QuestionQUESTION: How do I repair the back rest in both of my front seats?
You can move the seat back and forth but the back rest won't budge despite pulling up on the lever.
Is this something easy to fix or you would need special tools for?
Thank you
ANSWER: I assume that you have tried jiggling them and that doesn't work either. I also assume that these backrests are adjusted mechanically, not electrically. Why both would quit working at the same time is beyond me, frankly. The lever has a pawl that engages a series of slots cut in the curved bottom of the backrest. There's almost no way that the pawl could stuck in the notches, especially not on both seats at the same time. If you sit in the seat, pull up the lever, and push back using your legs, that seat should move. Heck, if you're in reasonably good shape, it should move even if you don't pull up on the lever. Now, it has occurred to me that both seats may have failed in the fully reclined position. I've seen it happen, for various reasons which do not bear mention. This could happen because you've actually pushed the seat beyond the range of the adjuster mechanism and jammed it good and tight. This is easy to fix, just get in back, get a good grip under the seat and lift with all your strength. It should unstick, and go back to working normally (unless you've managed to bend the frame while it was reclined, then it will just seem to lean back a little more than it should when it is all the way up, no big deal).
Now, if it's an electrical seat, and neither one will work, then either a relay or a fuse has failed. In that case, get out the owner's manual and see which fuse or relay is affected and try swapping them for another similar one in the car. If that fixes it, then just buy a new one and you're done. If it doesn't, then something strange is going on.
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QUESTION: Hi, I am sorry that I really didn't give you enough information to answer the question although the information you gave may still be helpful. The seats are not electric.
The passenger seat is stuck almost in a straight sitting up position and the drivers seat is thankfully not stuck as straight up. When you pul up on the lever, you don't ever hear a click. I have used all my strength to pull on it but my husband has not in fear that we will break it.(the lever)We have tried puling on the seat from the back while someone is pulling up on the lever and also pushing with their back and legs. I would really love to get this fixed because we take long trips and the passenger seat is not very comfortable and almost impossible to sleep in.Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer these questions.
Answer On some of these cars, the lever goes to a cable, which goes to a latch. If the cable broke, then all the pulling in the world wouldn't budge the latch. That is really what it sounds like happened. Some cars also have a solenoid that locks the back in place in the event of a crash, but I doubt that your car does. What you need to do is to remove the plastic trim on the side of the seat and scope out what is going on in there. This should be easy to do, it's usually just held on by couple of push-in clips; you just find them and reach behind with your finger and push them out. You'll have to get that cover off, anyway, regardless of what's really wrong. Did one of these go bad at a different time from the other? Both latches are the same age, so both breaking near the same time wouldn't be unheard of.
