What's new
By:

Huge seat belt buckle gaps in the second row seats

allenmhc

allenmhc

Active Member

Joined
Jul 31, 2025
Messages
229
Reaction score
445
Location
Bay Area, CA
Cars
Gravity DE, Model 3
Gravity DE Number
266
So I discovered a design flaw in the second row seats today. My kids typically sit in the back row, and as you can imagine, kids are messy and they have their toys all over the place.

They lost a couple of pencils, candies and random items—nowhere to be found, not in the third row, not underneath the bench, or on the floor. I scooted the seats back and forth, no luck. With one final attempt, I folded down the second row bench (which you can only do from the trunk, AFAIK), and found that a bunch of stuff was somehow dropped into the mechanical space underneath the second row seat bottoms, the part that is only exposed when the bottoms fold forward. It's actually quite difficult to fish stuff out of those crevices, with all the wires and connectors in the way.

My only explanation is that these items have to be falling through the comically huge holes around the seat belt buckles in the second row. I can't recall owning another car with as big of gaps for the buckles, and once it's in there all I can do is hope it doesn't get crushed by the seat forward/back motors and that I notice them if I hunt for the items later. I'm going to look for something to plug the holes since I'm not looking forward to having to keep on snorkeling for fallen treasure, just flagging this as a possibility if anyone else has mysteriously lost small items in the backseat.
 
allenmhc said:
So I discovered a design flaw in the second row seats today. My kids typically sit in the back row, and as you can imagine, kids are messy and they have their toys all over the place.

They lost a couple of pencils, candies and random items—nowhere to be found, not in the third row, not underneath the bench, or on the floor. I scooted the seats back and forth, no luck. With one final attempt, I folded down the second row bench (which you can only do from the trunk, AFAIK), and found that a bunch of stuff was somehow dropped into the mechanical space underneath the second row seat bottoms, the part that is only exposed when the bottoms fold forward. It's actually quite difficult to fish stuff out of those crevices, with all the wires and connectors in the way.

My only explanation is that these items have to be falling through the comically huge holes around the seat belt buckles in the second row. I can't recall owning another car with as big of gaps for the buckles, and once it's in there all I can do is hope it doesn't get crushed by the seat forward/back motors and that I notice them if I hunt for the items later. I'm going to look for something to plug the holes since I'm not looking forward to having to keep on snorkeling for fallen treasure, just flagging this as a possibility if anyone else has mysteriously lost small items in the backseat.
Click to expand...
Please let us know what you find.
We use a gadget for the bucket seats which probably won't work for the second row.
 
allenmhc said:
My only explanation is that these items have to be falling through the comically huge holes around the seat belt buckles in the second row. I can't recall owning another car with as big of gaps for the buckles, and once it's in there all I can do is hope it doesn't get crushed by the seat forward/back motors and that I notice them if I hunt for the items later. I'm going to look for something to plug the holes since I'm not looking forward to having to keep on snorkeling for fallen treasure, just flagging this as a possibility if anyone else has mysteriously lost small items in the backseat.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reminder -- I wouldn't consider it a design flaw necessarily, but I did find a surprising number of crayons, beads, sticks, and other toys inside the second row folding seats. I actually feel like the unique folding design makes it easier to retrieve stuff... who knows how much otherwise gets lost forever! The plastic skirts on the front and back of the seats makes it impossible to look and retrieve items as one might in a different vehicle.
 
jered said:
Thanks for the reminder -- I wouldn't consider it a design flaw necessarily, but I did find a surprising number of crayons, beads, sticks, and other toys inside the second row folding seats. I actually feel like the unique folding design makes it easier to retrieve stuff... who knows how much otherwise gets lost forever! The plastic skirts on the front and back of the seats makes it impossible to look and retrieve items as one might in a different vehicle.
Click to expand...
It's harder to look, yes, but IMO easier to get into since you can always sort of reach in and feel around. The folding seat means that it doesn't fall through, and for some items it's really troublesome—a pencil in particular (easy to wedge in-between the components) and a whistle (cord got caught in the seat motors).
 
I don't see it as a design flaw.
I appreciate that space around the seat belt buckles when attaching and detaching two car seats and a booster seat on that second row.

I'd probably struggle more than I already do to access the seat belt buckles and the LATCH/ISOFIX child seat anchors
points, if the spacing was tighter. The covers for when the anchors are in use are also nice.

Our six year old granddaughter is in a booster seat, so she's secured by the seat belt only, no anchors.
Each time I have to find and then attach her seat belt which is next to the seat belt that is holding her younger sister in a car seat, it takes some time.
She sits there patiently while I work at it.

That design works for me.

Screenshot 2025-11-10 at 2.19.31 PM.webp


Screenshot 2025-11-10 at 2.19.44 PM.webp
 
So I searched a bit online. Apparently they do make these things, they call them "seat buckle covers," which is different from all the other seat belt accessories including the "seat gap filler" longer strips that @EVCar references which are designed for the front row.

I ended up getting these ones on Amazon, silicone so I'm hoping that when the seats have to fold down that they don't squish and destroy them outright. @msaunders9430, they're supposed to solve for your use case as well by making sure the buckles don't move around a bunch when you're reaching around for it w/o having line-of-sight to where the damned thing is.

Here's the before and after photo, will report back if I'm finding more stuff under the seats…
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5531.webp
    IMG_5531.webp
    78.3 KB · Views: 330
  • IMG_5532.webp
    IMG_5532.webp
    150.6 KB · Views: 321
msaunders9430 said:
I don't see it as a design flaw.
I appreciate that space around the seat belt buckles when attaching and detaching two car seats and a booster seat on that second row.

I'd probably struggle more than I already do to access the seat belt buckles and the LATCH/ISOFIX child seat anchors
points, if the spacing was tighter. The covers for when the anchors are in use are also nice.

Our six year old granddaughter is in a booster seat, so she's secured by the seat belt only, no anchors.
Each time I have to find and then attach her seat belt which is next to the seat belt that is holding her younger sister in a car seat, it takes some time.
She sits there patiently while I work at it.

That design works for me.

View attachment 34155

View attachment 34156
Click to expand...
I do agree that the latch anchor points w/ the cover is nice, and better than some other cars I've had in the past that just recess the anchor way into the seat and hurts your hands to just reach that deep to latch on the car seat clip.

But, I didn't get this nice car until I was sure the kids were old enough to not completely ruin the perforated leather in a week. :) In my case, it'll take a few months at least.
 
allenmhc said:
So I searched a bit online. Apparently they do make these things, they call them "seat buckle covers," which is different from all the other seat belt accessories including the "seat gap filler" longer strips that @EVCar references which are designed for the front row.

I ended up getting these ones on Amazon, silicone so I'm hoping that when the seats have to fold down that they don't squish and destroy them outright. @msaunders9430, they're supposed to solve for your use case as well by making sure the buckles don't move around a bunch when you're reaching around for it w/o having line-of-sight to where the damned thing is.

Here's the before and after photo, will report back if I'm finding more stuff under the seats…
Click to expand...
Now you're spot on about the moving around w/o line-of-sight.
The gap allows me room to reach in to find the buckle; a good thing for people with large hands.
However, that buckle does move as I'm attempting to fasten.

Please let me know if those holders minimize movement.
 
allenmhc said:
I do agree that the latch anchor points w/ the cover is nice, and better than some other cars I've had in the past that just recess the anchor way into the seat and hurts your hands to just reach that deep to latch on the car seat clip.

But, I didn't get this nice car until I was sure the kids were old enough to not completely ruin the perforated leather in a week. :) In my case, it'll take a few months at least.
Click to expand...
I purchased this seat cover for the times my three granddaughters are on the second row.
I take it off when they're not with us.

Since your kids are riding in your car more regularly, the cover may not work for you.
You also didn't buy that leather just to keep it covered. :)

Also, the six year old grand spotted a third row seat I had up and she wants to six back there next time.
Not sure how I'll handle that.
Hoping she'll forget; unlikely.
 
allenmhc said:
With one final attempt, I folded down the second row bench (which you can only do from the trunk, AFAIK), and found that a bunch of stuff was somehow dropped into the mechanical space underneath the second row seat bottoms, the part that is only exposed when the bottoms fold forward. It's actually quite difficult to fish stuff out of those crevices, with all the wires and connectors in the way.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this tip! My kid lost a small toy in the exact same gap (seat belt buckle gaps in the second row seats) and despite trying to fish it out with all sorts of small tweezer like objects, I was about to give up until I thought I'd search here to see if anyone has run into the same situation. I am looking forward to trying to fold down the second row bench tomorrow - will report back! Thank you!
 
tommee2004 said:
Thank you so much for this tip! My kid lost a small toy in the exact same gap (seat belt buckle gaps in the second row seats) and despite trying to fish it out with all sorts of small tweezer like objects, I was about to give up until I thought I'd search here to see if anyone has run into the same situation. I am looking forward to trying to fold down the second row bench tomorrow - will report back! Thank you!
Click to expand...
Try hemostats - you're too young to remember how very useful they were... ☺️
 
tmichael said:
Try hemostats - you're too young to remember how very useful they were... ☺️
Click to expand...
Hahaha, I had to look it up because I didn't know what they were! But it makes total sense!
 
hwy17er said:
Nurses call them "Kellys"

I fully agree they are super useful
Click to expand...
Now, I had to look up "kellys".

They’re called “Kellys” because that particular style of hemostatic clamp was invented by, and named after, the American surgeon Howard Atwood Kelly, so “Kelly forceps/hemostats” got shortened in casual use to just “Kellys.”
 
tmichael said:
Now, I had to look up "kellys".

They’re called “Kellys” because that particular style of hemostatic clamp was invented by, and named after, the American surgeon Howard Atwood Kelly, so “Kelly forceps/hemostats” got shortened in casual use to just “Kellys.”
Click to expand...
Cool, now I know the back story
 
Where's Paul Harvey when we need him!!!

(You youngins may need to look that one up... 😉)
 
tmichael said:
Now, I had to look up "kellys".

They’re called “Kellys” because that particular style of hemostatic clamp was invented by, and named after, the American surgeon Howard Atwood Kelly, so “Kelly forceps/hemostats” got shortened in casual use to just “Kellys.”
Click to expand...
TIL! Thanks :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top