I have a 2003 mcs and went to fold down my rear seat to find that the latch had sprung. When I went to the other seat to fold it down it must have been Murphys law, but it had also been sprung. So basically both my seats are stuck in the upright position. I have standard cloth upholstery and it feels strange to peel the upholstery back, so I could go in and see first hand a way to fix the latch. I'm afraid it could damage the cloth. Can somebody please help with a suggestion on the next steps I might be able to take?

 

You should be able to look under the handle/latch and see the end of the cable with a small ball/cylinder on it. That pops out of the little spot it hooks into on the plastic. If you can grab it with little fingers or needle nose pliers you can hook it back on. I had this happen on my R50 a couple of time when I pulled up too much and the "****" part of the cable slipped out of its holder.

You should be able to do all of this with a light while looking under the handle latch. If not then we will move onto seat dis-assembly.

Good luck!

 

But.... What if the wire came off the other end as well?

This is the case in my car, so I can't release and lower seat. :(

Any workarounds if the wire is completely detached from both the latch AND unlocking mechanism?

Thanks!
T

 

I wish I could see a pic of what you guys are talking about... both of my seats are stuck in the upright position... I'm getting ready to travel and even with my cargo carrier I need that space. can someone please help me...

 

Hi,
i had the same on the 2007 R52. The multimeter showed weak continuity in the switch. I had a brand new handle to compare, and that had strong continuity.
So in my case, I disassembled the trunk handle and was able to separate the little micro switch. I pryed it open carefully and found the electrical contacts somewaht dirty / corroded. Used some sand paper to clean the contacts, put everything together and voila: it works again.
Maybe worth a try.

All the best
TR