Hi all

Im sure I read somewhere that it was possible to remove the rear seat base, I have had a go but could not figure out how to do it.

Can anyone help?

I'm sure it will remove... I'm not sure it's a no-tool job though.

nallen132 said:

Hi all

Im sure I read somewhere that it was possible to remove the rear seat base, I have had a go but could not figure out how to do it.

Can anyone help?

Click to expand...

Yes done this before.

1, Cling to back of base with both hand evenly across and lift, its pops out at the back, then do same with front. You will be suprised with the weight of it ( A 2 year old could carry it ) and feel where is the quality.

The base is a glorified piece of foam with a covering on it.

Underneath is the transaxle / subframe.

Managed to get the bench off today it sort of popped out,there are two anchor point one each side, I found it easier of both rear doors are open. you get a completely flat load area... and putting back is just a question of lining up the two anchor points into their positioning holes and press.

There is even space to store the bench at the end of the load area...

Nah, can't manage this with mine. Got the back up OK (after opening doors), but not the front. It looks like there are two metal prongs going down into the floor at two points, about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way across.

I tried waggling forwards and backwards and just pulling straight up, but it wouldn't come out. I was pulling to the point where the car was moving, so I'm scared of breaking something, or bending the bar that runs across the bottom of the front.

I tried front first and back first but no joy.

Is there a knack I don't have? Can someone who's got it out explain what sort of clip is in the hole? i.e. is it something that could break if pulled too hard?

eLearn says:

1. Release the two mounting tabs (1a) for the seat cushion (1b).

- Lift up the seat cushion at the front.
- Release the seat cushion from the housing and remove it from the vehicle.

Refitting ( Removing )
- Check that the seat cushion is not damaged.
1. Always replace the guide bushes in the mounting with new parts.

- Place the seat cushion in position in the vehicle.
- Attach the two mounting tabs for the seat cushion, fitting them correctly in the guide bushes.

Got it - just brute force required. But only one of the clips will positively click back in, the other's just sitting in the hole (not going anywhere though). I won't worry about that - it will spend half its time out of the car anyway.

The two metal loops 1/3 and 2/3 distance accross the front edge have a slight forward curved. Therefore you need to tilt the seat cushion forward at about 30 degrees to engage them in the floor cross member slotted holes. Keep a slight forward pressure on the cushion while you lower it to avoid the front edge disengaging. Finally, make sure your seat belt buckles are all accessible before pushing the back edge down.

The fact the the seat back doesn't fold flat's been a nuisance a couple of times when I've needed to move something fairly bulky.

I handn't thought about removing the seat bench.

Pity the seat base doesn't hinge forward - that would have made it pretty straightforward.

I had some stuff to take to the tip today so I thought I'd have a bash at getting the rear seat bench out to get a nice big flat area.

Like others have found, one you get the knack it's dead easy.

How I did it was to lift the back of base out from where it's tucked under the seat back at either corner and lifted it up quite far. I couldn't get the angle right to get the front clips out and was on the point of giving up when I thought I'd run my hand along the front of the base to find the metal loops. The pressure of my hand must have been enough to free it up because that was enough to pop it out. All of a sudden I had a flat 1.6m x 1.1m load area. Perfect.

I still think it's a bit of a shame that it's not hinged though. I'm thinking cutting off the 2 metal loops and using some metal putty to fix a couple of hinges to the metal base and screwed to a length of wood in fitted into the seat base. Does anyone think that it would need to be fixed at the back as well? I'd hate it to come loose in an accident.

I reckon it needs those two loops to be slotted into the floor, and those will only go in if the front is pushed vertically downwards. You'd be relying on the strength of the hinge, and it would take a lot of forward force with 3 adults sitting on it during a head-on crash. The base could slide forwards and they'd go under their seatbelts into a heap all over the driver and front passenger.

In short, not a good idea in my opinion!

I found after my first attempt years ago that you need to take care to get the prongs into the plastic socket when refitting - it can do down the side of it, then it won't clip in right. Mine's been in and out loads of times and still works fine and clips in properly.

I usually chuck the rolled up boot cover behind the front seats, then the seat base on top of it. It all fits in pretty neatly and makes a sort of bulkhead between the driver and load.

Yes, you're right - bit of an engineering challenge for something that's actually easy enough to do anyway.