General Mystery part in my Abarth

[Supasweet]

I have a mystery part that broke inside my 2015 Abarth and the dealership has no clue where it came from.

This happened when the car was at at a stop light suddenly there was a very loud pop sound in the car. After getting home, I checked my driver seat and looked at the back and found the broken pieces on the floor mat. I have no idea where it's from? The size of the largest piece is just over an inch long. The only letter or numbers on the larger piece is "B4". Not sure if it is from adjusting the driver seat all the way back and all the way forward?!?!

And does anyone know how to contact the manufacture? They must know as they are the ones that built the car?

Has anyone seen anything like this before? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[John202020]

Look for a hole the size of the outside ribbed bit? Maybe with a screw or something in the middle

 

[DrogoD]

Is that not a clip that holds the floor mat in place?

 

[AndyRKett]

Well the larger piece is all in tact and looks like the fragments are from an matching/opposing piece all of which is not there so having a good look under the seat should help locate the remaining pieces and give you some idea where it is from, but to be honest it just looks like a trim clip

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Appears to be some type of two-piece grommet that snaps together around a cable or such before being pushed into a hole. Might be related to the seat sensor cabling.

 

[UFI]

Appears to be some type of two-piece grommet that snaps together around a cable or such before being pushed into a hole. Might be related to the seat sensor cabling.

My guess would be the cables that allow the seat to be pushed forward for rear access.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

My guess would be the cables that allow the seat to be pushed forward for rear access.

Yes UFI, on reflection electrical cables wouldn't survive the kind of tension needed to make it explode like that - that's tough plastic. Had a (limited) look under my seat today with the aid of a mirror but I can't see anything like it - mind you, mine's not an Abarth.

 

[alexGS]

As AndyRKett said, inspection of the intact half reveals that an identical half originally fitted against it (protrusions on one side, recesses on the other). Although it resembles a trim clip at first glance, it is clearly a bit more complicated (more exact design and smoother (harder?) material) and fits around something in situ, as Piccolo Nero e Bella said.

I think it is a grommet/guide for a pull-cable inside the driver's seat - and tension, perhaps from weight against the seat somehow, shattered the hard/brittle plastic suddenly. I suggest checking all the seat functions carefully (seat slide, height adjust, backrest tip forward, etc.) and if anything is not working smoothly (or feels like a cable dragging against something), get it back to the dealer for remediation before the cable is damaged. You might also notice that one of the levers is loose, because the outer ribs are probably used to set the cable tension - with the pieces gone, the cable will probably be flopping around.

I had to replace a broken cable in a Multipla seat recently, because it had frayed against the seat pan/base. Each design is different and I have not looked at an Abarth seat yet, but many designs rely on these pull-cables (a Bowden cable but made of multiple strands spiral-wound, for flexibility).

-Alex

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

I think you're right Alex. I could see those pull cables under my seat. They're sleeved in black plastic tube which sort of fits with the shape of that grommet.