Been looking at another rig that will accommodate the in laws; checked out Sequoia today and by far the best feature was the 2nd row captain's chairs that reclined about 45 degrees from vertical.

Wasn't quite as comfy as international flight first class but definitely on par with business class.

Can't seem to find this info on Expedition/EL anywhere:
- How far from vertical will the 2nd row bench (or captain's) seats recline?

 

probably not as far as 45 deg, probably 60, 65 ish. From when ppl on here said when compared while shopping, the sequoia has the better seats and space utilization. i just wish the expys 2nd row seats werent so low and flat, the third row is more comfy in the expy (not even most minivans have as good third rows, let alone sequoia). the current expys are nice if slightly outdated. good luck with your shopping, if you cant wait until next yr for the new one, the new armadas should just be arriving at dealers. the sequoias are just too outdated.

 

Second row benchs do not recline at all and in fact the 2nd row legroom in my 15 platinum EL is pathetic.

 

Really, i have been in a bench seat and was able recline. Yours maybe broken. Without the recline the legroom is pretty cramped compared to newer vehicles. it wouldnt be so bad if the seat wasnt so low (floor wasnt so high)

 

Well heck ya learn something new every day!!
I thought dlcorbett was smoking crack so i went out to the driveway and took a look and i was surprised and wrong.
Indeed bench seats in my '15 expy el do recline and in fact there are three positions. I never sit back and don't really have any reliable way to measure the angle but they definitely recline a fair bit.

 

Thanks for the info, y'all! You'd be surprised how difficult this info is to find.

May have to wait for MY18 and see how Expedition does.

Agreed on Sequioa being too out of date - it's nuts how little they've invested in that vehicle.

 

After owning the expy for 20 months I finally learned that the 2nd row bench seats recline. Not much granularity but they recline nonetheless.

 

Does the center seat of the bench recline too? Our 03 center seat doesn't recline at all and that's probably the biggest gripe among my 3 kids on a long road trip. I was online last night looking at MY17s and saw the center now slides, I see no use in that feature.

 

The center seat has slid since 2003, it is intended to allow a child in a baby seat to be moved further forward so that you can reach them more easily from the front row.

 

Ha! You're right. That tells you how useless I think the feature is. We've had our 03 for 12 years and I'd forgotten the center seat slides!

 

We used it for a little while when our son was little, as soon as he got control of his legs and grew a bit it got annoying have his feet on the console.

 

one of the reason why i wanted capt chairs was the uselessness of the middle seat (min leg room, no recline feature, and no pull down console)...funny it seems i need that 8th seat alot when i carry people though.

 

So are you saying the center seat doesn't recline on MY15+?

 

idk...i have capt chairs lol. ive never been able to do it when i been in the bench seat. start with the latch near the seat belt, if not, move to the folding strap.

 

Correct
Center seat on '15 does not recline. It slides as mentioned above.
The two outboard second row seats recline.