I have thoughts about modifying a fit to allow sleeping for 2 comfortably. Essentially, remove back seats and use platform to bridge rear deck/front seats. Need to recline front seats to horizontal to do this. Anyone have thoughts about modifying recline mechanism? Inspired by my 1985 Civic Wagon, which slept two comfortably. Coming off 3 Civics since 1981, thinking of making the jump.

 

Back seats already fold flat, you don't need to remove them. Push front seats all the way forward and use something to fill the gap between the front and back seats if there still isn't enough room.

I could sleep comfortably without changing anything. I'm 6'0".

 

went to look at 2013 fit at dealership. With back seat folded down, even with front seat foreward, could not recline fully--overlaps, comes to rest above cargo floor. switched back seat to "tall" option so could recline fully, front seat stopped at an acute angle--maybe 60 degrees. Did i need to force it further? My impresion was that reclining mechanism had stop that prevented full (horizontal) recline. do I need to go back and try again? I assume i need to remove/move the stop in the recline mechanism.

 

Wanderer. means sleep in the back with the rear seats down, why would you try to sleep in the front seats?

 

Sounds like he may want to purchase a good condition, used GD instead of a GE. The 2008 and earlier Fit front seats reclined flat, level with the rear seats, almost like a bed... as you probably know.

For what he wants his best bet with a GE would probably be to remove the rear seats and build or construct something which would completely level the space with the rear. It's a shame the front seats do not fold all the way forward.

 

Yeah what i'm saying is put the back down and put the front seats all the way forward like this:


And then put some stuff in that space between the front seats and back seats and you can get an extra six inches or so.

The GD (07-08) front seats fold flat if you insist on sleeping in the front seats. The GE (09-present) seats don't do that anymore.

 

annunC8 has the idea. in the Civic wagon, you could create a sleep surface stretching from the glove box (or steering wheel, on the driver's side) to the rear hatch. I would. rather buy new than used (I'm a buy and hold guy). given my vision (or folly) can someone address my original question? that is, can you get into the guts of the reclining mechanism, some kind of mechanical ratcheting system, and change or remove it's final stop point?

 

Get into its guts? Probably. Change its stop point? Probably neither easily nor safely. Those are just my semi-educated guesses.

Honda's parts diagrams aren't very informative about the front seat recline mechanism, unfortunately. I tend to agree that the most reasonable simple approach is to slide the front seats forward and fill the gap with something. If you want a dedicated one-person micro camper, you could remove the passenger seat altogether and build whatever you wish on top of where it used to be. You could also remove the rear seats fairly easily, too.

 

+1, sounds super unsafe to be messing with something like that. I could see someone getting rear ended, the seat failing and falling back and then rear ending the car in front of them and submarining into the floorwell

Anything is possible, i'm sure nobody on here has messed with anything like this so you'd likely be a pioneer OP.

 

hmm..wonder if the recline mechanism from 07-08 is interchangable with the current mechanism. maybe worth a visit to a salvage yard. also provide a low-cost lab for accessing/removing mechanism...

 

True That!

 

Wait.... Doesn't the Jazz (European fit) or the JDM fit still have Refresh mode? USDM fits have taller front seats, if I remember correctly. So, the solution the OP could look at is changing the front seats.