Seats Backward facing in a Multivan?

[Chucky007]

Hi,

A quick question is it legal to drive a multivan with the rear captains seats rearward facing?

thanks Chris

[Sunny43.5]

Do they rotate as per factory instructions from the owners manual , if so then they are legal . If there is instructions on how they can be used in the rearward position then I can,t see a problem , most car makers will put stickers somewhere saying whether they are suitable for rear facing use .

[Chucky007]

Do they rotate as per factory instructions from the owners manual , if so then they are legal . If there is instructions on how they can be used in the rearward position then I can,t see a problem , most car makers will put stickers somewhere saying whether they are suitable for rear facing use .

Thanks. Yeah they rotate as per instructions. There are no warnings signs to say you can't. I might contact Volkswagen as well to confirm. Cheers


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[Sunny43.5]

Check the owners handbook there is usually an Australian supplement booklet which will address seats and belts and child restraints . Good luck with contacting VW pack of useless idiots at there customer centre down south , dealers are not much better .

[Guest001]

Wouldnt it depend on whether you can still use the seatbelts. We reversed the 2nd row seats in a Hi Ace and had to resite the seatbelt anchorages. Your chairs may have them included????

[Sunny43.5]

Big difference with the seats in a Multivan would be that they were load and crash tested in both directions at the factory to ADR test standards , and believe me the tests loads are enormous as in my old business we used to do maxi Taxi conversions to Toyota Hi Ace Commuter models used for taxis . We used the original rear seat from the Hi Ace reversed it behind the drivers and passengers seats but we had to manufacture special steel beams that were mounted onto the side pillar areas . Then there had to be special bars for the head rests . The seat belts were a piece of cake as it was the actual seat backrest that had to take the impact load of around 5.1 metric tons this was to simulate 3 adults sitting there . Hillbilly says he reversed the 2nd row seat I wonder if it was tested in reverse , you see any seat has to withstand twenty times its own weight in a collision then the seat belts have to also stand up to twenty times the weight of an adult . But if you reverse the seat then the seat back rest and its mounting legs have to then withstand the forward weight load of the seat plus occupants . Like I said in our maxi taxi the seatbelts only need to keep occupants in place as virtually all the load of the 3 adults is transferred to the back rest and headrests . We actually bought a partial wrecked Commuter that we mounted to a test bed facility we built , this enabled us to use load testing equipment and have it certified . Believe me we spent tens of thousands testing the rear facing seat and having it certified by an engineer to comply with ADR regulations .

[Guest001]

Mine were done in 1995 in NZ and maybe not as stringent as here. They were Toyota factory seats with the belts attached but we had to put new belts in attached to plates welded under the floor. The one by the side door swivelled but we locked it so passengers couldnt play.

It got passed for a Certificate of fitness every 6 months so must have been up to some standard.

Probably a lot tougher today as in those days you could bash down the rear mudguard rolls in the 81/83 Coronas to get the correct seat width for 3 people. LOL.