Car Owners Complain About Third-Row Seats

2015 Honda Pilot Third Row (Credit: © Honda)

J.D. Power has uncovered that many people who own vehicles with a third row aren’t exactly satisfied about the space, or lack thereof, on the rear row of seating. The news, which shouldn’t a surprise to anyone who has had the misfortune of riding in the back of a Subaru Tribeca or Honda Pilot, came about as part of the research firm’s annual Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study.

According to the data collected and released, people who have a vehicle with three rows of seating are approximately 33 percent more likely to complain of problems with seating, when compared to owners with two or a single row of seats. The rate of complaints spikes when it comes to people who own compact MPVs and SUVs that have a third row, with almost half of them saying they experience issues with seating in their vehicle.

Third-row seats, says J.D. Power, even for car owners who have only one or two children. The firm says that 54 percent of people who own a vehicle with a third row reporting using the rearmost seats at least once every month, with 41 percent saying it is used at least once a week.

Topping the list of complaints fielded by J.D. Power is that more “soiling and scuffing” result from third-row seats that are hard to reach. Kids have no problem climbing over seats, but adults have a problem with the aftermath. The other big complaint was that a third row in most vehicles seriously erodes any cargo space that might have been available, making the vehicle that much less practical to own. Of course, some models address these top complaints with second-row seats that fold and slide forward, as well as larger cargo areas behind the third row.