Reclining the passenger seat backward

[PeteInLongBeach]

Originally Posted by Karl Roth

Take a look at the distance from the back of your head to the rear window. then keep in mind that the back window is the end of the car. feel free to grind the tabs off. The range is fairly upright and is the safest position in any car.
karl

I don't understand your issue with the head-to-window distance. All other things being equal, the driver seat can be reclined to a comfortable angle but the passenger seat cannot. Even with the driver seat reclined back to its limit, there is no issue with the rear window. Try it.

So, the question remains...

[mvaldes]

Try this thread, it has Evilution's post:
Mod the factory smart fortwo seats

[CruzinSusan]

You don't have to modify anything.

Kneel in the seat. Pull up lever adjuster. PUSH the seat back - it will take FORCE. Once the seat is back (it will go as far back as the space allows,) using the lever, it will stop incrementally in any 'up' position.

Learned this trick at the Lombard meet. Works with both seats. THANKS LARRY, of Howling Cow fame!

I immediately reclined my seat and took a little nap...
zzz

[EdwardDennis]

Originally Posted by mvaldes

Try this thread, it has Evilution's post:
Mod the factory smart fortwo seats

Yup, I did Kane's mod back when he first posted about it. Seat recline is more comfortable (...particularly for the passenger) and lever adjustments are trouble free.

[Evilution]

Originally Posted by mvaldes

Try this thread, it has Evilution's post:
Mod the factory smart fortwo seats

Thank God someone eventually posted a link, Smartdavis is telling people to break out the angle grinder

[JD10367]

Has anyone actually confirmed if this is okay to do (i.e., pushing on the seat to make it recline further)? I mean, is it SUPPOSED to not recline, due to safety issues, or is ia a defect that just doesn't allow it to go as far back as it should? I wouldn't want to force a passenger seat to recline more and found out I just disabled some sort of safety mechanism, and then if there's an accident whoever's in the passenger seat gets turned into Mini-Me!

[Evilution]

Who knows but it doesn't change the mechanicals that stop the seat from locking in place and it stops in stages the same backwards as it does forwards. I suspect it is there to discourage you from driving it in a too laid back position.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Evilution

Who knows but it doesn't change the mechanicals that stop the seat from locking in place and it stops in stages the same backwards as it does forwards. I suspect it is there to discourage you from driving it in a too laid back position.

Yes, but the impression I got from these threads is that the driver's seat does recline but the passenger seat does not. Which, I agree, wouldn't make much sense; if the driver's seat can recline, safety-wise shouldn't the passenger seat be under the same guidelines? (Unless the passenger side airbag is different, or it's got something to do with the weight sensors in the seat, or... ???)

It would be nice to know, direct from Smart, if this is just a technical glitch ("Yeah, the spring's a little tight on the passenger seat, just push it hard") or if everyone is putting their passenger's safety at risk by forcing the passenger seat back further than it's supposed to go.

I would love an answer on this. We're due to get our Smart soon. My wife and I have only been married four years, so we still like each other; I need to know whether or not, when we tire of each other, one of us is going to force the passenger seat back and put the other in an unsafe position and then "accidentally" rear-end a semi.

[Smartdavis]

Originally Posted by Evilution

Thank God someone eventually posted a link, Smartdavis is telling people to break out the angle grinder

The grinder didn't work. I ended up using a blow torch. It got a little out of control but at least I don't have to worry about scotch guarding the upholstery anymore.

[PeteInLongBeach]

I tried over-riding the passenger seat limit just a couple of notches, so at least it matches where I keep my driver seat, and it works fine. I get the sense that we are bypassing an intentional limit tab in the mechanism, but the reclining ratchet appears to work over quite a large angle, so the safety and integrity of the seat appear to be unaffecteed by this override.

I still can't understand why they limit the passenger side SO much more than the driver side.