The Ultimate 'My Rear Seats Don't Work' Thread

[John L]

If a seat is out of sync should it be resynced using the top release handle? I have been trying this to no avail.
The spring mechanism is locked in the seat in position and will not come free. What else can be tried?
I have also tried to get the seatback to lock down but with the pins in the locked position this will not happen either.

The solution is to put your weight on the rear of the seat, with the seat folded down and then to pull the lever on the bottom of the seat. Bouncing/moving does not help.
The description earlier was not clear (to me anyhow) about which lever to use. The lever for the base should be used.
It is much easier to get at if you remove the boot floor. Getting hands round the edge of the floor is a pain...

It was very easy once weight was applied to the rear of the seat. I pulled the lever and it clicked right back into place!

 

[perA2]

Hello,
for more info on rear seat problems, especially locked down rear seats, check out this thread:
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?28163-Locked-down-rear-seat-(A2-1-2)

 

[Alan Morriss]

Hi Hendrik,

I can't find any pictures on the "left is good right is bad" link.

 

[rupidoo]

This forum never ceases to impress, been having trouble with one of my rear seats since buying the car a few months ago, what is worrying is that I've done several journeys with the kids in the back and the pegs not locked in without realising it, scary. However, the knee on the front of the back rest and a good pull of the handle at the bottom has reset the mechanism and it's locking in place a treat now. Thanks again for this and thankfully I'll be aware not to drive around causing a safety issue for my own children !!

 

[Peter]

Problem 4: Seats are locked upright and won't release:
This is what happens when everything goes wrong! It is caused by the seat base not being seated properly and hence the seat back not being square to the side wall. Thus the striker pin pushes in at an angle to the locking plate. As the pin is slightly harpoon shaped (it has a wider head at the end) it jams against the plate when trying to retract and the seat is stuck fast. It simply isn't possible to lift the release handle at all. No matter how hard you pull, it ain't moving. Indeed, pulling too hard will just break the mechanism.

Solution:
Some people have resorted to attacking either the striking pin or the locking plate with a motorised cutter of some description. If nothing else works then this might be your last resort. Note, attacking the plate is apparently better as these can be repaired (welded?). However, for me at least, the following none destructive method worked:

Fold the other seat out of the way. Get one person to pull on the release handle (firmly but not too hard) while a second person braces their back against the seat and their legs/hands against the opposite side wall and pushes the seat sideways. It is just about possible to do this on your own but having a friend helps! You should be able to bend the seat back enough to release the striker. Once that is free, the seat should fold down and come out nice and easy.

Make sure you work out what the fundamental problem was before putting the seat back up again! In my case, it was a dose of problem 3.

I bought my (third) A2 with exactly this problem assuming I'd solve it quickly using the "ultimate" page. But unfortunately, no pushing, pulling, applying weight on the seat base had any effect. Until I had a bright moment and applied a very simple solution, which I believe should be included in the "ultimate" page as it is easy to perform and no assistant is required. I have not seen it described anywhere.

The back of my rear seat was leaning towards the centre of the car (the outside pin was not properly engaged) and I hit the head rest (not too) gently towards the outside of the car while (gently) pulling the unlock grip upwards. Problem solved in 10 seconds and with minimal effort.

In hindsight it is obvious this works so well: the head rest is firmly connected to the chair frame and you want the locking mechanism (also firmly attached to the chair frame) to move.

Some A2 owners on the Dutch forum have solved their rear seat problems using this procedure already.

 

[Ami]

Fantastic post, thanks to everyone, it worked on my car by pushing the seat to the side & pulling the liver up, simple after all the hard work earlier.
Thanks again
Ami

 

[nod]

one of my rear seats has stopped working and i'm wondering if its fixable? the plastic tab that activates the locking pin seems to be really loose and not connected properly, i guess something has broken or become disconnected inside the plastic housing. i can't see any way of accessing the mechanism. thanks to @Cenick i have a spare set of seats and the spare has slotted straight in as a replacement, but if anyone knows of a fix i'd be interested. some photos to show how the broken one looks and how a working one looks. the plastic tab sticks out further on the broken one..

 

[Andrew]

Hi Nod,

You said ".......plastic housing. i can't see any way of accessing the mechanism..."

I would agree it is not obvious how you remove the plastic trim to access the inside. I only worked it out because I had another one out of the seat. The two small circles on the face of the cover are the ends of two pins that expand two mushroom type fixings to secure the plastic trim when they are pushed in. The way to remove is to punch them all the way in to allow the mushroom fitting to compress. The plastic trim can then be teased carefully out but there is risk of damaging the mushroom head. There is a also a real risk of the pins falling down into the innards and being unretrievable. I would wait and see if anyone suggests a fix for your problem without removing the trim, I have never studied it and cannot advise. Thinking about it maybe a better way is to insert some very small screws into the pin ends and pull them out, but this going to ruin them cosmetically and well might not work if the screws cannot get enough grip.

Happy to provide some pictures and more help if this is not clear.

Andy

 

[nod]

Hi Nod,

You said ".......plastic housing. i can't see any way of accessing the mechanism..."

I would agree it is not obvious how you remove the plastic trim to access the inside. I only worked it out because I had another one out of the seat. The two small circles on the face of the cover are the ends of two pins that expand two mushroom type fixings to secure the plastic trim when they are pushed in. The way to remove is to punch them all the way in to allow the mushroom fitting to compress. The plastic trim can then be teased carefully out but there is risk of damaging the mushroom head. There is a also a real risk of the pins falling down into the innards and being unretrievable. I would wait and see if anyone suggests a fix for your problem without removing the trim, I have never studied it and cannot advise. Thinking about it maybe a better way is to insert some very small screws into the pin ends and pull them out, but this going to ruin them cosmetically and well might not work if the screws cannot get enough grip.

Happy to provide some pictures and more help if this is not clear.

Andy

Hi Andy, thanks for the advice, all understood. I'll give it a go and see what happens. The seat is scrap currently so nothing to lose. Will report back. Cheers

 

[Andrew]

Hi Andy, thanks for the advice, all understood. I'll give it a go and see what happens. The seat is scrap currently so nothing to lose. Will report back. Cheers

Still worried about losing the pins, the problem is the pins have to punched clean through and out of the mushroom head fixing to allow the mushroom to collapse. Just wondered if there is any mileage in putting a piece of card in the slot to catch/allow the pins to roll out, coupled with having the seat inclined at a suitable orientation. Might be a waste of time but something I would try. The other problem is the mushroom head having spent all its life expanded still stays mainly expanded, too big to pass through a retaining hole and has to be encouraged to collapse as you gently prise off the triim, with some chance of it breaking off, be gentle. Once partly off it may be possible to get a single slot screwdriver to push the mushroom head through the hole which is far safer.

All this to remove a small piece of trim!

Good luck.

Andy

 

[nod]

so, the seat is scrap, as with some other parts on the A2 its a broken piece of plastic causing the problem. for some reason the plastic lever has sheared off. in terms of getting the plastic housing off, i just tapped the plastic pins in and levered off the cover. both pins were there, until i picked one up and dropped it into the bowels of the seat through an unfeasibly narrow gap. one pin tapped in all the way, the other not so much and was more difficult the shift the connector as a result. here are some photos that might help someone in the future. they show the pin being punched in, the locking pin up held in place be piece of plastic no longer attached to lever, the sheared lever piece with spring on, the locking pin down after plastic piece removed. cheers.

 

[Andrew]

so, the seat is scrap, as with some other parts on the A2 its a broken piece of plastic causing the problem. for some reason the plastic lever has sheared off. in terms of getting the plastic housing off, i just tapped the plastic pins in and levered off the cover. both pins were there, until i picked one up and dropped it into the bowels of the seat through an unfeasibly narrow gap. one pin tapped in all the way, the other not so much and was more difficult the shift the connector as a result. here are some photos that might help someone in the future. they show the pin being punched in, the locking pin up held in place be piece of plastic no longer attached to lever, the sheared lever piece with spring on, the locking pin down after plastic piece removed. cheers.
View attachment 46314View attachment 46315View attachment 46316View attachment 46317

Pleased the plastic cover came off okay but pity about sheared part and resultant scrap seat. Not a big issue these days finding a cheap or free seat, matching pattern and collection will be the problem.

Andy

 

[andrewparkeruk]

With the rear seats removed from the car, how would I open the seats, as in this photo by @mrbroons?
Thank you, Andrew

 

[A2Steve]

View attachment 59500With the rear seats removed from the car, how would I open the seats, as in this photo by @mrbroons?
Thank you, Andrew

Use a large socket to push down the outer ring of the seat anchors at the rear. It will then separate

 

[andrewparkeruk]

Thank you @A2Steve, next time I have them out of the car I will try this?
Andrew

 

[N8P]

Again for the 'Newbies' on here & those that just gave up!!!!!!!!!!

I feeling very pleased with myself finally managed to free my righthand rear seat which i have not been able to unlock & fold down since I bought the car a month ago. I found this 'Ultimate rear seats don't work' thread & advice to try to release, a few attempts have past. Before sleeping on it.....finally on this attempt (& before i drilled a tiny hole into metal rod so i could stick something into it, so i could raise it myself) i decided kneeling right into the seat between base & upright, & banging the headrest forcefully with the palm of my hand & it suddenly released - flipping result!

Oh, now the base was stuck so implemented the next procedure 'jump with knees like a made man move to the centre of the car until you here that clip disengage noise & hey pesto sorted.

Oh, maybe a reason why the seat wouldn't move is because the side casing has broken (probably worn) any thoughts how i can get this fitted again?

 

[N8P]

Pictures for above post showing one missing pin & the other one half way out.
yes one of the pins could be in the seat itself, the plastic raw plug type thingy on the inside are deformed & could be straightened out.

@A2Steve or @Clackers might have a working side casing (shroud) with pins or just the pins?

 

[Milser10]

One of my seats has been stuck fast since I first met the car at the dealership (who tried and failed to do anything about it). After much trawling through the myriad 'my seats are b****red' threads, many futile attempts to fix my stuck seat and several times nearly giving up on it as being genuinely broken, I finally got the thing released yesterday and it now works perfectly. Woohoo! So for future reference and to save more frustration by future members, here is the condensed version of all those threads. The only stuck seat thread you will ever need to read...

Problem 1: The seat base won't lock in properly:
When looking in through the boot, the bottom of the seat should be flush with the floor. If it is at all raised on one side or the other (or both) then it is not in properly. The usual issue is simply that the pegs have not engaged fully.

Solution:
The simple fix is to kneel on the back of the seat and give it a firm push on one one side or the other. It should go ping and lock into place. Note, body weight with a little bounce (if you are a featherweight like me!) should always be sufficient. If it still won't lock in then don't just push harder, likely there is something more that is wrong.

Problem 2: The seat base won't lock no matter how much shoving is applied:
If it still refuses to behave then the mechanism is probably out of sync with itself. As in, it thinks it is already locked into position when it actually isn't. This is visible when looking at the locking pegs. If the ball bearings are outside of the spring then it is confused (see photos here: left is good, right is bad).

Solution:
The solution here is to kneel on the back of the seat as above but rather than shoving harder, pull on the release handle as though trying to remove the seat. Again, you should hear a couple of pings as the mechanism releases. It should then be possible push down and lock the seat into position.

Problem 3: The seat won't unfold after locking the base back in place:
I have not encountered this one myself but I believe it is again cause by the seat base not being properly seated. The mechanism refuses to let the seat back come up if it believes the base is not squarely and correctly positioned. This is a safety feature to prevent problem 4 from happening. Unfortunately, it seems it doesn't always work!

Solution:
Basically, go back to the start and refit the base. See solutions to problem 2 and 3 above.

Problem 4: Seats are locked upright and won't release:
This is what happens when everything goes wrong! It is caused by the seat base not being seated properly and hence the seat back not being square to the side wall. Thus the striker pin pushes in at an angle to the locking plate. As the pin is slightly harpoon shaped (it has a wider head at the end) it jams against the plate when trying to retract and the seat is stuck fast. It simply isn't possible to lift the release handle at all. No matter how hard you pull, it ain't moving. Indeed, pulling too hard will just break the mechanism.

Solution:
Some people have resorted to attacking either the striking pin or the locking plate with a motorised cutter of some description. If nothing else works then this might be your last resort. Note, attacking the plate is apparently better as these can be repaired (welded?). However, for me at least, the following none destructive method worked:

Fold the other seat out of the way. Get one person to pull on the release handle (firmly but not too hard) while a second person braces their back against the seat and their legs/hands against the opposite side wall and pushes the seat sideways. It is just about possible to do this on your own but having a friend helps! You should be able to bend the seat back enough to release the striker. Once that is free, the seat should fold down and come out nice and easy.

Make sure you work out what the fundamental problem was before putting the seat back up again! In my case, it was a dose of problem 3.

Note that it may be possible to fix this issue at the root cause directly. E.g. by having one person kneeling on the seat from inside while a second pulls on the seat base release handle from the boot. However, this didn't seem to work for me.

Problem 5: It's genuinely broken:
I believe the only other distinct problem I've seen reported is that one person had the little plastic trigger finger snap (the wiggly bit next to the seat back striker that releases the striker when locking the seats upright).

Solution:
Get a new seat! It might be possible to replace just the mechanism but see here for how that may require dismantling large amounts of seat.


Are there any other problems I've missed?

Hi All. I'm a newbie A2 owner and member and I have two rear seat issues, The left rear seat seems like it might be due to problem 4 so I'll be giving that solution a go soon. The right seat has its bottom pin ball bearings outside of its springs as in problem 2 but I cannot for the life of me get the mechanism to reset and for the pins to slot into their holes. I've attached an image of them, taken with the seat out of the vehicle. If anyone has the time and insight I'd really appreciate a little advice as to whether you might think it's a simple case of persevering with the methods outlined above or whether something else might be afoot? Thanks in advance. Tom

**update: the answer was simply perseverance. Just wasn’t sure how much was required! Solution 2 worked in the end and now the seat works well again. Thanks for the info**

**update 2: The left hand seat was due to problem 4 and your solution fixed that for me too! Thank you so much for this post. It was super helpful. I can now take the kids in the car safely!**