Rear back seats locked into the upright position!!

[richjboyd]

Hi all,

Virgin post!!! I have a 2000 Leon cupra and I seem to have got the rear back seats locked into the upright position.

Had the back seats down for a week or so wile driving around and I think something has moved around because when I try and use the seat release they are louse.

It feels like the releases handels at each side have become disconnected from the internal release system.

Any suggestions on how to fix this so I can put the seats down?

Thanks all and great site!!

 

[stpete]

If you pull on the release handles do they come up or are they also locked down?

 

[richjboyd]

If you pull on the release handles do they come up or are they also locked down?

I am able to pull up the release handles no probs, they apart not to be connected to any thing internal to the seat.

One thing I was considering was remove the back cover to the rear seat to see if I can fish out the mec to reconnect it to the release handles

but I was hoping there was an easer way

 

[Willie]

You could try fishing about in where the handles were to see if you can pick up the cable from the top. That would save you removing the seat backs.

Welcome to the forum BTW.

Hope you have deep pockets

 

[stpete]

Is this any help, best i could find?

"Hope you have deep pockets"
That just about sums up my whole Leon experience!

 

[richjboyd]

Is this any help, best i could find?

Thanks stpete, it looks like I won’t be able to fish from the back of the seat as the mec is enclosed.

I am going to try and play around see what happens. Starting to think just replacing the back seats is the easer option short of dismantling the seat unit.

 

[stpete]

I think if you take seat out then gently remove cover, you may find you can get to rod under foam cushion! Must be cheaper than new seat, maybe not easier but you'll have the satisfaction of not being beaten by a car!!!

 

[lc_allan]

Parts seem cheap, replace the lot and I'm sure someone has mentioned before they released the seats with a long thin screwdriver or similar.

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=200115

 

[mikey_b]

if it helps mate i broke the handle to drop my seats and dnt have he foggyest on how to get them down....

 

[richjboyd]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice, it helped.

Got it sorted.

Managed to get the seats down using a screwdriver to force open the lock from back of the seat, it’s quite tight some force needed.

Once down I removed the back cover of the seat around the locking mec.

I then noticed that the pull rod connected to the release handle was slipping through the locking clip causing the lock not to open.

As in the image below I looped some copper wire around the end of the pull rod to prevent this from slipping through the locking clip.

Not sure if it’s a permanent solution but it seem to have done the job.

A=Locking clip
B=Pull rod
C=Copper wire

Visit
richard-boyd.com/leon/back_seat_repair.jpg

Now off to get a heat gun to glue the back seat covers back into place

 

[neilking]

I had the same problem, did a Google search for the solution, found this site and this thread gave me the answer so this is just say thanks!

I would just add that richjboyd said "using a screwdriver to force open the lock from back of the seat" and I wondered at first did he mean using it as a crow bar to rip the seat back out of the catch? But no, he means using the tip of the screw driver to try and lift the "tongue" (or the claw if you like) of the latch up to release the seat back. I managed it in seconds with no force really.

Another tip I read on another website is that, when you're fitting the new pull rod, it's a good idea to hold the catch open with a screw driver. That way, you've got a better chance of locating the long leg of the rod in the catch before the two shorter legs engage (which gives rise to the risk of breaking it if you fail to locate the long leg and have to pull it out to try again).

Thanks again people