I saw a couple of threads saying it was easy (with no details) and a couple saying it was not possible. So I took my car to the dealer, where the service rep said it was not possible. I asked him to ask a tech. He came back and said "remove plastic pieces, then unbolt" and quoted me 1 hour to remove.

I got them out in about 15 minutes. First I used a set of plastic pry tools (from EBay, handy for interior bits) to remove the (4) plastic clamshells. Then I used a 14mm deep socket to remove the 3 bolts and one nut on each seat. The only "tricky" part is the forward, outboard bolt on each seat is actually a stud - removing the nut allows the bracket to snap up. This is the spring that you're pushing down against when you push the seat back down after folding it up. So I did the forward stud on the other seat with the seat in the folded position and had no drama.

FWIW, that 15 minutes was in the dark with a flashlight - about half of the time was getting the right socket setup. If pushed, I could probably get both seats out now in about 5 minutes. In the dark. Without a flashlight.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Are you going to build a platform for sleeping and camping? I'd love to see some pictures if that is the route you are going.

 

Ah, no - I just needed room to drag home a Shopsmith I bought this weekend that's just under 6' long.

But I still haven't put the 2nd row back in. We went snowshoeing yesterday at Snoqualmie Pass, and it was great to have all that room in the back for snowshoes, poles, and clothing. And today I'm going to do a spring cleaning dump run.

I do need to get the seats back in - we carry our Samoyed in the back and it's not safe - for her or us - to have that much room for her to fly around in.

 

Today I put the seats back in, and it took longer than I expected. First of all, the plastic clamshells are harder to re-attached than remove. Note that they are not all the same - the rears of the outboard pieces are more cut out to accomodate the bars (easily figured out). I found it easiest to put on the front one first, then the rear (starting at the top), and then press the two pieces together.

When I put the seats back into their raised position, I noticed that it was now a very tight fit between the two seats. There's apparently some wiggle room in the mounting bolts and the two seats aren't guaranteed to be absolutely parallel. I'll probably remove the clamshells, loosen and re-tighten the bolts to make them not be as tight against each other. And then re-install the clamshell.

So...ok, putting the seats back in is a bit trickier than I originally thought.