Back seat won't fold up????

[andyboy]

I was getting ready to haul some stuff in my cargo area today and I was trying to fold up the back seat but it seems as though it is locked some how. The single seat folds up fine but the double seater is where I'm having issues with. The bottom part won't fold up at all. Is there some sort of lock on this? This just happened today. It worked fine two weeks ago when I had them down. Any ideas???
:wtf:

 

[MikesToy]

Maybe something's stuck in there. My '03s seat has something you have to pull to put it down then the backrest has a button ontop to push down before you can put it down. When putting it back up, the backrest has to latch before i can put the seat up.

 

[sr5hi]

I was getting ready to haul some stuff in my cargo area today and I was trying to fold up the back seat but it seems as though it is locked some how. The single seat folds up fine but the double seater is where I'm having issues with. The bottom part won't fold up at all. Is there some sort of lock on this? This just happened today. It worked fine two weeks ago when I had them down. Any ideas???
:wtf:

I am going to assume that my 2003 is the same as your 2006 model. The rear seat bottom is hinged in the front so it pivots forward when lifted and there is no locking mechanism. Check under the front area of the seat bottom cushion, maybe there is some foreign object wedged there that preventing the seat bottom from pivoting forward.

 

[andyboy]

I am going to assume that my 2003 is the same as your 2006 model. The rear seat bottom is hinged in the front so it pivots forward when lifted and there is no locking mechanism. Check under the front area of the seat bottom cushion, maybe there is some foreign object wedged there that preventing the seat bottom from pivoting forward.

Checked all around and not much I can move around. I can squeeze my hand underneath the seat but not very far and i don't feel anything at all. any other ideas??

 

[sr5hi]

Checked all around and not much I can move around. I can squeeze my hand underneath the seat but not very far and i don't feel anything at all. any other ideas??

Again assuming my 2003 is the same as your 2006. On the lower front of the bottom seat cushion near the floor are two plastic covers. Pop the covers off, and underneath them are the bolts that secure the front seat hinge to the floor. If you remove the bolts, you should be able to remove the lower seat cushion. In looking at my rear seat, on the floor under the rear seat cushion are two round tabs that are open on the back half. Underneath the passenger side bottom cushion towards the middle of the vehicle there is a metal loop that rest just to the rear of one of those round tabs when the seat is in the down position. Also there is a metal tab on the outboard underside of the bottom seat cushion that's covered by fabric that also rest just behind the other round tab when the seat is in the down position. Maybe something has shifted to cause the metal loop/tab under the seat cushion to lock into the round tabs on the floor. If you unbolt the front hinges from the floor you should be able to wiggle the seat bottom out. If the tabs are locked together you may have to push the seat bottom back after unbolting the hinges so the tabs clear each other.

 

[andyboy]

Again assuming my 2003 is the same as your 2006. On the lower front of the bottom seat cushion near the floor are two plastic covers. Pop the covers off, and underneath them are the bolts that secure the front seat hinge to the floor. If you remove the bolts, you should be able to remove the lower seat cushion. In looking at my rear seat, on the floor under the rear seat cushion are two round tabs that are open on the back half. Underneath the passenger side bottom cushion towards the middle of the vehicle there is a metal loop that rest just to the rear of one of those round tabs when the seat is in the down position. Also there is a metal tab on the outboard underside of the bottom seat cushion that's covered by fabric that also rest just behind the other round tab when the seat is in the down position. Maybe something has shifted to cause the metal loop/tab under the seat cushion to lock into the round tabs on the floor. If you unbolt the front hinges from the floor you should be able to wiggle the seat bottom out. If the tabs are locked together you may have to push the seat bottom back after unbolting the hinges so the tabs clear each other.

Thanks, I'll give that a shot.

 

[TechWrench]

This may sound simple, but have you checked to see if the front seat is too far back, and not allowing the rear seat back to be lifted back up into the vertical position? With my '03, I have found that if either of the front seats are all the way in the rear position, it is very difficult to get the rear seats to drop all the way down, or lift up to be put back in the vertical position.

 

[sr5hi]

This may sound simple, but have you checked to see if the front seat is too far back, and not allowing the rear seat back to be lifted back up into the vertical position? With my '03, I have found that if either of the front seats are all the way in the rear position, it is very difficult to get the rear seats to drop all the way down, or lift up to be put back in the vertical position.

If I understand Andyboy's post, he is unable to lift the rear passenger side seat BOTTOM cushion up to its vertical position. For some reason it is stuck in the down position and he is unable to lift it up and forward toward the back of the front seat.

 

[andyboy]

If I understand Andyboy's post, he is unable to lift the rear passenger side seat BOTTOM cushion up to its vertical position. For some reason it is stuck in the down position and he is unable to lift it up and forward toward the back of the front seat.

What he said...
I haven't unscrewed the seat hinge yet. I will try that soon.

 

[TechWrench]

If I understand Andyboy's post, he is unable to lift the rear passenger side seat BOTTOM cushion up to its vertical position. For some reason it is stuck in the down position and he is unable to lift it up and forward toward the back of the front seat.

OK, my bad. I guess I read his post too fast and mis-understood what his issue was. I don't know what the problem could be. I fold my seats down quite a lot, and have not had that problem so far.

 

[4Given]

I've had the same problem on my 08 Urban Runner.

Problem: Rear Passenger SEAT BOTTOM stuck and won't fold forward.

Solution: While pulling up on the nylon pull-tab, give the front of the seat bottom a good rap towards the rear.

Note: I discovered this quite by accident when in my frustration to get the seat bottom up to load gear, I smacked the front of the seat while pulling up on the nylon pull-tab...........and "they" say anger is never the solution.

 

[andyboy]

took off the hinges and foud that the "hook" that's bolted to the platform of the floor underneith the seat was catching on the metal thingy on bottom of the seat where there's a little dip at the end. I bent back the thin metal on the bottom seat and then placed a small cardboard on top of the "hook". It's ghetto rigged but it works! damn, PITA!
Think my fiance' was the last one who placed that seat down. Guess she was mad at me for not walking the dog...yay marriage! Thanks for all the help!

 

[sr5hi]

took off the hinges and foud that the "hook" that's bolted to the platform of the floor underneith the seat was catching on the metal thingy on bottom of the seat where there's a little dip at the end. I bent back the thin metal on the bottom seat and then placed a small cardboard on top of the "hook". It's ghetto rigged but it works! damn, PITA!
Think my fiance' was the last one who placed that seat down. Guess she was mad at me for not walking the dog...yay marriage! Thanks for all the help!

Glad to hear that the problem is resolved. Well you know what they say,
"Women, can't live with them, can't live without them". (LOL)

 

[jettank]

Totally worked!

4Given, thanks for the good advice. My seat was stuck and I tried loosening the bolts, sticking a screwdriver down there . . . everything.

Then I did what you recommended and pulled forward on the fabric strip while giving the front of the bottom seat cushions a good hit. It totally worked. After the seat bottoms came up I could see that this was happening because the fabric around the plastic tab that clicks to the round black locking mechanism was slightly torn and getting stuck in the mechanism. I trimmed it with some scissors and voila . . . the seat it back in working order.

Thanks for the advice. It saved me a trip to the dealer.

 

[Joed608]

A moment of Zen

Push the front seat all the way forward. Get in the car facing the backseat with your knees on the front of the seat. Put your non-dominant hand on the top of the backseat. Put your dominant hand on the little loop and pull up at the same time you push back with your knees. This puts pressure on the seat to move back and it will come up easily. The makers of this car have designed it to work without a struggle. If you are struggling something is wrong. Peace out.

 

[alaskaman]

i've had the same problem on my 08 urban runner.

problem: rear passenger seat bottom stuck and won't fold forward.

solution: while pulling up on the nylon pull-tab, give the front of the seat bottom a good rap towards the rear.

note: i discovered this quite by accident when in my frustration to get the seat bottom up to load gear, i smacked the front of the seat while pulling up on the nylon pull-tab...........and "they" say anger is never the solution.

this works.

 

[Kartimel]

Wow, thanks!

I needed to make a bed in the back and had just put the seats down the week before but all of a sudden it was 'locked'. I had to move the front seat all the way forward and use my body weight (girl to push the back seat toward the back of the truck while lifting the seat. It did get caught on that ring sort of thing.

 

[tokidokizenzen]

Same problem with my 2006 4Runner

Hi there!
I had the same problem but unfortunately none of the methods in here worked for me. Appreciate everyone trying to help solve the issue and want to contribute my own experience and solution.

Vehicle: 2006 4Runner (this solution should work with any 4th Gen 4Runner)
Problem: Driver side rear passenger seat won't go up after seat top is folded down
Expected behavior: After folding seat top down, the whole seat should disengage and fold up and forward.

I basically ended up taking the entire seat apart as much as is possible without removing it entirely. The reason I couldn't remove it entirely is because there are 4 bolts at the front base of the seat, two of which are located under the seat itself and cannot be removed unless the seat is folded up and forward. After deconstructing as much of the seat as possible (without removing) it became apparent to me that even if I had removed the seat, that would not have been enough to unlatch the seat.

Deconstruction:
I removed the handle lever that is pulled to fold the seat. This is a very difficult part to remove while the seat is stuck in the down position. Access to the phillips screw that holds the handle on is very limited. The only reason I was able to remove it is because the screw was already loose. The screw is hidden by a snap on cover.
With the handle removed, I was able to remove the cover to the latch mechanism. Upon inspection I noticed there is a cable (similar to a bicycle brake cable) that was unseated from its bracket. I secured it back into its bracket but the seat still did not release. I then had to take apart the back plastic panel on the seat, doing so requires the seat cushion padding be released first. To do that you must first release the velcro flaps from the seat cushion to ease the tension. The seat cushion will then unlatch in the back by pushing the back flaps down toward the floor. Be careful, I didn't push it down at first and broke part of the plastic hook that holds it in place. Now with the back panel and back part of the seat cushion partially removed, I was able to expose enough of the mechanism that releases the back latches. There are two levers that get pulled by bicycle style cables. The lever near the middle of the seat can be accessed from above near the seat buckle with the seat cushion partially removed. The other lever mechanism located nearest the other back seat can be located from behind the seat near the base of the latch itself. You can stick a screw driver in there to push the levers and release the latch.

Function:
The back seat latch release is initiated by 3 contact points or junctions.

• Contact point (1) is located at the handle to release the seat. Two cables are pulled at this contact point, one cable releases the upper part of the seat. As the upper part of the seat folds forward, it tensions a lever that pulls a second cable. The second cable is for the two latches that secure the base of the seat - It pulls the lever at the next contact point (contact point 2).
• Contact point (2) is located at the side mid of the seat, beneath part of the yellow warning sticker at the base of the seat. This contact point is another lever that pulls a cable. This lever pulls the final contact point (contact point 3)
• Contact point (3) are the final levers that release the latches to the back seat, so technically there are 2 contact points here. Between contact point (2) and point (3) the cable splits into a Y. From here the two cables release the final latch mechanism that holds the seat down.

After releasing both latches and folding the seat up (at contact point 3), I was able to inspect how the whole thing works. Somehow the seat magically started to behave properly again, I was able to fold it down and latch it into place and then through normal means release the seat again. I did this many times and it was released normally every time. Something must have shaken loose or fallen back into place to make it behave normally again. But after spending a whole day getting it to work again, I decided never to go through all of this trouble again. The next part is not for everyone, but if you are like me and hold functionality above looks, then maybe its for you too. Or if you want an easy way to release the seat but don’t mind the cosmetics of it all, then read on.


The final Mod (function over looks):
I cut a hole on the bottom side cover of the seat in order to access Contact point (2). Pulling the lever at this point will release the back seat. If the seat ever gets stuck again, all I need to do is use my hand to pull this lever and release the seat.