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03 Highlander 3rd Row Help?

Has anyone installed a 3rd row seat from an 04-07 Highlander in an 03 Highlander? If so, can you please advise me on the difficulty and where you found the 3rd row seat at?

04 Highlanders were the 1st year with a 3rd row seat. We currently have an 03 and need a 3rd row seat (family growing), but are 10K upside down and cannot afford to trade. The 03 and 04 seem virtually the same. I am thinking I can lift the carpet in the rear, drop the gas tank and drill holes for a 3rd row seat and safety belts. from what I have found, it seems like $400-500 investment well worth saving my Highlander. Does anyone think this is a bad idea?

Please let me know your thoughts? Thanks alot.

Chris Sanders

2LT, US Army
Reply to
csanders61
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I know it can't be done on an '03 4Runner - looked into it. There are extra metal brackets welded into the body assembly plus all the trim pieces are different too. Seats 5 as is - how many are you wanting to seat?

"csanders61" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...

Reply to
Wolfgang

"csanders61" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...

My guess is that it is not possible to install a 3rd row seat in your Highlander. The seat bottom seat back, seat belt anchor points, and child seat tether anchor points all need to be reinforced for crash-worthiness so drilling holes may not be strong enough. The other problem is that the parts probably do not come as an assembly, so you have to purchase the seat frame, hinges, covers, latches, etc. separately so the cost can be upwards of $1,000 if purchased piece-by-piece from a dealer. Do you have more than

3 children?

2003 and 2004 Highlanders are retailing in the $16,000 to $19,000 price range in the Chicago area.

Reply to
Ray O

Chris- Bad idea, without question. From an engineering standpoint, the amount of stress that the system undergoes from a vehicle accident cannot be accounted for by drilling some holes in the body and using factory hardware. The last thing you want is to be responsible for the death of one (or more) of your kids because you tried to install a safety device in a car not designed for it. I would suggest making sure you have gap insurance on the vehicle, and maybe consider swapping vehicles with someone who has a larger vehicle within the same price range. Remember, kids rule!

Sydney

Reply to
sydney

Well, Chris, My thought is that there may already be the pieces in place needed to make the conversion. You'll have to rip out the carpet and get a good look at the structure of the van.

Toyota used to make ONE body for the different variations. For example, I have an '85 Corolla GTE. It needed some bits, so I bought one from a junkyard for $200 and stripped it. In the process, I notice the Corolla I bought (an SR5) didn't have some of the pieces my GTS did, but the mounting points were there. It also had a factory sunroof, and to install it all I have to do is cut a hole and bolt it in. The wiring point is in my GTS, just not used. Other things like bracing, etc in my GTS weren't in the SR5, but the points were all there.

They may have changed. I noticed my 1995 Tercel, and Automatic, did not have the hole in the firewall for the clutch mounting like all the other Autos I have had did.

If you can find one with 3rd row seating, get a good look, take pics if you can, and compare it to yours.

Good luck!

Reply to
Hachiroku

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