I bought an '06 4Runner last week, and I ended up with a rear passenger-side creak that may be related to the rear seat latch according to what I've been able to find on this outstanding forum.

However, after folding the seat bottoms forward, I can not get the latches to lock in any way. When I tumble the seat bottoms back into position, they look fine, but they are not "locked" into place. I can grab the seat bottom anywhere and easily pick it up and move it.

The owner's manual is somewhat confusing in that there are two sets of instructions - one without third-row seating and one with. The warning to make sure that the rear seat bottom is "locked" appears under the instructions for vehicles with the third seat, which I do not have.

Do the rear seat bottoms lock into place on the 4Runners without the third row? I have two young kids back there in car seats, and I need to be sure that the rear seats are safe.

If the seats are supposed to lock, does anyone have any ideas as to why mine are not working? The fabric straps attached to the seat don't seem to be moving any part of the latch. They merely act as a place to grab the seat. Both sections are this way. Is this right?

The bottom part of the rear seat is not supposed to lock into place. You are able to lift it up by pulling that strap. The seat backs are supposed to lock in place. You have to push the button near the rear headrest and pull down. That owners manual is rather confusing!

Mark86,

Thanks. I was really concerned because of the kids sitting back there. I don't fully understand why there are latches under the rear seats if they don't catch or lock.

No problem. I don't blame you. You don't want to take any chances when the kids are sitting back there.

The two pairs of latches under the rear seats are for the standard latch system for attaching car seats and boosters. They don't tie the rear seats down in any way (as you've already discovered).

eorange,

I believe you are referring to the "LATCH" anchors that are accessible in order to install car seats . However, I am referring to the disc-shaped latch, which is located on the floor underneath the seat bottoms. In addition, there is a bar-type latch toward the middle of the 60% portion of the 60/40 seat that is also entirely underneath the seat bottom.

There is a cut-out in the seat bottom just behind the fabric strap that appears as if it should "catch" under the disc-shaped latch located on the floor. Originally, I had assumed that the fabric strap would be attached to a moving part, and that pulling the strap would release the seat bottom from the disc-shaped latch. Likewise, "slamming" the seat down and releasing the strap would engage the latch mechanism and lock the seat bottom in place.

I still don't understand why these latches are underneath the seat bottom if they are not supposed to lock down in some way. What other purpose would they serve? Similarly, of what use is the strap if I can grab any part of the seat and easily just lift and tumble it forward?

I have a Subaru sedan that has straps located on the top portion of the rear seat backs. Pulling the straps releases a mechanism which allows the "locked" seatbacks to be folded forward to open up a pass-through to the trunk. I am still concerned that these 4Runner seats are supposed to work in a similar fashion.

Yes, you are correct (LATCH). Now I'm wondering about the other mechanism you described. I will check out the underside of my seats tomorrow, although, it seems like there's nothing "there" to hold it down. I always that was kind of peculiar too...

My former Exploder had a locking mechanism for the rear seats, and you had to push down on a lever to disengage it to fold the seats forward.

I am looking at page 51 (vehicles without third seats) of my 2006 owner's manual, and the instructions clearly indicate to "swing the bottom cushion up by pulling the lock release strap." I doubt whether they would call it a "lock release strap" if the seat was not designed to lock down. Neither of my rear seat cushions (60/40) are locking down, however.

The second-row seats in the third seat models seem to be much different than mine according to the illustration in the manual. Therefore, I doubt whether the devices that I am concerned with, such as the disc-shaped latch, apply only to the third seat model.

I assume this is a for safety in the event of a collision. It should hold the seat bottom in place so it won't fly forward and sheer off the weak hinges that hold it to the frame. If someone was sitting back there and the lower seat cushion assembly started shifting forward, it would probably have some very serious issues regading the seat belts.

I looked and the '05 doesn't have any disc or bar assembly on the underside of the seats, as you describe. FYI...

eorange,

Thanks for checking that out. So are you saying that your rear seat cushions are able to just flip forward without any way to hold them in place?

As BenSD pointed out, for safety reasons, I believe the seat bottom should lock into place. My kids weigh only thirty or forty pounds each. In the event of a frontal impact, I can imagine that the seat cushions could flip forward and cause their seating position to change, and probably not for the better.

I have a call into the dealer. Of course they want me to bring the vehicle in, but I can't do that for a few days. In the meantime, I asked them to have a tech call me back. Maybe they can explain it or at least check other 4Runners on their lot to determine whether the seat cushions on other vehicles lock into place.

I also checked mine and it doesn't have and type of parts under the seat that would indicate a latching ability. The bottom part just lifts up with little effort. This has always concern me as well but I don't know what course to take since this seems to be the intent of the design. Maybe a TSB will come out in the couple of years when someone gets hurt or worse because of this bad design.

my 2 cents

Correct, same as what Spider5 found. There's NO mechanism of any kind down there. At least on your '06 it sounds you have something that could potentially cause the seat to lock, even though it's not obvious how it works (yet?).

No disrespect intended, and I'm not one of those "Toyota can do no wrong" type of people - but I think you guys are worrying about something that is truly not an issue.

Could you perhaps eleborate on why a seat bottom that folds up would pose a danger to a properly restrained passenger? I can't understand why you have any concern. Especially since a child of 30-40 pounds should be in a secure child seat anyway.

Seems to me this seat design is common these days on many types of car and SUV, and has been so for a long time.

Because we don't know how an unsecured seat will behave in a crash. Factors: Force of crash? Rollover involved (upside down)? Weight of said person on seat? I have no idea what would happen.

Common sense just tells me a locked seat would be safer. My '99 Explorer had it and the rear seats were solidly locked in place.