Rear seat back won’t lock into place

[Headsnap]

I’ve had the rear seats down for a few weeks while I’ve been taking the road bike out and now when I’ve tried to put it all back, the offside rear seat back won’t lock into place.

The handle lifts and pulls the hook out of the way and I can slot the seat back over the locking bracket on the car, but when I let go and pull the seat forward to see if it’s locked it always comes straight off again.

When the seat is back and I release the handle, the handle stays where it is, which tells me that it’s not quite latched. However it won’t push any further onto the bracket. I’ve attached some pictures of the hook; I have a feeling that the little plate which is next to the hook and which moves with the hook when the handle is lifted might have something to do with it?

http://imgur.com/a/ywJVSZS

Thanks!

 

[MoToJoJo]

I've... never lifted the handle when closing the seat up, just slammed it like a car door.

 

[iammooks]

Does the middle seat belt pull out? If it doesn't, you've got the same problem I had.

Those seats are a nightmare - to the point where I haven't put them down for years because I don't know for sure whether the seatback will relocate properly or if the centre seat belt will release when I pull it. If you have your seats down for extended periods of time, that's when the problems seems to be worst.

I've had mine out of the car a couple of times - once on MoT day - trying to get it to work, and because nothing came up on the test about it, I just left it.

The issue generally seems to be that when you put the seats down, there's a ball bearing setup that allows the seat belts to move that doesn't always re-seat itself when you put them back up, and this stops the seatback from relocating. If you take the back of the seat apart like I did, you'll find there's a cable that goes from the seat belt mechanism to the handle mechanism. I don't know how it works and I haven't been able to repair it, but there are some threads out there - mainly on forums for Golf Mk4s - that could help. Most people have a problem where the seat won't release, rather than it not locking in place, so be prepared to wade through a lot of those kinds of threads.

This one might help you at least get an idea what's happening: https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum...002ecfd691a54f14a906dfa8d&p=713843#post713843

Some people advise changing the pull handle, but I've done that on mine and it didn't make a difference.

If you can get one cheaply, it might be best just to get a replacement rear bench from eBay or a breaker's yard, as none of my research brought up a fix that worked. I also made the mistake of not taking notes on how it all goes back together, which just made for more stress...

 

[Headsnap]

I've... never lifted the handle when closing the seat up, just slammed it like a car door.

Yeah neither did I until it bounced forward off the bracket as I slammed it back. I now lift the handle to make sure it would go over the bracket but it just doesn’t want to lock any more when it is in the correct position

 

[Headsnap]

Does the middle seat belt pull out? If it doesn't, you've got the same problem I had.

Those seats are a nightmare - to the point where I haven't put them down for years because I don't know for sure whether the seatback will relocate properly or if the centre seat belt will release when I pull it. If you have your seats down for extended periods of time, that's when the problems seems to be worst.

I've had mine out of the car a couple of times - once on MoT day - trying to get it to work, and because nothing came up on the test about it, I just left it.

The issue generally seems to be that when you put the seats down, there's a ball bearing setup that allows the seat belts to move that doesn't always re-seat itself when you put them back up, and this stops the seatback from relocating. If you take the back of the seat apart like I did, you'll find there's a cable that goes from the seat belt mechanism to the handle mechanism. I don't know how it works and I haven't been able to repair it, but there are some threads out there - mainly on forums for Golf Mk4s - that could help. Most people have a problem where the seat won't release, rather than it not locking in place, so be prepared to wade through a lot of those kinds of threads.

This one might help you at least get an idea what's happening: https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum...002ecfd691a54f14a906dfa8d&p=713843#post713843

Some people advise changing the pull handle, but I've done that on mine and it didn't make a difference.

If you can get one cheaply, it might be best just to get a replacement rear bench from eBay or a breaker's yard, as none of my research brought up a fix that worked. I also made the mistake of not taking notes on how it all goes back together, which just made for more stress...

Thanks mate. I’ve had the back off but taking the seat apart is a nightmare. Yeah most threads point to unlocking it like you say and I’ve waded through them today. The mechanism appears to work as it should. I’ll have another look at the centre belt and see what I can do. Thanks for your reply