Any Tesla Model Y 7-seater owners here — are you happy with the third row, or disappointed?

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what ages are realistically comfortable back there? Are we talking toddlers, younger kids, or can older children sit there comfortably as well?

https://youtube.com/shorts/63COpO5wgAU?si=vDNhKWcTc88JQFTm

Thank you!

getting into 3rd row is as complicated as typically is on 2 door coupes into backseat (i.e. not something you will want to do every day, acrobatics involved), but as backup option to sometimes haul whole family and put kids there perfectly fine. I just wish there was 7 seater performance though, best of both. space reduction is negligible to my knowledge.

Adults can use it, my wife has gone back there she is 5'4" my son is 5'6" and I feel if he's 5'8 inches it's going to feel tight. Anyone under 5'6" is comfortable but not ideal for long trips and getting in and out is doable, but just takes more time. I honestly love my 7 seater as it comes in handy in a pinch. The space saved with a 5 seater is honestly negligible. Approximately a long flat suitcase difference as the seats only take up about 5 inches of height and 20 in length. It doesn't matter much because you still have a subtrunk and rear hatch space that will never hit the ceiling anyway. I think the convenience of having seats is worth the small storage space you lose. The worst part honestly is splitting the leg room between the rear seats and the middle seats, but it's totally doable, just as mentioned not ideal for super long trips.

Many people don't know the middle seat has a button lever that not only goes forward but lifts up to allow your rear seat passengers to more easily get in. Yes it's tighter but totally doable and kids honestly don't have any issues at all to get in which is what the seats are ideally for.

Thank you very much!

We road tripped with it and my 12 year old and 10 year old were fine back there. We suggested stretching at charge stops but they didn’t always feel the need to. We have an 8 year old that will go rotate back there soon. We haven’t put any adults back there but I doubt anyone would enjoy the tight space for more than 20 minutes.

We only use it around town when we have company so we don’t have to take 2 cars. If the long Y comes here we would get that.

My 5'0" wife felt cramped (head space) and a little claustrophobic when she tried it out.

Absolutely a waste of money unless you dedicate that third row to kids. No adult can feel comfortable there.

I had a 7 seater for a few years before trading it in for a 5 seater. Family of 4. On paper, it looked to be a no brainer. Practically, we never used the 3rd row. It was tight, and hard to keep clean. We always left the 3rd row up because the seat belts would make indents in the pleather if left down for too long. The 2nd row being on rails was nice. Cargo room loss is negligible, but you do loose the extra sub trunk in the back where the 3rd row seats fold into. You can also be creative... you can put down the 2nd row to make a makeshift table and have kids in 3rd row.. or if you need to separate, you can put one 2nd row seat down and one 3rd row seat down... doing that helps with airflow as well since there arent any vents back there.. but you loose cargo space. It is a tight fit... but usable in a pinch for kids.. If that's your expectation, you won't be disappointed. You'll be disappointed if you're thinking you'll fit 7 adults comfortably for more than 15 minutes. I know everyone has their own use case scenarios, but it won't replace a traditional 3 row SUV. If you do get one, look under the 2nd row seats at the seat cover. Make sure the bottom of the seat cover is attached to the frame. My seat cover wasn't attached to the frame when I accepted delivery. They tried to fix it 4 times, but always got loose with time. I ended up giving up after spending hours at the service center. [https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1ew8y58/3\_week\_old\_car\_rear\_seat\_upholstery\_peeling\_up\_in/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1ew8y58/3_week_old_car_rear_seat_upholstery_peeling_up_in/) Bottom line for me is I thought I'd use it more than I did. If you use it, it's fine for what it is.. If you don't end up using it, it can become a hassle when compared to the standard 5 seater.

I would add that there isn't really any AC back there so it can get quite hot, especially when the car is full.

You will never convince me the 7 seater is worth the extra money. Unless you are a small child it is WAY too tight back there.

I own a 2022 7-seat Model Y. The 3rd row seat worked reasonably well as occasional-use jumpseats, but aren't working for us anymore.   The 3rd row is a good supplemental seat, and has worked well for us in the past when we only had three kids who were willing to share the 2nd row for around town driving.  But we just had our 4th kid, and it’s not working for us anymore. Kids opinions son the 3rd row: - 16M is too tall.  His head touches the glass if he sits normally back there. - 11M fits great back there, but he strongly prefers riding in the 2nd row without a stated reason. - 8F fits great back there but she hates that she can’t see out very well and she refuses to sit back there voluntarily. - 0F doesn’t have a lot to say, but her car seat only fits in the 2nd row and the usual car seat hassles make using the 3rd row much more difficult.  When her car seat is in the center position using the base, we can’t use the seatbelt in the left 2nd row position.  When the car seat is in either the left or right position of the 2nd row, our ability to make legroom in the 3rd row is compromised. With 3 kids, using the 3rd row for tweens annd elementary-aged kids during roadtrips (and when friends come with us) worked reasonably well. Car seats are just going to work better in the 2-row Model Y. With 4 kids, it’s just not working very well and I’m looking to trade my MYLR7 for an EV9, Ioniq9, or a Rivian R1S.  These larger vehicles will just work much better for my use-case. *(The  ID.Buzz has range-numbers which make one of our common roadtrips awkward. Also, we’ve considered a Pacifica PHEV and a Chevy Suburban - but mo’ gasoline mo’ problems, and we just couldn’t commit to buying regressive vehicles that we’re going to hate driving.)* We’ve had our MYLR7 for 3.5 years and the 3rd row seats worked reasonably well as occasional-use jumpseats.  But they just don’t replace owning a large vehicle if you regularly carry >5 people in an all-ages household.

Neighbor got a 7. Happy I didn’t buy one. He regrets buying his.

My kids love it back there and it has really come in handy a bunch of times. I didn’t want it originally, my wife did, and I have to say she was right.

Would be very inconvenient to get infants and toddlers in and out of the 3rd row. Have family that ended up getting a van with captains chairs configuration for ease of access to accommodate their 3 kids all under 5. Maybe YL (whenever it launches) would be a better option that could accommodate adults as well.

Yes think of it as a five seater with two seats that are optional in a pinch.

I have a 7 seater and 3 kids. I can fit them all 3 across but I do put 1 or 2 in the 3rd row occasionally so they aren’t all right next to each other all the time. When using the third row, you slide the second row forward and that can be complicated if you have rear facing kids in the second row, it also limits the back seat foot space for the second row. I’m a CPST so I always make it work with all the car seats I own. The third row is cramped and there are no vents back there but my kids are small and they don’t seem to mind now. I do worry about being rear ended at a high speed, so I try to limit the use of the third row. I’m almost 5’3” and 130lbs. I couldn’t fit back there very comfortably. I use my Yukon xl on the days I need more space in a vehicle. IMO the trunk space is amazing. I can fit a lot back there plus the frunk. Even more with the third row down. We are upgrading to an X and I’m sad about the trunk space we are losing in the Y.

Wait. Isn't the model X bigger than the Y? How are you losing trunk space on the X when the X is bigger?

It might be slightly bigger where the interior seating is but the trunk space is literally half. I can barely fit my overhead bin stroller back there and have room for maybe one grocery bag next to it and that’s using the sub trunk. Without the sub trunk, I couldn’t even get a stroller back there. It’s insanely small. I’m moving to the X because I need the door set up for my kids.

Usable daily? No. But, it is really helpful when driving kids around and you need an extra seat or two for little kids. They have poor visibility back there, so they feel isolated on longer drives. But around town it is useful. There is still space in the back and the frunk, so bags and such are easy to tote around. Depending on preferences you can fold down half of the third row and kids can get out the back/trunk.

We think it was worth it. From 6-8 (so far) our older has frequently used it when we are also driving with grandma and a second kid. We have used it so both kids can invite a friend and us as parents can go along - 6 total. We have sat 3 in a row on one side to carry something long in the car. The second row sliders are nice for multiple reasons even when not carrying extra people. The rear still has tons of room with the 3rd row folded down. The rear sub truck is large and carries things that just live in the car at all times - a tiny folding stroller, spare clothes, charger adapters (never used - Tesla charging is great), shopping bags etc. Some adults have ridden in the 3rd row for short trips - requires sliding up both the 2nd row and front seats from their defaults, so EVERYONE is a little cramped, but it works! I would buy it again. No regrets.

I think this is a great way to frame it and how I looked at it when I bought my 22 with 7-seats. In reality I don’t think a human ever rode in it. I just never had that pinch. It’s a good seat for a dog though.

Great space for a dog. Also read somewhere that the back of the vehicle is reinforced on the 7 seater, improving overall safety. Wouldn't use it for kids or adults unless it's a short jaunt. It's too tight for any reasonable comfort. And to make it more comfortable, you'd need to move the middle row up... which then results in not really enough space for any of the passengers behind the front row. All that said, no regrets getting it. It's a nice to have, even though it's folded down most of the time. Space reduction is negligible. You will not be sacrificing any meaningful space.

You cannot put infants back there, are you crazy? It's not intended for car seats. Don't listen to this person ^^^ It's a great option for kids who don't need car seats for short trips if you need the space in a pinch. Not suitable for the average adult. Would not put anyone back there unless needed. Great space for pets however, especially with the middle row middle arm rest down, giving the pets a bit of breathing room.

I will use it to take kids to school for a short trip, but that’s the extent of the use case for me. Emergencies and 3 minute drives.

Have the original. Third row is a joke for any kid older than like 5.

This is the biggest issue. No air movement in the last row.

Very happy! Large family with adult children I use it once a year or so, better for small kids but a life saver in a pinch.

The one thing I’d add on the space reduction aspect, you do lose the 2nd sub trunk with the MY7.

The third row is tight for anyone not under 12. As a 6’2 adult, i can’t fit back there. I thought the extra row would come in handy but we’ve only used it twice in 1.5 years. There’s also 0 air flow back there & seems to get hotter bc your head is right next to the glass.

Had mine for almost 5 years. I’m glad we got it because it’s helped us out a number of times. Most of the time they are folded down, but we’ve used it plenty of times when we needed it. It was more of a “great to have option”. If you need it for daily use, I wouldn’t recommend it

I have had the 3 row model y for 4 years now. We use the 3rd row for a couple of months when we have family over. It gets the job done and there was nothing else that was this fun to drive with 3 rows at this price point.

If you get in an accident it’s likely the car batteries will disconnect to avoid a fire. When this happens there is no way to fold the second row seat backs down so make sure whoever sits in the third row is small enough to crawl over the seat backs

We have 3 kids that need car seats, so the 3rd row is inaccessable. Really wished the 2nd row were captain chairs so that there is a passthrough. However, in a pinch, its great for extra seating to travel short distances. The modelYLL cant come soon enough… or the highlander ev

As someone said 5'4" is the limit for adults. My daughter and niece, in their 20s don't mind when it eliminates taking a 2nd car to dinner. 1 DD and 6 happy people who didn't have to call Uber

When the 3rd row is not in use, does the back seat have the same amount of leg room as the standard 5 seater Model Y?

Yes, and there's plenty of it.

Wonderful, thanks for the knowledge!

I’ve always thought of it as either 5 people plus stuff or 7 people (2-5 of whom are small). We’ve gotten less use out of it than we hoped.

Thanks for correcting. Appreciate this. Yes definitely not for infants but was only referring to the size of the seats which can only fit very very small sized humans.

Sorry. Those seats are not meant for infants. Yes

Disappointing! Made for baby bodied adults or kids 6 and under.

Never use it. Got one of the first ones in 2021. Tried it a few times but family kept having panic attacks in the cloistered back.