We ordered our T&C with the 2nd row luxury bucket seats instead of the stow-n-go seating. I don't consider myself to be "mechanically challenged," but I haven't been able to figure out how to move/tip the lux seats forward to gain clear access to the 3rd row seating. If the seatback is folded flat and then the anchor release lever is pulled, the headrest prevents the seat from tipping forward against the front seat. Likewise, if I leave the seatback in its upright position and pull the anchor release lever, there isn't enough clearance to tip the seat forward either. Our kids are 5 and 7, so, for right now they simply slip into the 3rd row by sliding between the 2nd row seats. But, they won't be that small for long. Am I missing something obvious?

 

We struggled with that choice when we bought our van a few months ago. We tested both style of seats and came to the conclusion that if we wanted easy 3rd row access (which we needed as we go to football games, HUSKERS, with a van full of people) we needed to go with the stow-in-go seating to provide a quick flip of the seats for people to inter and exit the 3rd row.....
The second row stow-in-go seats were re-designed in 2011 and are very comfortable, I am sure the luxury buckets are more so, they just limit the 3rd row access to much.

 

Given the significant improvements incorporated into the 2011/2012 T&C's I'm a bit surprised that this issue wasn't addressed by the interior design team. Nonetheless, I figured out a work-around procedure that will suffice. Adults who want clear access to the 3rd row seats will need to be patient. A 30 second delay before climbing into the vehicle shouldn't be too much of a problem unless weather conditions are poor. In that case it's probably best to just "climb in and climb over."

Here's what we're doing: Fold the 2nd row luxury bucket seatback down flat. Open the stow-n-go seat compartment in front of the lux seat, pull the anchor release lever on the seat and then tip it forward into the opened storage compartment. This will provide wide-open access to the 3rd row. Note: This procedure worked best when the lux bucket seat was moved all the way to the back of its seat track (allowing the greatest possible space in front of the seat) and the front seat was moved all the way forward to allow for clearance to open the stow-n-go compartment.

Hope this helps others who may be experiencing the same challenge!

 

We thought about that but we knew we would be ordering full summer and winter floor mats that cover the whole floor area to stop "stuff" from going in all the cracks and crevices created by the stow-in-go floor covers that the factory small mates do not cover.........
Weathertech mats are awesome for winter in our part of the country. The second and third row mat is one piece.

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