I would say thank you a lot, although 2" seems correct. It would be nice to have Subaru sized leg room in the R4P. Where did you source the bolts and nuts? Lowe's or something better? Which thickness of the spacers did you use? Front only or rear the same, needing two kits?

I tried contacting "extend my seat" twice with no reply, I'm guessing they are no longer in business, so I'm very glad to see your approach.

 

Extend my seat is still in business, but they don't make brackets for the 5th generation RAV4. I did get a reply from them when I contacted them.

Lowe's, Home Depot and the like sell junk bolts. Where I live in Utah we have an industrial fastener supply company where I can get grade 8 bolts in any size, metric or english: https://boltandnutsupplyco.com/ What you could do is get the factory bolts from your dealer; they are larger, so you would have to drill the hole in the extender larger and use the appropriate size tap.

If you have power seats, as I do in my XLE Premium, you can use different size spacers front and rear since the seat has a seat tilt function. Then you would only need one spacer kit. You will probably need the 1/2" spacer on the rear to clear the rear mounting bolt under the seat rail (1/4" on the front). If you don't have power seats and want to keep your seat level, you would have to buy two spacer kits. There are a number of discussions on other forums about lifting the front or rear of seats to make them more comfortable (https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/291498-anyone-running-seat-jackers.html), so you may not what to have your seat level anyway. Besides, 1/4" would probably not be noticeable. https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Does-...-Adjustable-Jackers-Spacers/dp/B08BRFL6MV/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=B08BRFL6MV&psc=1

 

At 41" leg room on the RAV4,

Crazy. My Lexus GX460 also has ~41” of legroom but my RAV4 Prime seemingly has more. It’s infinitely more comfortable for my legs in the R4P. Hard to explain, I just know my knees are less bent and my legs are straighter in the R4P. Still, I would love more legroom.

 

Very interesting, I may actually go for that.
Two questions:
(1) it looks like you raised the seat, but by how much? Head room is a little bit of an issue for me also, especially since I have the sunroof.
(2) Did you experience any issues with the seat belt, now being further back?
(3) do you think there is a risk of the extenders twisting under the screws sideways in a crash, moving the seat out of place to either side on a hard impact?

Thanks a lot for responding, this is very interesting, and I will most likely give it a try!

 

The seat sits about 1/4" higher than stock. Insignificant compared to the comfort from the extra 2" legroom. #2: Seat belt seems same as before. #3: I don't think so, most of an impact would likely be absorbed by the seat belt and air bags. A sideways rotation where the extender might swivel would seem to be of no consequence, unlikely if you torque the bolts down as tight as the original ones. They were very tight, I needed a cheater bar to get leverage to loosen them with my Prime. I am more aware of the door pillars in my side vision than before, but not as bad as my Miata's retractable roof when up, or a full coverage cycle helmet. If you have a short wife, after she sits in the car and adjusts the seat, make sure there is still 2" of forward travel from her spot. Also be sure you drill and enlarge the correct half of the extender. or else you will need to tap the hole to a larger thread, and find short bolts to fit. Which is what I did to my wife's Prime. I haven't got the correct bolts yet for her car, and I really notice the 2" difference when I drive her car compared to my Prime with the extenders. Noticeably less comfortable. Tall people coming out of a Subaru will really want this modification. Now if there was an extender to open the doors as wide as my Forester XT, I wouldn't swear every time I thread the animal carrier in the side door. I miss the bigger rear and side windows and the much larger moonroof too. I do like the quicker acceleration, higher towing limit, and 1/3 the gas usage.
This modification was the most satisfying change I made to the RAV4.

 

Out of curiosity, I just looked at "Extend my Seat" and they now do have brackets available for the latest Rav4:
Toyota Products - Extend My Seat Store

Like you guys, I have emailed them in the past and not gotten a response. From online reviews, their customer service appears to be non existent (sketchy at best), but credit cards usually offer some form of protection. And of course, there is the $350 price tag.

Decisions, Decisions ....

 

Thanks for the links. The $350 is for one side only! To get both sides is $475.

It does say it is a single bar of 10 gauge steel which would solve the possible offset problem. But 10 gauge is a lot less than the 1/4" bars that I used.

The picture is confusing for it shows an angle on the mount. The 5th generation RAV4 has a flat mount to the floor of the body.

It also says it is for 2018+; did Toyota change the seat mounting between 2017 and 2018? The generation five is 2019+.

 

So far, I have not felt the need for any extenders, but I'm "only" 6' 5".

The only part that bothers me about this is mixing the Bolt sizes. Instead of using 5/16" Grade 8 SAE bolts, try using M8 bolts with a 10.9 rating. In other words, ... keep it all metric.

.

 

The only part that bothers me about this is mixing the Bolt sizes. Instead of using 5/16" Grade 8 SAE bolts, try using M8 bolts with a 10.9 rating. In other words, ... keep it all metric.

.

Common hardware stores (Lowes and Home Depot) don't have high strength bolts. My local industrial fastener supply deals mainly in english sizes, not metric. I would have preferred metric, but I used english sizes because they were available.

 

Same problem here, no response or what so ever after I made a purchase online and after a month, my order is still "awaiting payment" from Paypal, sent an email, and chatted 2 times online but no one at Extend My Seat to respond to me...

 

At 41" leg room on the RAV4, tall people like me, may find it less than desirable. Even my Subaru Impreza has 43" leg room.

I could not find any seat extenders to fit the RAV4 so set out to find a solution...

Thank you for this. Just a few days ago I was wondering if there was a way to push the front seats further back. Any risk of crushing the legs of the passenger behind you? Is the extra protrusion of the seat rail into the rear foot area annoying?

 

1. The Extend My Seat RAV4 brackets will move the seat backwards up to 6" (Toyota RAV4 (2018+) Seat Brackets)
2. The RAV4 rear leg room is already in short supply. Anything that moves the seat back will reduce that. If you want the front seat backwards, the sacrifice will be rear leg room.
3. The lip on the brackets I made are well forward and minimal. With the seat all the way back, the shins of a rear passenger will hit the back of the seat well before the toes will get to the brackets. Beside the brackets are on the sides and the middle is unimpeded.
4. The Extend My Seat brackets are made from 10 gauge sheet metal. The YearOne brackets I cited in post #1 above are 1/4" mild steel.
5. The cost of the Extend My Seat brackets is $350 each, $700 for both sides.

 

You are 6'5" and still have enough head room? I am only 6' and the moonroof bothers me. You must lean the seat back further or something.
Best of luck to you.

 

My height is mostly in my legs, less in my torso. I have plenty of head room, but then again I have the power drivers seat that I can lower some, too.

 

I know this is a stale thread but I'm curious if you're still using the YearOne style of seat extension, and if you've noticed anything about them that you wish was different? I'm finally pulling the trigger on the seat relocation project and want to take experienced opinion into my fabrication process.

 

Still have them installed and no problems at all.

I have thought that it would be good to add a nut below the YearOne plates where the seat bolts to them. As originally installed, I just threaded the holes in the plates so I could screw in the bolts from the top, but I worry that it may be weak. If you put a nut below, same strength as the bolt, then it isn't going anywhere.

The problem with adding a nut is there isn't much room below the plate to get a wrench in to tighten the nut.

 

Got it. I'll see what I can come up with to strengthen the hold up a bit. Even with 1/4" longer "lever" there shouldn't be enough force on a quality bolt to bend or snap it but the more secure the better. Thanks.

 

Even with 1/4" longer "lever" there shouldn't be enough force on a quality bolt to bend or snap it but the more secure the better.

It is not the bolts that I worry about since they are grade 8, it is the treads in those YearOne plates for they are made of mild steel. With a good tug on the bolts, it may be possible for the bolts to strip the treads in the plates. Thus putting a high quality nut (grade 8 too) on the other side of the plate would solve that worry.

I also don't worry about the YearOne plates bending for they are about 1/4" thick, the same as the foot on the seat and the metal around the captive nut in the floor.

 

Ah, I see. I'll see if my local metal source can get me stronger plate for that. If so I'll skip the nut.

 

Refreshing this thread.
Just bought a 2009 Limited, and have contacted ExtendMySeat before I order to ensure they’re still running. Anyone hear back recently or receive their orders?
How easy is the install?

 

Your 2009 has a different seat mount than the 5th generation RAV4 (this thread), so be sure to get the right one for your car.

 

Can anyone confirm if these seat extenders (YearOne) will work on a 2025 hybrid with electric seats?
I definitely could use a couple more inches of legroom!

Front

Rear

Rear