V70 Body/Trim: V70 rear seat back stuck

[Kevin_L]

hi - ive got a 2002 V70 - i wanted to fold down rear seat back (to take stuff to the dump) - i pushed back the button on top of the seat and pulled towards front of car - all was normal (if it makes any difference the seat back is set to the 2nd more reclined position) - it moved - but id forgotten to lower safety net which was up so i pushed seat back and it clicked into position.

Then when i unlocked the seat and tried to move forward to lower, it's stuck - just wont move.

I assume there's some sort of cable or rod from the button to the catch? I've had these fail on front seats of 2 door cars (Escorts/Astra's) but i cant easily see a way into the workings of a V70 - and Haynes doesnt mention (i'm sure i did similar job on my old 855 estate)


It's the bigger of the two seatbacks with the armrest.


Any help appreciated!!

Thanks

Kevin

[thehambledonian]

something similar happened to me in the seat down position. Turned out the button on the seatbelt, which stops it from travelling to far, had broken.....and the seat belt locked. If you have the buttons on the belt missing then that could be it.

[Missing Lincs]

Does the button feel as though it is still operating the mechanism or is it stuck? If the mechanism seems to be jammed try pushing the seat back quite firmly, I've had a couple of occasions when the seat wasn't fully locked and therefore wouldn't release.

[forster]

I had the same problem last year-the operating catch to release the seat back is plastic(!) and it broke.Quite a straightforward repair,3 Torx screws to remove the curved cover,you will then see the broken part.Be careful when fitting the new part into the cover.The seat back can be lowered by using a screwdriver to release the latch.Take care to avoid the seat belt retracting too far, ie the small button going to the back of the slot,otherwise the seat will not go fully down. Part no.for the catch is 39967240. and the belt button (should you need it is 09194823)Prices were,(in July 2008)£6.20 for the catch, and £2.65 for the button.

[Kevin_L]

Originally Posted by forster

I had the same problem last year-the operating catch to release the seat back is plastic(!) and it broke.Quite a straightforward repair,3 Torx screws to remove the curved cover,you will then see the broken part.Be careful when fitting the new part into the cover.The seat back can be lowered by using a screwdriver to release the latch.Take care to avoid the seat belt retracting too far, ie the small button going to the back of the slot,otherwise the seat will not go fully down. Part no.for the catch is 39967240. and the belt button (should you need it is 09194823)Prices were,(in July 2008)£6.20 for the catch, and £2.65 for the button.

hi! yes, i got seat down with well placed screwdriver through where the cargo net reels up at the top of the seat and assisted with my fingers in the catch (ouch!) seat went down.

got the plastic cover off and under it the cheap crap plastic attached to the switch thingy had busted - Volvo said all one part - the entire seat cap with integral switch at £31 plus VAT!!

So i prised out busted switch and put back plastic seat trim - i can access the seat catch now....doesnt look nice though!

[phamultimedia]

My 2001 V70 rear seats are also stuck in the up position and I cannot see how you can get at the mechanism of the catch as you describe. There isn't a way through the cargo net slot and the top of the catch is part of the seat top housing. (where are the screws refered to?) Do I have to break the seat top to get at the catch?
I've tried poking about inside the seat by prising the cushion aside from the front but nothing I do releases the catch. Any help welcome.

[gazza67]

i'm same as phamultimedia, spent about 3 hours yesterday trying all suggestions i've read, no luck. can anyone post a detailed description of what they did? Thanks.

[mormor]

If you carefully fold the upper corner of the seat back, ie. the leather part, you should be able to see the mechanism and you should see a black rod that points towards the sliding button that you use to release the catch with.

On my one there is a tap on the sliding button that had broken of and was thus not engaging with the rod you see of you fold the leather back a bit, push the rod towards the back of the seat and the catch should release.

When the catch has released you will be able to fold the seat down again.

I didn't take any pictures as it was quite straight forward what to push after looking at the other side to see what moved when the sliding button was pushed back to release the working seat, simply push the part that don't move on the broken one and it releases.

[greenlay]

I have a 2003 Volvo V70 2.4 T and I appear to have found a way to release the stuck rear seat latch without resorting to the use of tools or excessive force. Open the plastic cover on the back of the seat at the top where presumably the cargo net resides if you have one, which I don't. There is a black lever inside immediately behind the seat release button. At first, this lever appears immobile; however, if you push down on the lever with one finger while holding the seat release button back (as you would normally do to lower the seat back) and wobble the seat gently backwards and forwards, the lever will move down, unlatching the seat back. I repeated this several times on both left and right rear seat backs with success. This remedy might only apply to my year and model and I am not sure if it will work where there is a cargo net installed as it might have to be removed first.

[taz]

Originally Posted by Kevin_L

hi! yes, i got seat down with well placed screwdriver through where the cargo net reels up at the top of the seat and assisted with my fingers in the catch (ouch!) seat went down.

got the plastic cover off and under it the cheap crap plastic attached to the switch thingy had busted - Volvo said all one part - the entire seat cap with integral switch at £31 plus VAT!!

So i prised out busted switch and put back plastic seat trim - i can access the seat catch now....doesnt look nice though!

Now then! Same scenario as me a few months back. Got mine down with bit o' perseverance and a fkin big screwy!! The price of the bits seem steep as I only paid about less than a tenner for mine. (The black plastic casing/thumb lever with a red plastic plate when seat is released). If it's a different part of yours thats bust, contact Huddersfield Volvo Breakers (just key that in Ebay & you'll find him), and he'll sort you out a lot cheaper than the robbing Stealership you've been to. But call back to them as you don't have to buy ALL the seat cap as the switch defo comes separate as I got one. If no joy, let us know and I'll see if I can find the part number or get you one from the Stealers near me n pop it in the post!

Ian.