98 Avalon - Rear Seat Question - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

jds10011 · 03-17-2010, 04:11 PM

Hi all--
Apologies if this has been covered, but I've looked for the last 20 minutes and not found it. Feel free to link me to an old thread if I've missed it.

I'm in the midst of purchasing a '98 Avalon XL (second half of '98, with the two-piece taillights, if it makes a difference). I'm upgrading from my current '98 Camry, which has 200,000 miles on it and is getting a bit tired. I've realized that the Camry has the fold-down rear seats, so I can put large items in from the trunk, which I occasionally need to do for my work and large purchases, whereas the Avalon I'm told does not (at least this year). Do any of you know what is between the rear seat and the trunk? (I don't have physical access to the car yet.) At minimum, as a temporary measure, can one remove a few bolts/clips and at least lay the rear seat back down to allow a large item to be transported? Also, has anyone tried to fit a split rear seat from another vehicle in this model to achieve the fold-down functionality? I know some parts of the chassis are identical to some other Toyota models.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

ImDisaster · 03-17-2010, 06:55 PM

There is a metal panel behind the seat and I believe the fuel tank is behind the lower portion.

jds10011 · 03-18-2010, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImDisaster

There is a metal panel behind the seat and I believe the fuel tank is behind the lower portion.

I'm confused... wouldn't the fuel tank be under the rear seat and trunk area? I'm asking about between the seat back and trunk. Anyone have a photo with the rear seat back removed?

ImDisaster · 03-18-2010, 09:45 AM

Its a solid metal panel....at least it is on the '99's. I've removed the seat. You need to take the seat off to get to the upper strut mounts. Just guessing on the fuel tank. On vehicles where there is a pass through, from the trunk to the vehicle, rigidity is lost. It is usually gained back by reinforcing the panels around the hole and trunk. I would not recommend cutting this metal away as it is part of the structure.

Chunkywolf · 03-18-2010, 10:26 AM

There really isn't much preventing you from doing it aside from the way the seat is secured into the vehicle(at least this is true in the 95, and I'm pretty sure the frame of the vehicle has not changed drastically). On the 95 there is SOME metal sticking out from the sides by the wheel well to add support for the back deck/roof/strut mounts, but this is nothing that would prevent storage of items partially in the cabin of the vehicle.

The main problem is that this is just a feature that toyota did not really intend to have on this vehicle, so the back seat must have the bottom cushion removed(just pull up on the front of it), and then there are 4(maybe 6?) bolts that secure the seat belts/seat back to the floor. You then can just slide the seat up 3 inches, and it comes right out.

jds10011 · 03-18-2010, 08:48 PM

It sounds like I'm hearing two somewhat contradictory opinions. Thanks to both of you for the replies. Anyone else want to weigh in?

I'm aware that on my Camry, the pass-through is much smaller than the area that is covered by the seat backs; it's a similar size space I'd be wanting to create. Problematic?

Also, anyone have an answer to the part about whether seats from another vehicle (with a fold-down rear seat) would fit, or is this vehicle's frame very different from all of those?

Chunkywolf · 03-18-2010, 09:23 PM

If I remember correctly, the camry has a slightly different body style. The closest match to the first gen avalons, is the lexus ES300. You MIGHT be able to put in an ES300 back seat into an avalon, but I have not seen enough of the es300 to say wether it will work or not.

Possible seat: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LEXUS...Q5fAccessories

ImDisaster · 03-19-2010, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jds10011

It sounds like I'm hearing two somewhat contradictory opinions. Thanks to both of you for the replies. Anyone else want to weigh in?

I'm aware that on my Camry, the pass-through is much smaller than the area that is covered by the seat backs; it's a similar size space I'd be wanting to create. Problematic?

Also, anyone have an answer to the part about whether seats from another vehicle (with a fold-down rear seat) would fit, or is this vehicle's frame very different from all of those?

On the '99's, there is NO passthrough. I can't imagine the 98's are any different. Also, as was mentioned, the seat has no real structure. It is just a flexible piece of material covered foam. The metal between the seat and the trunk is the structure.

If having a pass through is a deal breaker, you'd be better off buying a car that already has one then trying to modify a 12 year old car (and potentially ruin it while spending way too much money in the effort.)