing DVD on folded front seat, it is perfect for my baby. because 1. it is of right height. 2. laptop DVD is of much bigger screen than typical in car DVD system.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (bellwilliam)

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 8:01 am
by Lorin
quote:I do the same thing with my Vibe. my wife always sits right behind me, and my baby sits in right rear seat. with my laptop playing DVD on folded front seat, it is perfect for my baby. because 1. it is of right height. 2. laptop DVD is of much bigger screen than typical in car DVD system.Think of all the money I could have saved on that conversion van w/tv/vcr/cd/cassette, and 12 MPG around town!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (silverawd26)

Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2003 7:35 am
by pmh013
I read this thread a few days ago, and ever since mine's been down! I didn't vote before, but now my vote is down almost always. It's very handy!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (pmh013)

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:59 am
by AZViking
Not sure if anyone's tried this yet, but the fold down passenger seat makes a handy diaper-changing table. We drove up to visit my in-laws yesterday (about a 3 hour drive) and had to make a stop halfway. Other than that, the only time I've used the fold down seat was for a rolled-up 6' x 9' area rug.

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:51 am
by binary
I was on vacation but attending classes online - only problem was I couldn't fine an internet connection to save my life (beside long distance dialup at $.10/minute).SO I did some war driving in a town near where I stayed and found a legit free wifi access point in an icecream shop... spent the afternoon parked in front of it doing classword with the A/C and AC on It sure was nice to have a place to rest my books and laptop.Now I fold it down for my daughter if she wants to put her feet up on long rides.

Re: (binary)

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 12:01 pm
by chemrebel
we've folded the rear psnger down but haven't folded the FRONT down yet. we've folded the rear down (the side that doesn't have the car seat already in it of course) several times for long cargo, namely a full-size stroller and just today when we tried to haul this home in one shot:http://www.walmart.com/catalog...99267had to take it OUT OF THE BOX piece by piece. we got all of it but the two grey base pieces in, and we popped the hatch window so the longer slide could hang out. hubby had to make a second trip back to the store for the last of it. if we didn't have the car seat and the need for the fron psngr seat we probably could have gotten it all in. BTW, i have also changed my girl's diaper and clothes in the vibe, albeit in the back, and thanked my lucky stars that i made such a good car-buying decision. sure can't do that with a normal sedan. peole would probably start calling the cops if they saw you putting a kid in a trunk

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:26 pm
by prathman
We've found the fold-down front seat feature handy a number of times:1) took the car on an extended camping trip and used the fold-down seat to hold the laptop for evening movies in the campground;2) used it to carry some long pieces of lumber home without needing to use a roof rack;3) our daughter has a concert-size harp and a significant factor in choosing the Vibe was that it was the smallest car that could carry the harp inside - but only with the front passenger seat and rear seats folded down.

Re: (prathman)

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:46 pm
by Viberrrr
One of the first times I had to use it was when I needed to replace my screen doors. So with the seat folded down I was able to get both new doors in my Vibe. This car is great.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 4:39 am
by LUVROK
I fold it down occasionally to put my white water kayak inside instead of on the roof if I have no passengers.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (LUVROK)

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:14 am
by rebbierae
My boyfriend and I went to the drive-in movie theater and we were trying to "snuggle" and couldn't get comfortable with the console in the way. Suddenly I remembered that the seat folds down so we both climbed in the back, folded the seat down and used it as an "ottoman" for our feet to stretch out and watch the movie--it was awesome!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (rebbierae)

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:32 am
by Viberrrr
Quote, originally posted by rebbierae »My boyfriend and I went to the drive-in movie theater and we were trying to "snuggle" and couldn't get comfortable with the console in the way. Suddenly I remembered that the seat folds down so we both climbed in the back, folded the seat down and used it as an "ottoman" for our feet to stretch out and watch the movie--it was awesome!Heavy petting in the back seat of the Vibe at a Drive-In EXCELLENT

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (Viberrrr)

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:36 am
by rebbierae

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:31 am
by crazytrain
I keep it down most of the time and really love the hard surface area. Being a service professional my car doubles as my office during the day. I just need to get some velcro so my stuff doesn't fly off during turns and short stops.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:35 am
by vibegtcouple
i fold my down at car show the pass seat and driver rear i but my hot wheels and diecast on it

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:03 am
by Raivis
i folded mine down a few timesi actually folded it down, used a tire tie down and straped a tv/vcr down to it so my daughter could watch a movie on long tripsGOTTA LOVE THAT REDNECK INGENUITY (SP?)

Re: (Raivis)

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:36 pm
by KNINE
You're not a real redneck unless you use duct tape.

Re: (K-NINE)

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:15 am
by Vibr8tr
I agree with the ghanging table idea, it had been used for that a few times. And I once fit a couch in there, yes a WHOLE couch. I folded the seats down (including the front), and pushed and shoved until it fit. I drove all the way from Daytona Beach to Fayettville NC (8 hours), with it hanging out the back (the wind bent my wiper on the back window), and I had the couch going over the shifter and center consol.... I will try and dig up the pics of it.Over all, I had no room for anything, and the wind was horible.... but I got a free couch out of it.P.S. If you ever have to leave your rear hatch open for anything, be ready to loose some MPG, I dropped to almost 25 from my normal 36 cause I had it open.

Re: (Vibr8tr)

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:06 am
by kevera
It great for working on a laptop.It's invaluable when you buy 10 foot 2x4's,slide them right in.It also makes a great rolling table.

Re: (kevera)

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:38 pm
by silvrhawk7
Quote, originally posted by kevera »It great for working on a laptop.It's invaluable when you buy 10 foot 2x4's,slide them right in.It also makes a great rolling table.I can only use my laptop on the table when its on battery because the 110 plug doesnt support 3 prong plugs. Does anyone know of a MOD for that?? (not to stray off subject...)

Re: (silvrhawk7)

Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:44 am
by nygiantzz1
Quote, originally posted by silvrhawk7 »I can only use my laptop on the table when its on battery because the 110 plug doesnt support 3 prong plugs. Does anyone know of a MOD for that?? (not to stray off subject...)Buy a 3 prong adapter, should cost around $1.00 at almost any store.

Re: (kevera)

Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:45 am
by DopeVibeGT
Quote, originally posted by kevera »It great for working on a laptop.It's invaluable when you buy 10 foot 2x4's,slide them right in.It also makes a great rolling table.Exactly why mine was put down....for lumber. Twice. Oh, and once for picking up the body kit for my Grand Am.

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:17 pm
by JesseWHHS
Well when I get to school, I chill in my car and do my homework sometimes. lol. Although it is convenient, it is a pain to lean over to use it, litteraly. I dont have another option so I just deal with it. Very cool though I think.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (snowbeast)

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:45 pm
by Whelan
Typically when moving stuff or tossing the 8's ladder in the car I drop it down for the extra storage. I got more capacity than my fiances Jeep!

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (snowbeast)

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:32 am
by vibolista
The passenger seat gets folded down any time I go out cross country skiing. Long skinny skis ride inside and don't get covered in grime. Already used this to get some PVC pipes home from Lowes. My son is moving this weekend and will be using this cool feature in his Vibe. I'm sure that more uses will crop up.

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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:41 am
by Celtic_Curse
I have an amp installed in it.

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (snowbeast)

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:31 pm
by vibolista
Cool feature. Helps make the interior way more usable. Might be one of many reasons why I bought a Vibe in the first place. Note lengthy cargo in attached picture. Keeps the skis from getting grungy in sloppy weather. Did I mention that this little wagon is very usable?

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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:15 am
by WaveAction
i've never had it down..i've folded it down to check it out but thats about it..i wish it came with a pocket or some sort of storage instead of this "table"

Re: Fold-Down Passenger Seat. Use it? (KSNeptune)

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:34 am
by Sputnik
When we had a Vibe we put the front seat down to get the hubby's kayak in - its only an 8ft kayak, so we were able to slide it in and close the hatch. When we went shopping for the Rogue, one requirement was the front passenger seat had to fold flat for that reason. Luckily the Rogue had that as an option on one of the packages. The salesguy saw me recently and says he tells that story to other people looking at the car. LOL. Guess no one could figure out why they'd put it down in the first place.