Rear seat folding mechanism broken

[sleepsontoilet]

Relieved to see it's common. I just bought mine used and was wondering if only the driver's side goes flat and the passenger side just fold and tumbles like Jeep designed theirs. I'll have to knock this out tomorrow.

 

[BamaT]

Great post, planned on doing it this weekend. Thanks for the pics/notes.

 

[chef744]

after reading through the threads and did the repair myself, I think a more detailed explanation would help the others with similar problem.

This is definitely a design flaw. The cable (with hard plastic shield) was bent 90 degree; therefore, it was under a lot of tension and would came off the metal socket over time. Even I was able to re-attach it, it would came off again after couple of folding the seat. So it is not worth to go to the dealer, a person with average mechanical skill can do it. No special tool is required.

I detailed my fix in a series of 10 photos:
1. This is the passenger rear seat. If you cannot fold the seat with the latch as shown; then you have this problem.
2. Fold the driver side rear seat and move it forward. The mechanism is behind the black plastic cover.
3. There is a small Philip head screw driver near the bottom (difficult to see). Must remove it first.
4. showing the screw removed.
5. The black cover can be removed by hand. Just using muscle force, no need to use any metal tool.
6. now, you can see the loose cable.
7. This photo shown the loosen cable and the metal bracket where it suppose to be seated.
8. Another view of the metal bracket with the notch.
9. To prevent the cable from pop-up, tie a metal wire around it and the metal housing after the cable is attached back to the metal bracket.
10. Then twist and tighten the metal wire.

Thank you for the detailed breakdown! I was able to put the cable back in place today... can’t quite figure out how/ where to attach the cable to a metal bracket though. I’ll try again once the cable pops back off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2016Toyo4R]

5th Gen 4Runner passenger reat seat won't fold (with 3rd row seat option)

Here is an enlarge photo here to for Step 9 & 10 in my original post.
You would need a needle nose plier to thread the metal wire through the tight area and pull it out around the housing, then twist it at the cable to prevent it from pop out again.

 

[maysml32]

I have a similar issue, but with the rear seat bottoms. I recently purchased a 2013 trail and neither of the rear seat cushions will fold forward. When I pull the fabric tab, they will not budge. Has anyone had this issue or any thoughts? Thank you!

Hi all. Did a cursory search and couldn't find anything...

I have a 2015 limited and just discovered I can't fold down the passenger side rear seat. It's never given a problem before. I usually flip the seats up and down every other week so it's hopefully not an operator error issue.

When pulling the lever at the top of the seat, I can see the pull cable still connected, however there is no resistance like I'm used to when pulling the lever to release the seat. I did notice a small metal loop about 1.5cm big that had fallen between the seats when sliding it forward. Don't know if it's part of the mechanism or just some junk from my kids.

The partial fold and slide lever for getting back into the 3rd row still works fine.

Do you all have any suggestions or a copy of the repair manual for the seats? I'm not sure if this would be covered under warranty. Just had my 25k service....

Thanks!

 

[Davidpsr5]

Just fixed my seat with this post.
Thanks for the help!!

 

[bradlee14]

Video showing fix

4-Runner board - thanks for the tips, I found the cable and wanted to post a quick video to youtube.

For passenger rear fix on a 2016.

YouTube

 

[osugsxr]

Thanks for the quick fix, will try a more permanent solution possibly with wiring later on.

 

[DingusGoziña]

after reading through the threads and did the repair myself, I think a more detailed explanation would help the others with similar problem.

This is definitely a design flaw. The cable (with hard plastic shield) was bent 90 degree; therefore, it was under a lot of tension and would came off the metal socket over time. Even I was able to re-attach it, it would came off again after couple of folding the seat. So it is not worth to go to the dealer, a person with average mechanical skill can do it. No special tool is required.

I detailed my fix in a series of 10 photos:
1. This is the passenger rear seat. If you cannot fold the seat with the latch as shown; then you have this problem.
2. Fold the driver side rear seat and move it forward. The mechanism is behind the black plastic cover.
3. There is a small Philip head screw driver near the bottom (difficult to see). Must remove it first.
4. showing the screw removed.
5. The black cover can be removed by hand. Just using muscle force, no need to use any metal tool.
6. now, you can see the loose cable.
7. This photo shown the loosen cable and the metal bracket where it suppose to be seated.
8. Another view of the metal bracket with the notch.
9. To prevent the cable from pop-up, tie a metal wire around it and the metal housing after the cable is attached back to the metal bracket.
10. Then twist and tighten the metal wire.

Thank you good sir.

 

[Tbasse01]

No shit

Mine does the exact same thing thought I was doing something wrong and was mad at myself when I picked up my 2016 (used) from the dealer this past November and I did not check the fold down

But first thing tomorrow after work tomorrow I am going to tackle this

 

[Tbasse01]

Fixed mine this afternoon

Squeeze the metal tab a little bit and put a dab of rtv on the slot so it won't pop out again

 

[MrMastadonFarm]

Have the same problem but on the 2nd row driver side. Does anyone know the fix for that side? Having trouble finding anything so far.

 

[asadraza]

Steering Wheel Shake Over any bump.

When driving over rough roads or hitting a bump the steering wheel shakes. Is this normal or is it an alignment or suspension issue <a href= "https://apkhood.com/2021/08/17/avg-antivirus-pro-apk/"> At the end of era </a>

 

[Captain_r4]

Have the same problem but on the 2nd row driver side. Does anyone know the fix for that side? Having trouble finding anything so far.

I’m also having the same issue on the 2nd row driver side. Did you end up figuring this out? The driver side seems to look different than the passenger side.

 

[DragonGarcia13]

Did the same thing and still struggling

Hi! I hope you see this, but I was wondering if your seat had issues locking into place? I ask because my seat also would not fold down past 45° AND it would NOT lock into place once folded.

I already did everything you so beautifully outlined and unfortunately the seat still wouldn't fold. So I'm trying to figure out if maybe I did it wrong, or there's something else going on making this repair more complicated.

Any help is appreciated thank you in advance!

 

[fredless]

help the others with similar problem

Registered just to say thanks - this post was excellent. New owner and this was the first fix-it item to tackle. The only thing I would add: set aside plenty of patience - it took some coordination to pull down the cable with enough tension to get it back in the slot, and also be able to push it back in while still holding it down (it really doesn't want to be there) - all while laying in a fairly uncomfortable position on the fairly uncomfortable 3rd row seat "floor" and trying to make a flash light stay put.

I started with the twisted wire stay method, if that lets me down in the future I will redo by squeezing the bracket a little tighter and trying a little silicon glue.

 

[54Gunner]

What about the Drivers side rear cable latch?

Same issue but on the 2nd seat drivers side. Cant seem to find where the attaches underneath the seat? I've pulled the back cover and noticed the single cable goes into a 3 way split? Geez that's where I get lost?

Any help!? Drew

 

[DragonGarcia13]

Were you able to resolve this issue? I purchased a certified 2015 SR5 and I am having the same issues. I would take it to the dealer, but like most of us here, it's hard to find the time or do not have time to waste sitting at the dealership for them to look at it.

Hi! SAME!! Were you able to resolve the issue???

 

[slide531]

How to fix the Driver's Side.

If your driver's side rear seat won't fold down check the lever first.

My rear seat folding mech. disengaged on my driver's side. Most people seem to have this issue on the passenger side. The cable mechanism is different at the bottom of the driver side seat and more difficult to access since the middle seat prevents removing the cover. You can get in there to barely see the cables though and mine appeared to be attached.

I took off the back of the seat to see the cable more clearly and found the cable had detached at the top near the lever. After trying to reattach it from through the back of the seat I ended up removing the lever and it was much easier.

I attached some photos showing

1) the access to remove the lever
2) two screws to remove
3) what the cable should look like when properly attached from the lever. Note that the end of the cable had slipped out of the metal slot and the plastic end of the cable housing had also slipped out of it's slot. Make sure both are in the proper position.
4) what the cable should look like when properly attached from rear of the seat
5 & 6) the position of the clips if you need to take off the rear panel of the seat.