[ricksub]

Was unhappy about the visibility out the back of my 2012, so stowed the center seatbelt in the ceiling of the hatch area (and packed in some foam so the buckle doesn't rattle), then removed the left and right headrests and stowed them in the storage area under the rear floor. I rarely carry a lot of passengers but the headrests are available if I need them. What a difference having an unobstructed rearward view!

 

[Photo_guy]

+1
I do the same thing.

 

[adc]

+3....... Huge difference. I recommend it.

 

[JayTee]

Is there a place near the headliner for the dangling middle seat belt to be secured? Maybe no need for the foam?

See link discussion here:

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f77/rear-seat-belt-2012-forester-111990/

I only learned this about my Subaru after I owned it for several years - thanks to the folks on here.

Cheers,

JayTee

 

[DaveB00T]

Rick,
I am with you. I also reclined my rear seats as far back as possible.

My wife has a CRV, the blind spots and rear visibility in the new CRV's is horrible. I hate backing her car up, the rear view camera shouldn't be considered a feature, it should be considered mandatory. The only thing that her car got right for visibility is the small mirror in the sunglass holder, so I can see my son in the car seat, front facing position.

Dave

 

[for4me]

Hatch mirror

I added a wide angle mirror just inside the hatch window. This allows me to see cross-traffic coming from my blind side. To see a picture, click on the Gallery number under my name on the left. Then click Hatch Mirror. (you may need to be logged in)

 

[Rumrunner]

if you have the power driver seat you can also raise it up a little. my spouse is petite and her Toyota Matrix has horrendous rear visibility. she has backed into at least 5 cars since she bought it in 2009. most of the cars were neighbors or neighbors of her parents. so embarrassing. she always gets out and leaves a note or knocks on a door so the owner can make arrangements with her ins co. so far our son hasn't had any issues like that but then he is taller.

 

[The Sage]

A rear visibility issue I have with my 2014 FXT is the panel cover under the rear window the rear passenger seat belt retracts into. It is white, when it should be black. When I do my head turn side check on a right lane change the sun reflects on this white panel and it looks like the glare from a windshield on a car next to me in the blind spot. I'm going to figure out who to paint this panel flat black.

 

[Doug_ID]

Is there a place near the headliner for the dangling middle seat belt to be secured? Maybe no need for the foam?

See link discussion here:

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f77/rear-seat-belt-2012-forester-111990/

I only learned this about my Subaru after I owned it for several years - thanks to the folks on here.

Cheers,

JayTee

Yep, there is a big hole in plastic headliner piece that fits the buckle parts just right. I just released the middle seat belt and stuffed it all in there.......much better.

 

[ricksub]

That hole in the rear headliner is... plastic, and the buckle will rattle around when pushed in there so a small piece of soft foam stuffed against the buckle holds it still. Also put a 3M wide-angle lens magnifier inside the lower passenger edge of the rear glass which makes backing up easier. The lens is about 8"x10" and sticks to the glass without any adhesive.

http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wide-Angle-Fresnel-Lens-Parking-Reversing-for-Van-Car-Useful-Accurately-Sign-New-/141061798258?pt=US_Cell_Phone_PDA_Cases&hash=item20d7f03972