Anyone tried removing the third row of a Kodiaq ?

[majland]

Anyone tried removing the third row of a Kodiaq ?

 

Cooming from a Superb Combi i am afraid that we don't have enough space for our anual skiing trip so i am considering removing the third row.

Anyone tried it ? Any special tools needed ?

[silver1011]

1) Remove the boot floor paraphernalia which mostly lifts out.

 

2) You do not need to unbolt the rear seats from the floor, instead you can just disconnect the small gas struts by pulling them sideways...

 

 

3) There are then two bolts under the front of the rear seats bolts, they are ‘M’ Spline, not Torx so you might need to invest in a new socket set.

 

The seats are extremely heavy so you'll need another pair of hands to lift them out of the car.

[majland]

Thankyou - Looks easy enough. But yes better check whether I've got at splines bits. I might have in a Biltema set with them - or do i need spline sockets ? Do you remember the size ?

 

[silver1011]

Sorry, the information I posted was borrowed from elsewhere, I haven't removed the rear seats myself.

 

If I was a betting man I'd say the bolts will be similar to those used on brake caliper carriers.

 

Mine look like this and  are from a company called Bergen...

 

[Guest]

Just digging up an old post.

 

Majland, did you remove them?

[silver1011]

@majland

[majland]

We could fit our luggage with the seat in for the winter holiday so have not tried to remove it (yet).

 

But i looked at it and seemed easy from the instruction above.

[Guest]

Thanks for the update. A 5 seat kodiaq would be an answer to my problems. Skoda once offered a 5 seat in UK higher spec cars but now only base versions have no 3rd row. Seems an incredible waste of space and I'm sure most owners never use them anyway.

[Jfhuk]

With two dogs, I can see us having to look at other options when the 5 seat  Kodiaq’s SEL’s come up for renewal next year and the year after. Daft decision by ŠKODA U.K., as there still available in other countries.

[silver1011]

The main (not sole) reason Skoda rationalise their range is due to lack of demand.

[Jfhuk]

2 hours ago, silver1011 said:

The main (not sole) reason Skoda rationalise their range is due to lack of demand.

Talking to dealer when I picked up mine there where six other 5 seat SEL’s in the same delivery. He claimed that it was the second most popular config after the seven seat SEL and the reason it was being dropped was to increase the price of SEL’s

[silver1011]

I can't see Skoda needing another two seats to justify increasing prices. Maintaining prices and removing the seats would improve margins.

 

I'm not suggesting the 5-seater wasn't popular, but the 7-seater has always sold in higher quantities than the 5-seater.

 

All businesses are under pressure to implement complexity reduction right now so I can understand not wanting to potentially double the number of configurations by offering 5 and 7 seat versions across all trims.

[Jfhuk]

Seems odd that the 5 seat equivalent is still on the Irish ŠKODA configurator,  you can even get a five seat RS!

[Guest]

On 21/05/2020 at 16:24, Jfhuk said:

Seems odd that the 5 seat equivalent is still on the Irish ŠKODA configurator,  you can even get a five seat RS!

Why isn't the 7 seat option popular in Ireland? Because it only comes with 5 doors.

 

Joking aside, the reason the UK doesn't have the 5 seat option is more likely because Skoda know we're the stupid ones. Not for a second do I believe it's because it's a popular option, metallic paint is a popular option but that's only std on top of the range cars ( where it's already built in to the price ).

 

I totally believe is was a popular option here in the UK as people love to dream up fantasy lifestyles for themselves ( just like those who buy a RangeRover hardly ever mount a kerb farless venture off road ) A 3rd row conjures up possibilities when in reality that 3rd row is never used. All it does is give the car a USP.

 

Other than in motoring reviews, I have NEVER seen the rear seats being used in a Kodiaq. Such a waste of space really but hey ho. They're far too small to be of any use.

 

I've just ' Konfigurieren ' a car on the German website and a 3rd row is an option even on L&K. 'Configuralo' shows 3rd row an option on Spanish Sportline and in Italy where arguably the largest families live under one roof, ( in the Eu anyway ), 3rd row is an option on Sportline.  And as per above, all Kodiaq's in Ireland can be had with either 5 or 7 seats.

 

So it seems only the UK is being taken for a ride. Or at least we are in 5 of the 7 available seats.    

 

Edited 22 May, 2020 by Guest

[Manc-Fletch]

I did use the third row of seats last year on holiday ( remember them?)  my inlaws joined us for a couple of trips out , not too far though, only about an hour away from our holiday home. It did remind of the Anthill mob though. 🤪

 

I bought the car used, so the third row was just a bonus and not a requirement.

[mazo22]

On 22/12/2019 at 13:34, silver1011 said:

1) Remove the boot floor paraphernalia which mostly lifts out.

 

2) You do not need to unbolt the rear seats from the floor, instead you can just disconnect the small gas struts by pulling them sideways...

 

 

3) There are then two bolts under the front of the rear seats bolts, they are ‘M’ Spline, not Torx so you might need to invest in a new socket set.

 

The seats are extremely heavy so you'll need another pair of hands to lift them out of the car.

Do you have some pictures how far the gas struts lift the seats in maximum position? I have got mine to this position - owners manual pictures show it as they should swiwel to a higher position almost 80-90 degrees upwards

[silver1011]

That's as high as the gas struts will lift the seats, the idea is it gains you just enough space / height to release and remove the spare wheel, or in your case the Canton subwoofer.

 

This appears to be as high as they go, which mirrors the height in your picture...

 

 

Bear in mind that in this illustration from the manual all the paraphernalia from the boot has already been removed, in your picture everything is still in situ, i.e. the foam inserts etc.

 

If you want to lift the seats higher you have to disconnect the struts from their supporting bracket by pulling them into the boot area towards each other i.e. pulling them off their ball joints.

 

I can't see this process mentioned in the manual though, do you have the text / images from your manual, or better still the print date / version?

 

I'm tagging @wokwon as I know he has spent quite some time removing and reinstalling the interior trim on his Kodiaq, which hopefully includes the third row seats.

 

Edited 27 May, 2020 by silver1011

[wokwon]

Yeah that's about how high they go.  My spare tyre is under there, the seat raise is just to allow one to extract the tyre.  Not so much to fold them up (that would have been simply clever).

 

I was amazed how heavy they were.  With the struts detached, it's very heavy to raise.  They were a two-person carry when out of the car.  If you're taking them out there is some electrical cabling to disconnect too (the seat occupancy sensors).  I think the plug was near one of the struts.

[Guest]

Sorry guys, only just picked this up.  Many thanks for the info silver - appreciated. And wokwon for the hard labour! 

 

I had no idea the battery was there.

 

 

[mazo22]

On 29/05/2020 at 16:58, Scot5 said:

Sorry guys, only just picked this up.  Many thanks for the info silver - appreciated. And wokwon for the hard labour! 

 

I had no idea the battery was there.

 

 

The battery is there for the RS version

[majland]

Still have the car and have been on at least one ski holiday a year since - But only with 4 in the car and a Thule's larget roof box (or at least close to it ....)

But we will be 5 adult sized in the car in a few weeks (2'nd row all the way back with as most reclining as possible) so i got back to this thead.... 

Spend more time reading this thead again than actually removing the seats  🙂

My Kodiaq is from 2019 and does not have seat occupancy sensors on the third row so it was just unclipping the dampers (that could'nt hold the seat in the cold anyway) and removing the two forward facing spline bolts

I thought about removing the sparae wheel and subwoofer as well - but Murphy law witt then probably cause a puncture

 

Edited 14 January by majland

[linni]

For puncture buy a cheap compressor and this kit:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/wlw-XtremeAuto-TRIKE-PUNCTURE-REPAIR/dp/B07FW34M8Z/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LCJW6obdVwiwt-MYnXAXmaPnfFzIyLT0AcZGb0zlFKQC_eU0k8kKSIA89rDebD8NVWSHXj449JHcpmH8BxrwY0s7UJkDXBDOxDCpm_MnDdnAUoeXHlP4UJJKCkhv0Zsxx0fWqdCTj1U9ynfKVx5Qug.Twf9XGwAuiRbjKT0uTBvVGrvpaZIPen_6UChoMyDf_M&dib_tag=se&keywords=tyre%2Brepair%2Bkit&qid=1705241670&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[majland]

The risk of damaging a tire or rim beyond repair is real ... Knock on wood, i've not done that in many years and out others cars does not have room for a spare (i better update my signature....)

I've used such an emergency repair kit in the past on my motorcycle, but it is not something i would like to do in freezing temperaturs on a mountain road in a ski resort ...  The same for the foam that comes with most skoda now a days that makes a mess .

So if the romoval of the very heavy seast is enough the tires stays - but could remove it if necessary.