How can I fold down both second and third-row seats so that I have a completely "flattened" cargo floor on my 2021 CX-9 GT? I can get the third row to be completely flat but I can only get the second-row seat-backs to lay on top of their seats. However, they are not completely flat. The manual is confusing in this area as it refers to other sections of the "Book". This manual shows the second-row and third-row seats totally flat as a picture indicates.
What is "Flattened"? 2021 CX-9 Seats
- Thread starter RonK
- Start date
But that only happens on the Passenger side(40) second-row. The driver side (60) just lays on top of the seat but NOT completely flat
Not sure what you are all referring to as perfectly flat. The bench seat on my 2018 lays almost perfectly flat, on both sides. But it is still just the backrest folding and laying flat on the bottom cushion. It is flat enough to put plywood, big things all the way to the front.
The passenger side does drop when using the tilt and slide function to let people go in the third row, but that is not meant to be used to load big items in the back. And it certainly isn’t flat.
I don’t know if they changed things for the 2021 compared to 2018, maybe if you take a photo of your seat folded we can say if it is as flat as it goes or not.
The passenger side does drop when using the tilt and slide function to let people go in the third row, but that is not meant to be used to load big items in the back. And it certainly isn’t flat.
I don’t know if they changed things for the 2021 compared to 2018, maybe if you take a photo of your seat folded we can say if it is as flat as it goes or not.
Well, that is what prompted the title of this post. I'm not sure what the manual means by "Flat". Is it the way the picture above illustrates it or not? The research I've done on this through the internet indicates that it is a common question. A good number of posters have asked this very same question and some responders have indicated that it can be totally flattened as the picture indicates and others have said as you have reported, "lays almost perfectly flat". "Almost" is not what the manual shows. Picture on the way.
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That is about as low as it goes. The seats don’t go much lower than that.
Although in my 2018 the right and left side are the same height. They are flat from the left side to the right side. They might have changed something between 2018 and 2021. Do you have a powered or a manual second row? The 2018 is manual so that could be the difference.
I don’t know if it is the driver side in your car that is higher than mine or the passenger side which is lower than in mine. (I think the passenger side drops lower on yours)
Was there anything obstructing on the driver side on the 2nd row seat? Like maybe the middle armest if it is not fully stowed?
Although in my 2018 the right and left side are the same height. They are flat from the left side to the right side. They might have changed something between 2018 and 2021. Do you have a powered or a manual second row? The 2018 is manual so that could be the difference.
I don’t know if it is the driver side in your car that is higher than mine or the passenger side which is lower than in mine. (I think the passenger side drops lower on yours)
Was there anything obstructing on the driver side on the 2nd row seat? Like maybe the middle armest if it is not fully stowed?
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No the op is 100% correct. I would understand if the 40% right wouldnt go down all the way and match the 60% left but its not symmetrical. I haven't bothered to look in my manual so its my bad but if you apply the same procedure to the right its higher.
But on a brighter note, I am now the proud owner of a very very rare 2022 CX-9 TWO ROW vehicle!!!!!! Removed that god dam 3rd row from my car, made a cardboard template and will have my new cargo floor fabricated hopefully this weekend. 3 bolts and a wiring connector. The ass cushion was a pita until i figured it out. But otherwise simple as pie. Almost as big as a Rav4 ! Haha
But on a brighter note, I am now the proud owner of a very very rare 2022 CX-9 TWO ROW vehicle!!!!!! Removed that god dam 3rd row from my car, made a cardboard template and will have my new cargo floor fabricated hopefully this weekend. 3 bolts and a wiring connector. The ass cushion was a pita until i figured it out. But otherwise simple as pie. Almost as big as a Rav4 ! Haha
Nope, tried this many times. Tucked the seat belt in, in many ways, armrest was checked each attempt. The damn 60% driver-side seat simply will not lay flat. Not only that but you'd think that there would be no gap between the second and third-row folded seats. This is not the case. The gap is huge. This means that storing small items between these two rows is pointless. Bad design.
I think I solved the mystery of the flat seats 
. You got me curious so I started experimenting. I remember being able to pick up big flat boxes from IKEA with sofa parts and my seats in my 2022 CX-9 GT were folded practically flat at that time. No issues with loading them in.
Well, they do fold almost flat: approx 5 degrees still up but both sides in the same way. However you do have two levers - the upper one is to tilt the seat forward to gain access to the 3rd row, the lower one is to fold the seat flat. It works only on the smaller (40%) portion of the bench but once you fold it flat you can still use the upper lever to drop the seat lower therefore you can gain extra a few degrees and make it "super" flat - the seat is now actually angled down. For whatever reason you can not do that with the bigger (60%) portion of the bench. You can fold it flat with the lower lever but the upper level does not do anything and seat stays in the "regular" flat position. Then it looks exactly like in op's pictures.
The space between the 2nd and 3rd row depends on the initial position of the bench since you can slide it forward and backward. I agree that even all the way back there is still a gap - for me personally it is an advantage since I can place (hide) some items in this gap. For my camping trips I would put there some camping chairs or umbrella - something thin that would fit there.
. You got me curious so I started experimenting. I remember being able to pick up big flat boxes from IKEA with sofa parts and my seats in my 2022 CX-9 GT were folded practically flat at that time. No issues with loading them in.Well, they do fold almost flat: approx 5 degrees still up but both sides in the same way. However you do have two levers - the upper one is to tilt the seat forward to gain access to the 3rd row, the lower one is to fold the seat flat. It works only on the smaller (40%) portion of the bench but once you fold it flat you can still use the upper lever to drop the seat lower therefore you can gain extra a few degrees and make it "super" flat - the seat is now actually angled down. For whatever reason you can not do that with the bigger (60%) portion of the bench. You can fold it flat with the lower lever but the upper level does not do anything and seat stays in the "regular" flat position. Then it looks exactly like in op's pictures.
The space between the 2nd and 3rd row depends on the initial position of the bench since you can slide it forward and backward. I agree that even all the way back there is still a gap - for me personally it is an advantage since I can place (hide) some items in this gap. For my camping trips I would put there some camping chairs or umbrella - something thin that would fit there.
Wow, that's impressive - I think it is now much bigger than RAV4 or CR-V. Remember that the trunk space in CX-9 is at least much longer than any compact SUV.
The reason the right seat can drop more than the left seat is because it has a different sliding mechanism that allows to tilt and slide the seat forward with a child car seat installed. If you use the top handle on the right seat to go to the third row, you will notice it drops and goes forward, but the left seat doesn’t do that. I didn’t know you could do it after the seat are already folded though.
I agree both seat should have it, but they didn’t do it with the left side, maybe the center hump prevented it or something like that.
I agree both seat should have it, but they didn’t do it with the left side, maybe the center hump prevented it or something like that.
