Hi guys & gals
Today I will show you how to dismantle and remove the upholstery/covers from the front seats should you need to replace a damage part. I will also show you how to fit heated pads if you are wanting to retrofit heated seating. The heated seating retrofit guide is located here:
https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/retrofit-heated-seats-a-complete-how-to.457156/
Firstly, you need a couple of tools to complete the job
Tools
T20 Torx driver
M8 & 10 Multi-spline driver*
Small flat-bladed screwdriver
Small/long-nosed pliers
Parts (for heated seats retrofitting)
Heating pad for backrest - 5F0 963 555 E**
Heating pad for bumrest - 5F0 963 557 C**
* The multi-spline driver bit is also known as a tri-sqaure bit. It looks similar to a torx bit, however a torx bit will not work and may damage the bolts. You must use the correct bit & size.
** The part numbers for the pads will depend on the PR code for the seats in your car. PR codes can be found on a sticker in the spare wheel well. If ordering the pads from VW/TPS you may need to quote the PR code to get the correct style of pad for your seats.
Removing the seats
If you haven't done so already, you need to remove the seats from the vehicle. To do this you need the M10 multi-spline driver. There are 4 bolts that hold the seat to the car, 2 are the front and 2 at the rear. You'll need to move the seat all the way front/back to access them:
Once all the bolts are out, tilt the seat backwards. Locate where the wiring loom goes and pop out the retaining plastic lug that secures the floor in place. Once removed there is a cutout in the floor that allows access to the connectors below :
Now you can disconnect the electrical connectors.
Ensure the ignition is switched off, else you may activate an airbag light. While the seats are out of the car, do not switch on the ignition else you may activate the airbag light.
The connectors are clipped to the floor. Un-clip them and disconnect them. The airbag connector has a tab that slides up to allow it to disconnect:
Now you can remove the seat from the car. I found it easiest to adjust the backrest so that the seat was flat, and then pulled it out from the rear door. Be careful as the seat is heavy, and the metal frame at the bottom has sharp edges that can very easily damage interior trim/scratch paintwork.
Dismantling the seats
With the seats remove, you can begin to dismantle them.
To begin with, remove the storage box if the seat has one. It is held into position with 4 torx T20 screws. Three can be easily seen, one is hidden behind the box. To access it, pop out the small round tab covering the right hand hole on the bottom of the box, you can then access the screw that is hidden:
With the box removed, next you can remove the plastic trim attached to the seat. The seatbelt side is held on with two small plastic tabs that pull out. These have a locking pin that goes through the centre. It is difficult to remove the tab while the pin is inserted, and difficult to remove the pin while the tab is fitted, you may need to 'encourage' the trim to pry over the tab. Once the trim is removed you can access the rear to push the pin out, and therefore fit it correctly later:
On the opposite side, the trim is held on with another plastic tab, and is also clipped into place from the inside. Turn the seat upside and locate the clips on the inside. They can be released with a screwdriver:
Front most clip:
Next remove the plastic handle that adjust the seat height. It has a tab that you need to pry out while pulling it to release it. Pry the tab in the direction of the red arrow:
The last thing to do before the trim will free up is to remove the dial for adjusting the backrest position. It simply pulls off:
Now the plastic trim has been removed, you can separate the backrest from the lower part. To begin with, un-clip the airbag wiring from underneath the lower part of the seat and remove it from the netted sleeve the cables run through. Then locate 2 multi-spline M8 bolts on either side of the seat and remove them:
Once the bolts are out, the top half will separate from the lower half. Ensure to carefully release the airbag cable while doing so:
Removing the upholstery
With the seats separated, you can begin to remove the covering.
On the lower part of the seat, it is clipped to the metal frame all around the edges. You can release the clips with you fingers by pulling it away from the metal:
Do this for the front and sides of the seat. Once un-clipped, pull the cover up and release it from the black metal clips embedded into the foam. The easiest way I found to release them was to press one side of the clip down while pulling the plastic bar attached to the cover up and away from the clip:
Once all the clips are released, pull the cover to the back of the seat, separating it from the foam base inside and releasing 2 more red plastic clips are the rear. Pull it all the way to the rear of the seat to reveal the last clip at the back:
Release it from this clip as per the other three, and the cover can be removed from the seat. To refit, it is the reversal of removal.
For the upper part of the seat, begin by turning it upside down to reveal the seam where the covers meet. These are clipped together in a similar way to the lower cover. Starting from one edge, pull them away from each other to release the clip, and move along to release whole width of the covers. Unfortunately some of my pictures got deleted so I can't show you this.
Once released, begin to pull the covers up the seat. At the front, you'll find two metal wires that run up along the sides of the cover. They clip into the metal frame. Lift the front foam and release them by using pliers to pull them out of the retaining holes:
Next, on the rear of the seat there is a cardboard pad that slides out. Then there are two plastic clips on either side that are clipped onto the metal frame. Use a screwdriver to release them.
Continue to pull the cover up on both sides, and release the wire held into place by the red plastic clips on the front. The clip has a slot you can pass the wire through:
Heating pads
If you are fitting a heating pad, you don't need to remove anymore of the seat cover. Position it onto the foam and stick it into place. Route the wiring loom through the cutout in the bottom of the foam. You can now refit the covers on the seat, it is reversal of removal.
Release the black retaining clips on the front. They're the same as the ones used on the lower part of the seat.
On the rear cover, the wire that runs along the front side comes through the foam and clips into the back of the frame. Release these clips and push them through the holes to the front. There is also a retaining bar that clips the back cover to the frame. Again release it. And again, my pictures have grown legs and walked away. However you can see the wire clip in this picture:
With the wire and bar released, the cover should now pull up to the top of the seat. The last thing to do is to remove the head rest and it's mounting brackets.
To release the headrest, pop off the plastic covers to reveal a tab that can be pushed in (cover still in place in picture):
As you press these tabs in, the headrest can be pulled out of the seat. Depending on the seat spec, only one side may have the tab present (as seen in the picture below) or both sides may have a tab:
Next, you need to remove the brackets from the seat. Looking into the cover from the back of the seat, you'll see where they end. Depending on the seat spec, they may be square or circular. The square brackets have tabs that push it to release them from the seat:
The circular ones also have similar tabs, but are stiffer to push in and harder to remove:
With the plastic brackets removed, the seat cover will now pull up and off the backrest frame. Take note of what side they came from as they may be sided.
To refit, make sure the cover is inside out and start from the top, ensuring it is rotated the correct way for fitment. Remember the wires go on the front side to help you get it right.
Line up the holes for the headrest with the hole in the foam and secure the cover in place by refitting the headrest mounting brackets. Make sure to fit the correct one to the correct side as they may be different.
Then the rest of the refit is basically the reversal of removal, making sure to clip the retaining wires back into the rear and all the plastic mounts back into the metal retaining clips in the foam on the front. The part leather cover is harder to refit than the plain fabric one, you will need to pull it hard to get it to slide down into position.
Make sure to clip the wires back into place at the base of the frame. Again, use pliers to pull it tight and get it into it's retaining hole.
Remember to insert the cardboard pad back into place on the rear. It slides into a pouch on the cover.
To re-clip the two sides of the cover back together, pull the covers tight and rotate the plastic clips towards each other. I found it easier to clip the ends in first and then to run my fingers along the whole width of the clips to secure them.
Re-assembly
Once done, you need to re-attach the two parts together. While doing this you need to ensure any cables are not trapped and won't get damaged by use of the seat functions (adjusting the backrest, etc)
Once you have bolted them together again and replaced the plastic trim/storage boxes, clip all the cables back to the base of the seat frame. You can now refit the seat back into the vehicle.
Note on seat designs
I have taken apart seats from an SE spec Leon with full fabric and an FR Sport with half leather. The lower and upper parts were slightly different. As a result, replacement covers need to be from a same spec seat. This also applied to heating pads. The upper heating pads are the same, but the lower pads were different and I had to modify the pad to make it fit correctly.
On the upper part of the seat, the length from the top of the backrest to where the metal retaining clips are located is also different. So a cover from an SE fabric backrest won't be long enough, and a FR half leather cover will be too long to fit a SE backrest. The FR half leather backrest also had 2 additional retaining clips:
Any questions or suggestions feel free to post them here or message me.
Regards,
Lozzy
Today I will show you how to dismantle and remove the upholstery/covers from the front seats should you need to replace a damage part. I will also show you how to fit heated pads if you are wanting to retrofit heated seating. The heated seating retrofit guide is located here:
https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/retrofit-heated-seats-a-complete-how-to.457156/
Firstly, you need a couple of tools to complete the job
Tools
T20 Torx driver
M8 & 10 Multi-spline driver*
Small flat-bladed screwdriver
Small/long-nosed pliers
Parts (for heated seats retrofitting)
Heating pad for backrest - 5F0 963 555 E**
Heating pad for bumrest - 5F0 963 557 C**
* The multi-spline driver bit is also known as a tri-sqaure bit. It looks similar to a torx bit, however a torx bit will not work and may damage the bolts. You must use the correct bit & size.
** The part numbers for the pads will depend on the PR code for the seats in your car. PR codes can be found on a sticker in the spare wheel well. If ordering the pads from VW/TPS you may need to quote the PR code to get the correct style of pad for your seats.
Removing the seats
If you haven't done so already, you need to remove the seats from the vehicle. To do this you need the M10 multi-spline driver. There are 4 bolts that hold the seat to the car, 2 are the front and 2 at the rear. You'll need to move the seat all the way front/back to access them:
Once all the bolts are out, tilt the seat backwards. Locate where the wiring loom goes and pop out the retaining plastic lug that secures the floor in place. Once removed there is a cutout in the floor that allows access to the connectors below :
Now you can disconnect the electrical connectors.
Ensure the ignition is switched off, else you may activate an airbag light. While the seats are out of the car, do not switch on the ignition else you may activate the airbag light.
The connectors are clipped to the floor. Un-clip them and disconnect them. The airbag connector has a tab that slides up to allow it to disconnect:
Now you can remove the seat from the car. I found it easiest to adjust the backrest so that the seat was flat, and then pulled it out from the rear door. Be careful as the seat is heavy, and the metal frame at the bottom has sharp edges that can very easily damage interior trim/scratch paintwork.
Dismantling the seats
With the seats remove, you can begin to dismantle them.
To begin with, remove the storage box if the seat has one. It is held into position with 4 torx T20 screws. Three can be easily seen, one is hidden behind the box. To access it, pop out the small round tab covering the right hand hole on the bottom of the box, you can then access the screw that is hidden:
With the box removed, next you can remove the plastic trim attached to the seat. The seatbelt side is held on with two small plastic tabs that pull out. These have a locking pin that goes through the centre. It is difficult to remove the tab while the pin is inserted, and difficult to remove the pin while the tab is fitted, you may need to 'encourage' the trim to pry over the tab. Once the trim is removed you can access the rear to push the pin out, and therefore fit it correctly later:
On the opposite side, the trim is held on with another plastic tab, and is also clipped into place from the inside. Turn the seat upside and locate the clips on the inside. They can be released with a screwdriver:
Front most clip:
Next remove the plastic handle that adjust the seat height. It has a tab that you need to pry out while pulling it to release it. Pry the tab in the direction of the red arrow:
The last thing to do before the trim will free up is to remove the dial for adjusting the backrest position. It simply pulls off:
Now the plastic trim has been removed, you can separate the backrest from the lower part. To begin with, un-clip the airbag wiring from underneath the lower part of the seat and remove it from the netted sleeve the cables run through. Then locate 2 multi-spline M8 bolts on either side of the seat and remove them:
Once the bolts are out, the top half will separate from the lower half. Ensure to carefully release the airbag cable while doing so:
Removing the upholstery
With the seats separated, you can begin to remove the covering.
On the lower part of the seat, it is clipped to the metal frame all around the edges. You can release the clips with you fingers by pulling it away from the metal:
Do this for the front and sides of the seat. Once un-clipped, pull the cover up and release it from the black metal clips embedded into the foam. The easiest way I found to release them was to press one side of the clip down while pulling the plastic bar attached to the cover up and away from the clip:
Once all the clips are released, pull the cover to the back of the seat, separating it from the foam base inside and releasing 2 more red plastic clips are the rear. Pull it all the way to the rear of the seat to reveal the last clip at the back:
Release it from this clip as per the other three, and the cover can be removed from the seat. To refit, it is the reversal of removal.
Heating pads
If you are fitting a heating pad, you can now lay it onto the foam and stick it down. Make sure to fold it correctly into any crevices. Route the wiring loom through the cutout in the rear of the foam and to the underside of the seat. When refitting the foam to the metal frame, ensure the loom isn't trapped and is positioned under the metal frame ready for fitting.
If you are fitting a heating pad, you can now lay it onto the foam and stick it down. Make sure to fold it correctly into any crevices. Route the wiring loom through the cutout in the rear of the foam and to the underside of the seat. When refitting the foam to the metal frame, ensure the loom isn't trapped and is positioned under the metal frame ready for fitting.
For the upper part of the seat, begin by turning it upside down to reveal the seam where the covers meet. These are clipped together in a similar way to the lower cover. Starting from one edge, pull them away from each other to release the clip, and move along to release whole width of the covers. Unfortunately some of my pictures got deleted so I can't show you this.
Once released, begin to pull the covers up the seat. At the front, you'll find two metal wires that run up along the sides of the cover. They clip into the metal frame. Lift the front foam and release them by using pliers to pull them out of the retaining holes:
Next, on the rear of the seat there is a cardboard pad that slides out. Then there are two plastic clips on either side that are clipped onto the metal frame. Use a screwdriver to release them.
Continue to pull the cover up on both sides, and release the wire held into place by the red plastic clips on the front. The clip has a slot you can pass the wire through:
Heating pads
If you are fitting a heating pad, you don't need to remove anymore of the seat cover. Position it onto the foam and stick it into place. Route the wiring loom through the cutout in the bottom of the foam. You can now refit the covers on the seat, it is reversal of removal.
Release the black retaining clips on the front. They're the same as the ones used on the lower part of the seat.
On the rear cover, the wire that runs along the front side comes through the foam and clips into the back of the frame. Release these clips and push them through the holes to the front. There is also a retaining bar that clips the back cover to the frame. Again release it. And again, my pictures have grown legs and walked away. However you can see the wire clip in this picture:
With the wire and bar released, the cover should now pull up to the top of the seat. The last thing to do is to remove the head rest and it's mounting brackets.
To release the headrest, pop off the plastic covers to reveal a tab that can be pushed in (cover still in place in picture):
As you press these tabs in, the headrest can be pulled out of the seat. Depending on the seat spec, only one side may have the tab present (as seen in the picture below) or both sides may have a tab:
Next, you need to remove the brackets from the seat. Looking into the cover from the back of the seat, you'll see where they end. Depending on the seat spec, they may be square or circular. The square brackets have tabs that push it to release them from the seat:
The circular ones also have similar tabs, but are stiffer to push in and harder to remove:
With the plastic brackets removed, the seat cover will now pull up and off the backrest frame. Take note of what side they came from as they may be sided.
To refit, make sure the cover is inside out and start from the top, ensuring it is rotated the correct way for fitment. Remember the wires go on the front side to help you get it right.
Line up the holes for the headrest with the hole in the foam and secure the cover in place by refitting the headrest mounting brackets. Make sure to fit the correct one to the correct side as they may be different.
Then the rest of the refit is basically the reversal of removal, making sure to clip the retaining wires back into the rear and all the plastic mounts back into the metal retaining clips in the foam on the front. The part leather cover is harder to refit than the plain fabric one, you will need to pull it hard to get it to slide down into position.
Make sure to clip the wires back into place at the base of the frame. Again, use pliers to pull it tight and get it into it's retaining hole.
Remember to insert the cardboard pad back into place on the rear. It slides into a pouch on the cover.
To re-clip the two sides of the cover back together, pull the covers tight and rotate the plastic clips towards each other. I found it easier to clip the ends in first and then to run my fingers along the whole width of the clips to secure them.
Re-assembly
Once done, you need to re-attach the two parts together. While doing this you need to ensure any cables are not trapped and won't get damaged by use of the seat functions (adjusting the backrest, etc)
Once you have bolted them together again and replaced the plastic trim/storage boxes, clip all the cables back to the base of the seat frame. You can now refit the seat back into the vehicle.
Note on seat designs
I have taken apart seats from an SE spec Leon with full fabric and an FR Sport with half leather. The lower and upper parts were slightly different. As a result, replacement covers need to be from a same spec seat. This also applied to heating pads. The upper heating pads are the same, but the lower pads were different and I had to modify the pad to make it fit correctly.
On the upper part of the seat, the length from the top of the backrest to where the metal retaining clips are located is also different. So a cover from an SE fabric backrest won't be long enough, and a FR half leather cover will be too long to fit a SE backrest. The FR half leather backrest also had 2 additional retaining clips:
Any questions or suggestions feel free to post them here or message me.
Regards,
Lozzy
