Hi. I will be travelling long distance with a dog and lots of my belongings. One option is to tow a utility trailer I already have, though I think that would make the ride rough. I am wondering if I take out the Passenger seat is that easy enough to take out and put back in? I am thinking there will probably be 4 bolts that you unscrew. Mine is the 'Sport' base model, so probably it should not even have an electrical plug that needs to be disconnected?

- any idea how this is done, any tips?
- Is there value in pulling out the rear seats instead?. Are they easy to dismantle and put back.
- how does the utility trailer behave on longer trips (2400 miles round trip)

 

Ok, after conducting some research, it seems taking "Passenger" seat is very dangerous. For me, airbags not working is totally fine, however I read at a forum for Honda, someone was talking about that the real risk is not airbags to not work, but it is that airbags may work incorrectly.

So now I'm contemplating the 'rear seats'. If I take them out, how much more room I gain? Are there any instructions to remove the rear seats?

 

I was reading the manual, and that reads: "Your Mazda is not designed for towing. Never tow a trailer with your Mazda" Doesn't the 6 has the similar engine and transmission compared to the Mazda SUV (which comes with a hitch installed)? I am thinking this statement about not towing with Mazda6 might only be so people buy their SUV's instead, or maybe there is a rationale, like the SUV's are equipped with transmission cooling that the 6 does not have?

The prob is I have already installed the hitch, which has a towing capacity of 2000 lbs (pull weight) and 200 lbs of tongue weigh. Has anyone here pulled like 2000 lbs with their Mazda6 on a long trip?

 

Hey,

With the airbag issue you raised, I think it should be noted about the sensor. Normally the airbag should only deploy if the sensor detects that there is a person sitting in that seat and there is considerable impact to release the airbag.

With that , when you remove the seat, the sensor should have wiring that connects to the passenger dashboard. Just make sure that is unclipped while the seat is in place before taking the seat out.
There tends to be a few bolts and a few wires to disconnect when removing a seat. The better tools you have, the easier it is.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

If the seat is removed, the whole SRS / Airbag system is deactivated.

 

On some further thought, I am feeling that this scare about towing is maybe overblown? Think about it, 4 big adults seated in car weigh 1000 lbs. So if one is towing 1200 lbs of weight behind, that should not be a big deal. The 2nd test being, that 1200 lbs of pulled weight (that sits on independent wheels/frame), is that same, equal, or higher than the 1200 lbs of weight that sits right on top of Mazda chassis. I would think, the 1200 pulled weight should equal to 1000 lbs of people weight sitting inside the car?