Battery life and folded seats

[JasonH]

Hello,

Soon to take delivery of a new Jazz (hopefully, if not delayed) and for what I want to carry and how I want to use the car, with no need to carry passengers in the rear seats; wondering if there are any downsides to having the rear seats folded flat the majority of the time (pretty much permanently)? Thinking about battery health / life and if there are any other long term implications?

Also considering having the rear magic seats in the cinema folded position as an alternative for the majority of the time, in which case I would be making use of the space in the rear seat wells. So, similarly, any downsides to this?

I recall reading posts on here regarding vents supplying air to the battery, but without the car to physically look at I can’t tell if the vents would likely be blocked or obstructed. Any thoughts on this please?

Thanks,
Jason

[Kremmen]

The battery vent is on the drivers side, just where the rear seat hinges and easily viewable.

Just don't block it.

[Zaier]

I don't see any problems in doing so.
I wouldn't suggest to keep both the rear seats folded up for long time, because they are higher than the normal seat and obstruct the rear view a bit.

[Saycol]

It is very easy to drop/raise the rear seats and I expect road noise is minimised when they are in their normal position. So, unless you permanently want to fill up the load space, why not just drop them down when you need to?

[edam]

I have the rear seats down, for fishing gear, on my MK3 and I am thinking about getting a MK4  so this is a interesting topic.
One question I would add is how well are the batteries protected from weighty items put on top of them

[Zaier]

I would say very well protected, the battery top is made by a steel cover, which is anchored to the car by a steel frame.

[MRCLICKCLICK]

I have had Jazzes for about 10 years - I have always, bar a few times, used the car as a 2 seat estate - ie - rear seats ALWAYS down.

[Bristol_Crosstar]

With the Mk4 folding the rear seats in the 'magic seats' position does partially obstruct the rear view unlike earlier models so I rarely use it these days

[Neil Ives]

I would say very well protected, the battery top is made by a steel cover, which is anchored to the car by a steel frame.

I hope the battery has good protection from rear end damage.

[Zaier]

Given its positioning, if the battery gets damaged by a rear end impact, then it will be the less expensive part to replace

[Neil Ives]

I was thinking about a battery fire

[Jazzik]

?

[Neil Ives]

?

No thanks, I've just put one out. 

[Zaier]

Battery fire is very very unlikely, because on hybrids the cells works in comfortable range, usually between 40 and 70% SOC, in order to maximize their cycle life.
Fire can occur when certain type of lithium cells (usually nickel based) are at very high %.
Anyway to contain battery fire, steel is not enough, only certain kind of polymers are are able to do so.

[Neil Ives]

Battery fire is very very unlikely, because on hybrids the cells works in comfortable range, usually between 40 and 70% SOC, in order to maximize their cycle life.
Fire can occur when certain type of lithium cells (usually nickel based) are at very high %.
Anyway to contain battery fire, steel is not enough, only certain kind of polymers are are able to do so.

Are you referring to a battery self igniting? I was asking about a battery fire caused by a serious rear-end collision.