i hate to be the person who fans the flames, but why would it be a safety issue? I assume when Tesla got the approval from the DOT for production of the car they would have also received approval for the seats, I get that they were optional but the data should have been comprehensive to include the seats, no? It must be a supplier issue at this point? has anyone tried talking to people within Tesla to confirm or deny this? If it's a safety issue this will open a whole can of worms, but I am sure it is also something that can be remedied with a bit of engineering. Now that I am deferred i can be on the sidelines and wait it out for a bit, but it does have to get resolved before I commit? Anyone else have some thoughts or insight?
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Delivery/Installation: Rear Facing Child Seats
- Thread starter Model S Man
- Start date
I have a feeling that this may actually be a legal/regulatory issue. I am sure they were NHSTA/DOT crash tested.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are states that have laws against this style of seat.
or
My other thought is Tesla is putting together specific guidelines on weight/height limits for the seats before they give them out. To be legal I would imagine they would have to do this.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are states that have laws against this style of seat.
or
My other thought is Tesla is putting together specific guidelines on weight/height limits for the seats before they give them out. To be legal I would imagine they would have to do this.
Many Volvos wagons have seats like this, or did. The S seats are not supposedly installable/removable by customers probably for safety/regulatory issues. I think personally think most of the problems with delays have to do with external manufacturers not meeting Tesla/German standards.
That was not the impression I was given when I asked a rep about it at the Not-store in Bellevue a few weeks back.
PeterW
Member
You are right, and from what I can remember (do not have a link) they tested way beyond what the regulations required and still passed.
Arnold Panz
Model Sig 304, VIN 542
Agreed. Based on a post in a other thread, it sounds like its a regulatory issue, not a supplier issue, which isn't surprising.
Actually, my eight year old has told me she's concerned about the safety of the seats. She knows from school that most collisions are rear-end, so she is concerned of she sits back there. Smart girl, and I'd like to be able to assuage her (and her mom's) concerns with some data, more than Elon just saying "trust me!"
PeterW
Member
sublimaze1
8Dec2012 / Leeroy Jenkins
Spoke specifically to my OE Rep today, Sean. I directly asked him if the delivery of cars without the third row seats was a safety issue, crash test issue, or safety failure issue and his response was "no, not to my knowledge"
Okay, very appropriate, considering the political flavor of our nation currently, but I did not stop there. I asked if the seats had any mechanical issue that prevented them from being shipped.
His response was (and I paraphrase): The seats that were in the demo models were beta. They met all the safety requirements, but were not the final design. Whereas the dimensions of the seat were to fit 35-74 lb children from X to Y inches in height, the final produce will be similar, if not the same as the beta. The VINs that are being shipped sans third row (e.g. due bill) have the D-rings and latches on the rear of the second seat in anticipation of installation of the third row
Now, I did not ask him if it was a Ranger install, or a DIY.
So that's all I got.
WJ
Okay, very appropriate, considering the political flavor of our nation currently, but I did not stop there. I asked if the seats had any mechanical issue that prevented them from being shipped.
His response was (and I paraphrase): The seats that were in the demo models were beta. They met all the safety requirements, but were not the final design. Whereas the dimensions of the seat were to fit 35-74 lb children from X to Y inches in height, the final produce will be similar, if not the same as the beta. The VINs that are being shipped sans third row (e.g. due bill) have the D-rings and latches on the rear of the second seat in anticipation of installation of the third row
Now, I did not ask him if it was a Ranger install, or a DIY.
So that's all I got.
WJ
DrTaras
R254->R725->S->X->M3->M3P-->R2020?
It probably was not intentional, but of course there is a difference between waiting for an app and waiting for a 3rd row. :wink:
Arnold Panz
Model Sig 304, VIN 542
Of course you are right. I was only trying to make the point that I'd rather get my car and have a due bill for certain things than wait until I can get the car with everything perfect. When people talk about "early adopters" for this car, this seems like a reasonable thing to expect, as long as it doesn't take too long for the seats to get installed.
DrTaras
R254->R725->S->X->M3->M3P-->R2020?
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Since Elon drove with his kids in the jump seats on I-5, there are presumably no legal/regulatory issues with them?!
I think this is the second reported LA/SF Supercharger trip (after the official launch): (using all 7 seats)
So now that we have seen about 900 VINS and maybe 500 deliveries has anyone else had the rear facing seats delivered or installed? Seeing Elon driving the car with all the seats leads me to believe there is no regulatory issues as some surmise? So what could it possibly be at this point? The car was pitched as a 5+2 seater and I intend to use it that way when I eventually take delivery, but I will remain deferred until I can see some real progress on this issue other than pictures of Elon's one car with the seats. Has anyone gotten any concrete responses from tesla and for those that have received the car with the due bill items doesn't it annoy you that you have pre-paid for something you have yet to receive? I think this message might have a more negative tone but with each day I get a bit more antsy about what to do, so sorry in advance.
mlascano
S Sig #722
Arnold Panz
Model Sig 304, VIN 542
I was given the impression not to expect the rear facing seats at least until year-end at the earliest. I wouldn't expect to see them before Q1 next year, and that may be optimistic. I imagine that there are other issues besides regulatory, but officially there is no one particular reason for the delay. For anyone who really needs the extra two seats daily, this could be an issue until they're included some time next year (hopefully early next year) in cars being delivered.
DrTaras
R254->R725->S->X->M3->M3P-->R2020?
Arnold Panz
Model Sig 304, VIN 542
From my DS (a vague statement mentioning year-end). I don't think he had any special insight or knowledge, but just the impression I got was it was going to be awhile. The rest is my extrapolation based on previous experience with Tesla. I mean, they're delivering cars without parcel shelves and rear floor mats, which don't seem to be particularly complex items to manufacture or install, so rear facing seats, which are an order of magnitude much more complex in both areas, I would expect a significant lag time.
I should add that I asked someone in HQ about the root cause of the delay, whether it was a supplier delay, or a regulatory thing, such that as soon as the problem was resolved they'd start production and installation. The response was that there is no official response, which I infer to mean its not just one little thing that's holding this up, and they're not that close to getting them ready for installation. I recall (not for where) hearing that Elon's seats are betas, so just because he has them doesn't mean we'll have the production version within a month or two. Just my educated guess based on what I've heard (or haven't heard).
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DrTaras
R254->R725->S->X->M3->M3P-->R2020?
I'd have to concur with your inferences based on what you've shared. Thank you
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