[toddwalton]

I've been watching YouTube videos to learn about the X7 I've ordered and I noticed something concerning or at the very least confusing.

It looks like when someone opens a rear door and wants to get into the 3rd row they:

1. Pull a lever next to the headrest in the 2nd row.
2. This triggers the motorized 2nd row seat to move forward to make room for 3rd row entry.
3. This also triggers the motorized 1st row seat to start to move forward to make room for the 2nd row seat.

I'm not understanding #3.

If I'm seeing things correctly in the video, if the six of us arrive at the X7 at the same time, my wife will need to stand outside the passenger front door and a) wait for her 1st row seat to move forward, b) wait for my daughter to get into the 3rd row seat, c) then wait for the 2nd row seat to move back before d) waiting for her 1st row seat to move back.

Is this right? It looks like it takes about 20 seconds for the 3rd row seat to become available to sit in and then another 20 seconds for the 2nd row and 1st row seats to move back forward into position to become available to sit in, and add in another 20 seconds for my daughter to get situated and pull the seat back to start the reverse process.

Please tell me I didn't just order a $90,000 luxury car that is going to make my wife stand there in the rain for 60 seconds while three rows of seats move aft and fore every single time we get in/out of the car.

[like2short]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

I've been watching YouTube videos to learn about the X7 I've ordered and I noticed something concerning or at the very least confusing.

It looks like when someone opens a rear door and wants to get into the 3rd row they:

1. Pull a lever next to the headrest in the 2nd row.
2. This triggers the motorized 2nd row seat to move forward to make room for 3rd row entry.
3. This also triggers the motorized 1st row seat to start to move forward to make room for the 2nd row seat.

I'm not understanding #3.

If I'm seeing things correctly in the video, if the six of us arrive at the X7 at the same time, my wife will need to stand outside the passenger front door and a) wait for her 1st row seat to move forward, b) wait for my daughter to get into the 3rd row seat, c) then wait for the 2nd row seat to move back before d) waiting for her 1st row seat to move back.

Is this right? It looks like it takes about 20 seconds for the 3rd row seat to become available to sit in and then another 20 seconds for the 2nd row and 1st row seats to move back forward into position to become available to sit in, and add in another 20 seconds for my daughter to get situated and pull the seat back to start the reverse process.

Please tell me I didn't just order a $90,000 luxury car that is going to make my wife stand there in the rain for 60 seconds while three rows of seats move aft and fore every single time we get in/out of the car.

If the front seat is reclined this is possible... the 2nd row seat needs to come forward and tilt... and if the the front is reclined to far back it needs to move up.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by like2short

If the front seat is reclined this is possible... the 2nd row seat needs to come forward and tilt... and if the the front is reclined to far back it needs to move up.

So if my wife is 5'4" and doesn't have the front row passenger seat pushed back very far then her front row passenger seat won't move forward and backward as my daughter triggers the 3rd and 2nd row seat motorized cadence? So my wife can jump in the front seat simultaneously with my daughter flipping the lever and the front seat won't push her forward into the dashboard?

(Praying this is the case)

[like2short]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

So if my wife is 5'4" and doesn't have the front row passenger seat pushed back very far then her front row passenger seat won't move forward and backward as my daughter triggers the 3rd and 2nd row seat motorized cadence? So my wife can jump in the front seat simultaneously with my daughter flipping the lever and the front seat won't push her forward into the dashboard?

(Praying this is the case)

Should be ok...

[Ilyam5]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

So if my wife is 5'4" and doesn't have the front row passenger seat pushed back very far then her front row passenger seat won't move forward and backward as my daughter triggers the 3rd and 2nd row seat motorized cadence? So my wife can jump in the front seat simultaneously with my daughter flipping the lever and the front seat won't push her forward into the dashboard?

(Praying this is the case)

Great question. I have the same concern./ Can the person stay seated in the first row and just move it up? or do they need to exit the vehicle?

electronic folding is slow - standing outside waiting for the 3d row to load is tough even for the second row passenger. Wish they had manual controls for the seats to immediately fold them./ Or enough room between captains chairs to squeeze in.

After owning loaded Toyota Sienna - there is really no replacement for 3d row utility of the van.

Another concern is high position of the captains chairs because of the mechanism below. Tall adults say 6.3 can not lower the seat and knees hit entertainment screen.

Could someone with captains chairs please check those functions.. Thank you
Is the bench in the second row make it easier to get in and out and lower to seat?

[like2short]

Originally Posted by Ilyam5

Great question. I have the same concern./ Can the person stay seated in the first row and just move it up? or do they need to exit the vehicle?

electronic folding is slow - standing outside waiting for the 3d row to load is tough even for the second row passenger. Wish they had manual controls for the seats to immediately fold them./ Or enough room between captains chairs to squeeze in.

After owning loaded Toyota Sienna - there is really no replacement for 3d row utility of the van.

Another concern is high position of the captains chairs because of the mechanism below. Tall adults say 6.3 can not lower the seat and knees hit entertainment screen.

Could someone with captains chairs please check those functions.. Thank you
Is the bench in the second row make it easier to get in and out and lower to seat?

As regards to q1, I will need to check for y'all. My x7 is away from me now but will check over the weekend.

[toddwalton]

So I can confirm that it is what I thought- worse, actually:

Not only is it true that if anyone activates the 3rd row it automatically moves the 1st row seatback, making things even worse is that the 1st row seatback moves forward into an angle that is greater than vertical!

I went back to a dealer close by during lunch and put the system through its paces. Whether the 1st row seats are empty, with a seated adult, without seatbelts, or with seatbelts, positioning the drivers seat or the passengers seat the way that any average person would with a few inches pushed back and a few degrees of tilt, doesn't matter, it works the same way. If someone needs to get in the 3rd row, someone in the 1st row can't sit down.

I can't believe BMW would have designed it this way. Heaven help a pregnant woman about to be folded in half. Good luck if 5 passengers are in the car and pull up to pick up another passenger in the pouring rain as the person in the second row and the person in the first row have to get out and get wet themselves.

I honestly don't know what BMW was thinking. It's about 60 seconds of delay from the moment someone triggers the second row to open until the third row passenger is seated and the second and first rows go back to a normal position.

[VTENGR]

I wonder if there's a safety mechanism in place where if someone is in the seat it won't actuate. All the seat movement is for maximizing space to get to the back easy, but you can still get back there relatively easy without the front seats moving.
For example, when I ran the test run, I don't remember the drivers seat moving - maybe b/c my wife was sitting in there? IDK - haven't run enough trial and error to know the ins and outs.
I'm thinking the BMW logic is this:
-- Is someone in front seat: Y or N
----> If Y, then don't move seat.
----> If N, then move seat.

[Ilyam5]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

So I can confirm that it is what I thought- worse, actually:

Not only is it true that if anyone activates the 3rd row it automatically moves the 1st row seatback, making things even worse is that the 1st row seatback moves forward into an angle that is greater than vertical!

I went back to a dealer close by during lunch and put the system through its paces. Whether the 1st row seats are empty, with a seated adult, without seatbelts, or with seatbelts, positioning the drivers seat or the passengers seat the way that any average person would with a few inches pushed back and a few degrees of tilt, doesn't matter, it works the same way. If someone needs to get in the 3rd row, someone in the 1st row can't sit down.

I can't believe BMW would have designed it this way. Heaven help a pregnant woman about to be folded in half. Good luck if 5 passengers are in the car and pull up to pick up another passenger in the pouring rain as the person in the second row and the person in the first row have to get out and get wet themselves.

I honestly don't know what BMW was thinking. It's about 60 seconds of delay from the moment someone triggers the second row to open until the third row passenger is seated and the second and first rows go back to a normal position.

Thank you very much for checking. I assume it is only true fro Captains chairs. Bench resolves that issue. Plus gets more cargo space plus gets rid of plastic cup holder island on the floor
That makes it easy for me to decide on the bench

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Ilyam5

Thank you very much for checking. I assume it is only true fro Captains chairs. Bench resolves that issue. Plus gets more cargo space plus gets rid of plastic cup holder island on the floor
That makes it easy for me to decide on the bench

I didn’t test the bench, but it seems to me that the seatback and head rest height of the bench is the same as the Captain’s, no?

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by VTENGR

I wonder if there's a safety mechanism in place where if someone is in the seat it won't actuate. All the seat movement is for maximizing space to get to the back easy, but you can still get back there relatively easy without the front seats moving.
For example, when I ran the test run, I don't remember the drivers seat moving - maybe b/c my wife was sitting in there? IDK - haven't run enough trial and error to know the ins and outs.
I'm thinking the BMW logic is this:
-- Is someone in front seat: Y or N
----> If Y, then don't move seat.
----> If N, then move seat.

I had a BMW Genius and a salesperson with me and together we sat in the front seats, seatbelts on, seatbelts off, no matter what combination we tried the front seat always moved when the third row was triggered.

The sole exception to this is if you are 4‘3“ tall and sit extremely close to the steering wheel in an upright position slightly more than vertical. Unless you are that body type, the first row seat is going to move and push you forward like this every time someone gets in the third row. It’s tolerable, it’s not like anyone is in danger, but dozens of times a week? It’s very annoying to sit there and be squished and it’s very inconvenient to get out of the car every time a third row passenger gets in/out.

[VTENGR]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

I had a BMW Genius and a salesperson with me and together we sat in the front seats, seatbelts on, seatbelts off, no matter what combination we tried the front seat always moved when the third row was triggered.

The sole exception to this is if you are 4‘3“ tall and sit extremely close to the steering wheel in an upright position slightly more than vertical. Unless you are that body type, the first row seat is going to move and push you forward like this every time someone gets in the third row. It’s tolerable, it’s not like anyone is in danger, but dozens of times a week? It’s very annoying to sit there and be squished and it’s very inconvenient to get out of the car every time a third row passenger gets in/out.

So odd that they would do it this way. Think of a standard saturday afternoon - you wife kids and friends are out and you're dropping them off ... both you and your wife get squished b/c they have to exit the third row seat? Seems like a major oversight.

[toddwalton]

The same situation exists with the bench seat, watch this video carefully at the 15 minute and 25 second mark. Watch the first row passenger seat at 15:30 and 16:40.

[ppagiga]

What is the percentage of times that you want to be seated while a third row passenger makes his way in or out? For me and my three kids it’s zero. Non issue for me

[Wild Blue]

Yikes. This seems like a fundamental question, if passengers can get in and out of the 3rd row, without the driver (or front passenger) getting out of the car.

Everything Todd's saying indicates the answer is no.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by ppagiga

What is the percentage of times that you want to be seated while a third row passenger makes his way in or out? For me and my three kids it’s zero. Non issue for me

Yeah, me too, but I don't think that's the case with everyone.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by ppagiga

What is the percentage of times that you want to be seated while a third row passenger makes his way in or out? For me and my three kids it’s zero. Non issue for me

Scenario 1: It's 30 degrees, it's pouring rain, it's windy. All 6 of you race to the car to get in and out of the rain and instead of only your 3rd row and 2nd row passengers getting wet while they work their way in, you too get wet waiting for your 1st row seat to fold back. You're the last one in, in fact.

Scenario 2: The 5 of you are coming back from dinner when your daughter calls and says she needs to be picked up at the movie theater. Lots of traffic, it's really busy, you need to pull off towards the curb and have her jump in very quickly. But the 2nd row passenger has to get out and so do you in the 1st row unless you want your dinner to be squeezed out of your jeans.

Scenario 3: Perhaps your kids are younger and you are the one buckling them into the 3rd row. In that case you'd have to stand outside your passenger front door for 15 seconds while the rest of the seats move back into place including yours. Count off 15 seconds. It's a really long time to be waiting outside your door when you already could be in and buckled and on your way.

Could you just sit in a first row seat while all this is going on? Of course, it's not a deal breaker. But you will be uncomfortable as you're going to be angled aggressively towards the dash. And if one of the front row passengers is tall- say 6 feet or more- there is a risk of their knees being shoved into the lower dash.

BMW could have avoided all of this by making the 3rd row opening a little less spacious. An inch or two would have done it.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Yikes. This seems like a fundamental question, if passengers can get in and out of the 3rd row, without the driver (or front passenger) getting out of the car.

Everything Todd's saying indicates the answer is no.

The answer is 'it depends'. And I don't want to be over-reactive, most people can stay put in the first row while the 3rd row does its thing.

If you or your front passenger have long legs, yes, you're going to have to get out or patiently wait for the seats to move back into their memorized position again. Probably likely if you're pregnant, overweight, or have muscle/bone issues in your lower back. I did this several times today during my testing and I'm average height and average build and my chin was forward of my groin, about halfway between my groin and my knees as the seatback angled forward.

Otherwise, it's just uncomfortable and inconvenient for about 45 seconds as your $90,000 luxury car feels anything but luxurious. Such an odd decision by BMW.

The solution for all this? Captain's with armrests removed to allow passage between them to the 3rd row, just like the minivan's we're all running away from. But I asked the BMW Genius if they could be removed and he went in the shop and spoke to the tech and the tech led him to believe they wouldn't remove them because then instead of an armrest, a big metal bolt would be protruding and blocking the space which of course can't happen. And while in photos it looks like there's a decent gap between the Captain's armrests be advised- I put my iPhone between the armrests (the narrow orientation) and it didn't fit. So if your thigh is wider than an iPhone, about 2.75", you're not making it through.

[ppagiga]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

The answer is 'it depends'. And I don't want to be over-reactive, most people can stay put in the first row while the 3rd row does its thing.

If you or your front passenger have long legs, yes, you're going to have to get out or patiently wait for the seats to move back into their memorized position again. Probably likely if you're pregnant, overweight, or have muscle/bone issues in your lower back. I did this several times today during my testing and I'm average height and average build and my chin was forward of my groin, about halfway between my groin and my knees as the seatback angled forward.

Otherwise, it's just uncomfortable and inconvenient for about 45 seconds as your $90,000 luxury car feels anything but luxurious. Such an odd decision by BMW.

The solution for all this? Captain's with armrests removed to allow passage between them to the 3rd row, just like the minivan's we're all running away from. But I asked the BMW Genius if they could be removed and he went in the shop and spoke to the tech and the tech led him to believe they wouldn't remove them because then instead of an armrest, a big metal bolt would be protruding and blocking the space which of course can't happen. And while in photos it looks like there's a decent gap between the Captain's armrests be advised- I put my iPhone between the armrests (the narrow orientation) and it didn't fit. So if your thigh is wider than an iPhone, about 2.75", you're not making it through.

I hear you guys on this but we gotta go American if this is a priority. 4” less legroom First through Third rows in this vehicle than there is in the current gen GLS and same is true in that vehicle: fold that third row electrically and the first row moves forward unless a pretty short person is upfront.

The X7 is not a huge vehicle inside. Not on paper and not in real life.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by ppagiga

I hear you guys on this but we gotta go American if this is a priority. 4” less legroom First through Third rows in this vehicle than there is in the current gen GLS and same is true in that vehicle: fold that third row electrically and the first row moves forward unless a pretty short person is upfront.

The X7 is not a huge vehicle inside. Not on paper and not in real life.

Agreed. I'm all-in on the X7. This is a mere minor inconvenience. In the big picture there are bigger things in life to worry about.

[dmann33]

As a wok around, I think you can stow the 2nd row like you would for maximizing cargo. This won't move the 1st row. It also won't completely clear the 2nd row for 3rd row access, but for a spry kids, they could just hope over w/o 1st row inconvenience.