V6Guy

The MY11 backseats do not come close to folding flat. (At least mine don't.) This wasn't that big a deal until my wife decided we needed a second dog, which we picked up late last week. So we now have a 110lb and a 75lb dog. Things are tight for them without the seats folding flat (or at least flatter).

Besides wanting to flatten them for the dogs, I would also like to flatten them for general use. I rarely have a need to use the back seats for passengers, so having flat folding back seats is much more important to me than backseat passenger comfort.

I havent taken a close look yet to see if anything can be done to flatten them out. I wonder if they will flatten out more over time if I just leave them in a flattened position with something heavy on them. I also wonder if some sort of mod would be possible.

Anyway, anyone have any ideas on how to flatten the back seats ?

TIA for any help.

V6Guy

I took a closer look at the folded down backseats and now have a better understanding of the situation.

When I previously looked at the folded backseats, I didn't push the back seats all the way down. This made the slant of the folded seats look worse than they are. This time, I used the backseat side release lever (like I did before), but then pushed the seats down. This helped flatten them, but they're still slanted and not flat. But they're better.

I then found that the edge of the folded backseats nearest the cargo bed is raised about a inch or so above the flat level of the cargo bed. Based on how the backseats are secured to the flooring, I don't think it would be an easy fix to lower the folded seats to the level of the cargo bed. Also, adding weight to the top of the folded seats would do nothing.

One possible fairly easy solution to improve the levelness between the folded backseats and the cargo bed might be to add something on top of the cargo bed to raise the cargo bed to the level of the folded backseat edge.

For the dogs, I think I can just add a fairly big, thick dog bed to the cargo area. This should help raise the cargo bed area closer to the level of the folded backseats. I'm hoping that this "leveling" will be sufficient for the dogs to be able to use the entire back area, and not just the cargo bed area.

Norsk

If you figure out how to get them flat, let us know. I haul my dog in a large VariKennel (36"X24"X26") which fits in my Benz GL with the second row seats up or down. When I tried fitting it in the '11 demo at the dealership, it would only ride level when turned sideways, completely behind the folded rear seats.. So the plan is to get a sheet or wedge of foam rubber to put under the kennel so Mr. Dog is level and the kennel door is facing the tailgate. I have a hunting dog (Deutsch Drahthaar) and don't want mud and burrs all over the inside of the truck (the outside is going to get very dirty).
I'll report back when the truck's in and I have a solution...

Turbo S

Believe it or not I'm hesitant to order the '11 because of the exact same issue. Dog owns the back of my '06 Turbo S. It's perfectly flat back there. If anyone comes up with a solution please post.

Andy E.

I presume that the rear seat head rests on the '11 models still have to be removed as with the previous generation; when attempting this?

I found that moving both front seats forward a bit helps with the folding of the rear seat backs and lessens the parked angle.

allegretto

No, actually you don't have to remove the headrests to flatten them. My roadbike fit fine and I thought is was pretty darn flat, but I'll check.

So, did the dogs complain the floor wasn't flat?

J/K...

Turbo S

Well the dogs really aren't complainers. However, I also carry a lot of stuff when the dogs aren't in there. Just saying it's nice to have a large flat area back there. It's good to know the bike fits in there...that was going to be my next quetsion.

allegretto

About a 15 deg rise to the seatbacks full down.with a dogcrate or tools it will lose another 5 deg or so

didn't have to remove my front wheel on the bike

leek

Assume Porsche abandoned the previous rear lower seat folding forward to make rear seat tops lay flat on floorboard?

Slow Guy

I'm of the same opinion, very annoying about not having a flat cargo area and not just because of the dogs. Stupid for a sports UTILITY vehicle IMHO. We discussed this several months ago when the models were just coming out, someone could do a search for the thread. As I understand it the Turbo (for some unknown reason) is the only one that comes close to folding flat.

Previous thread: 2011 Cayenne

V6Guy

Thanks for the link to that thread. The photo at the bottom of the 3rd page clearly shows the height difference between the slanted folded seats and the flat cargo bed.

I still haven't tried adding the dog bed to the cargo area to raise it up to the level of the folded seats, but I think that will be an easy way to make it more acceptable.

Overall, I would still prefer totally flat folding seats on the same level as the cargo bed, however, I'm not going to do anything more than add the dog bed. However, if someone comes up with a mod or replacement seats which would allow the seats to fold flat on the level with the cargo bed, I would probably be interested.