shotgun_banjo

I visited the dealership again yesterday to do more paperwork on the GLE that my family purchased and was playing with the second row seats and discovered something that will benefit people with 3rd row seats. You can gain an additional 4-5" of 3rd row leg space if you press the fold seat button then right before it flips cancel it by pressing it again. You can still recline the 2nd row seats from the passenger door controls but won't be able to slide it back as the sliding control is overridden by the button on the top of the seat. This configuration makes the space at the back to match the GLS 3rd row space. This also gives the back more storage space if you need more when you are carrying bigger things. The salesperson was also surprised about this discovery. This just makes the GLE a more perfect choice if you are thinking of buying a GLS for occasional 3rd row use. Yes the middle row space will be smaller but it is still huge especially if the front seats are not pushed way back. In my case (5'11") I still have 3" of gap between my knees and the driver's seat and I can sit perfectly fine in the 3rd row without my knee hitting the back of the 2nd row seat.

TexAg91

How does that differ from pushing the power seat switch bottom on the rear doors all the way forward until it stops sliding?

shotgun_banjo

A LOT! the seat will stop at a certain distance if using the controls on the door. If you use the switch on the seat itself the seat will move much further forward. Just look at the video how much further it will move with using the switch on top of the seat.

djer

Curious if you were able to drive it around with this mode, since it does detect if the 2nd row is not secured properly. It'll keep on chiming if the 2nd row is not properly set.

shotgun_banjo

I'll find out next week. I believe the chiming warning you say is with the fixed seats (5 seater option). I have not driven the 7 seater as there is none available to test drive. I was told usually it is ordered or a random stock order of a dealer and it gets sold quick. Most people here orders the GLS if they want more than 5 seats but if the hack works I am sure people will find it acceptable as it gives a GLS third row space vs paying extra $29k for a third row that they will seldomly use.

BenjaminKohl

I can imagine it severely limits usability of the second row though.

I'm pretty short (about 5'6") but I've found the GLE 3 row very comfortablle. With the first row in my poition and the second row moved a little forward but still comfortable, the third row was totally usable for short trips, with a high enough seat and relatively long seat cussion (unlike the X5 where my butt barely fit on the seat and my legs were hovering over the carpet, plus the second row was almost unusable for someone of my height with the third row up). I actually found the GLS was barely more comfortable. THe seats themselves in the third row were a little better but not a huge difference and the legroom only felt about 3 inches better - the seats slide forward and back more then three inches in the second row.

shotgun_banjo

I'll do proper measurements when I get the car tomorrow or after I stop drooling on the updated interior. When I was adjusting the seats with the hack based on my height (moved front seats to how I like it) the 2nd row was okay. I managed to somehow make the leg room of the 3rd row and 2nd row the same and I can sit very comfortable on both rows. True the seats on the 3rd row is not as comfortable as the 2nd row (lower, firmer) but with more legroom that the hack has given I am sure my kids will not be complaining especially with the 2 USB C ports that will give their gadgets juice forever.

shotgun_banjo

Just got the car. You can drive it with the hack and no chiming.

jsa1983

But does no chiming mean safe to use? I wouldn’t do it and risk injuring passengers in case of accident.

If the seats can’t be moved forward more in a normal way, there must be a reason behind that.

TexAg91

That’s a good point, I don’t know if the back of the seat is locked down when it is slid all they forward, as the next step if you keep the button depressed is the seat will tilt forward to allow easier access to the third row. Does anyone know for sure?

shotgun_banjo

I'll go take a look and fiddle around the mechanism of the seat later.

wildta

How has this trick been working for you so far? It's crazy I just read that the 2nd row can't recline at all (it's fixed) unless you get the 3rd row option. It's completely fixed in place for a luxury vehicle... How are 2nd row passengers supposed to get comfy with a stiff straight up back?

TexAg91

I have a 3 row, and all 3 rows recline. The 2 row may not have power like in the 3 row, but you sure it doesn’t have a mechanical recline?

de31p5

2 row variants of the GLE have only one position for seat back, it's latched to a fixed point.

TexAg91

Amazing-I didn’t know that. Learned something new. Glad it have the 3 row—the second row has 6 way power on each side (fore/aft, seat back recline, head rests up/down).

djgiovanni

Second row is already setup to comfort mode as I find the sitting position to be too low and reclined. This is especially noticeable judging from the huge amount of leg-room in the second row and the sitting position of the front row. I wish there was a second stop to move the seat-back for the second row and achieve a more "upright seating position".