Seat removal and rego issues?

[MalcomM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MalcomM]

Hi

For all you guys that have removed your rear seats and fitted shelves etc, what are the rego implications?
Do you have to put the seats back in everytime you renew the rego or have you certificated the car as having no rear seats?

I also have a Tarago which I remove the rear seats for most of the year. Everytime I've forgotten to put the seats back in for rego, I've received a snotty letter from the RTA about illegal vehicle mods and obtaining an engineering cert for the changes. I just write back saying the tester is blind but what do you do when putting the seats back in is not really an option?

[Signature035 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Signature035]

What ??? 9 years of Rego with the Prado (with rear drawers in place)... and almost another 12 years with 2 Landcruiser's both with rear drawers..... and never been asked.

[MalcomM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MalcomM]

Thats what I would have expected as seat removal is hardly likely to be structural for the majority of cars.
Maybe removing them from a people mover turns it into a van or something and hence a new class of rego...

Any one else had any probs with rego?

[LeighW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LeighW]

If the Police pull you up (and in remote areas they do pull over tourers) and check your rego your car will
be un-road worthy and they can and do fine drivers and sticker cars depending on their mood.

In Vic if you remove them you have to remove the seat belts (in my case I just stuffed them
behind the trim) and take your car to Vicroads and they just have a look, make sure the seat belts
are gone and update your rego, a fairly no pain excersize.

Putting them back I believe is a pain as you have to have them certified as being installed correctly,
by an engineer, I think though if your Toyota dealer gives you a letter indicating they are installed
correctly using orig fittings they except that.

Cheers
Leigh

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

This has been done to death before. If the seats are made to be removable from the factory I doubt that the vehicle can be deemed unroadworthy. With the exception that if you have a cargo barrier and have the seats fitted you will be defected, likewise if the seatbelts are open and available. As for putting them back in same (barrier notwithstanding). If in doubt call your local Dept against Transport.

If the seats are not made to be removable, that is you have to undo bolts then I believe there is an issue. Seat hold down bolts are painted to show they are torqued to correct specifications so that the safety cell and seat belts can do their thing.

[celwar Member Find all posts View Profile Close celwar]

"With the exception that if you have a cargo barrier and have the seats fitted you will be defected, likewise if the seatbelts are open and available"
Correct, at least in Qld. I went through this sometime agowhen my Prado failed an RACQ inspection because it did not have a compliance plate stating the vehicle was now a 5 seater, not 8.
had an appropriate tester check and install a new compliance plate.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Hey Malcolm,

Are you talking about the removable rear seats or the permanent middle row?

I removed the removable rear seats from day one, they're collecting dust. My car has had several regos, engineering and a blue slip, and it has never been mentioned. It's designed by factory to be a removable item, not bolted, so should never be cause for a defect. I'd take any fines over this to court, and expect to win because it's part of the car's design. If it was an issue, the Australian government should not have allowed this feature to be imported into the country.

The middle row is another matter - it is a defect. But I personally haven't heard of someone being defected for it.

[MalcomM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MalcomM]

Middle row is the one I'm thinking of