Fold Down Rear Seat—Why? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

LC · 19th January 2002, 04:58

I would greatly appreciate any feedback on whether or not to get the fold down rear seat.

Thanks.

LC

Rezf · 19th January 2002, 05:01

I think the fold/down option makes the M5 one of the most versatile automobiles. The critics of this option argue that the fold/down feature causes a rattling noise in the cabin, especially over bumpy roads. I peronally have the fold/down and have never heard anything remotely annoying.

Rezf

Apples · 19th January 2002, 05:09

Why not..... it gives you so much more room/options for all sorts of things. I don't know why they even give you a choice.
When the trunk is full of bags l can place my clubs up one side of the flod down and this increases my trunk space by a min of 25% and still have room for a pasenger in the rear with ease. In my mind it's a must have..
APPLES

TCM · 19th January 2002, 05:53

I love mine also. ALthough I only use them on certain occassions, they are very handy. For example, you can carry all four snow tires in the back of the M5 to get them mounted on your rims. I have no reports of rattles and my car is a '97. This is a must on any 5er IMHO.

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 06:10

biggest common pros: hauling stuff, fitting odd size items, you snowboard not ski, you like being able to pull out luggage from either direction, or the best one - "just in case you need to sleep stretched out!"
(unless you are a giant, get a mummy bag, nice and padded. i swear it works)

*i've taken long drives in both my 97 M3 w/ fold down seats and 01 M5 where my girlfriend and I were both happy because:
a) she could turn around, reach back and get some bizarre little 'must have now' item which of course she packed in her luggage
b) i could continue to cater to my vice of constantly trying to set a new personal land speed record between San Francisco and Los Angeles
c) if you have a limber passenger, it IS possible to change your CD changer while still on the go and not stopping

biggest common con: not proven, but implicated in a number of noise complaints dealing with either tha actual back seats themselves, the parcel shelf, or general "back there" area.

mitigating the noise issue however is that at least for me personally and a good number of people who have posted on this board, i was able to eventually isolate and completely get rid of all noise issues. i'll never be sure if the noises were because of fold down seats - my M3, 540, and M5 all have fold downs. i've never had a BMW without fold down seats so i've no idea if i would or wouldnt have been fixing cabin squeaks, noises, etc, anyways. but for each vehicle, it took anywhere from 2-3 months after first getting them to zero out all the noise complaints i had, many with the help of the info on this board.

now if only i could easily find a fix for my current post-Dinan rattles

PaulMarin · 19th January 2002, 06:32

Fold downs are a must option (IMO) even though I only use it every couple of months. No rattles.

greg · 19th January 2002, 08:19

I rarely use mine, but when you need it, you NEED it.

I've used it to carry:

PVC pipe
Lumber
Ladder
radio controlled airplanes
bicycle
fishing rods
water ski
4 M5-sized tires (you could do this without folding down the seat, but then you'd get tire rub all over your back seat)

and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember. I haven't had any noise problems with it in 23K miles.

LC · 19th January 2002, 08:24

Some people have indicated that there is a slight (and possibly on long trips—moderate) difference in comfort.

I may use the fold down in some unusual situation, but more often I will have passengers using the back seat area—comfort, therefore, must be a higher priority.

Again, would appreciate your feedback.

LC

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 10:13

i guess i can't help being the voice of evil....the fold down seats are plenty comfortable enough, or so say passengers i've carted.

even if they are slightly less comfortable than the non-fold downs, it's not like it's a gulag back there

get the fold downs, be selfish - it's ok, think of yourself first, doom your passengers to second class luxury comfort i say!

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 12:47

on a serious note - clarification: i have hauled passengers all the way from the San Francisco Bay Area to deep south Orange County (San Clemente area). call it about a 6 hr trip.

if there are some people that complain about the lack of comfort, i'm sure they're valid. but there's also plenty who have no complaints or even say they are very comfortable. suppose it's all relative to what you're used to.