well i did this.. yea, it got the chair to recline.. but now i can't let anyone in the back on the passendger side, cus it will again lock up. =\ sad.

 

Cheers and thanks to all of you for the seat fix. I tried to risk the body slamm, awful cracking metal to metal crash but my body is too small....Here is the fix after trying all the above:
1. take off the backs to your front seats it's easy just pull the tops and they pop out. Take of the inside and out side levers and release the "fabric bottoms whick attached underneath to the seats springs.
2. compare the rod connecting the levers if you can (my passenger seat worked fine so i used it as a reference.
3. put a crescent wrench on the rod and twist it to conform more closely to the good seat connecting rod.
4. you'll hear a metalic pop as you twist it
5. stop there
6. put the seat forwaed and do the instructions as posted on this sight by the many good fellows
7. you'll hear a pop as the seat reclins fully and you'll be thrilled as i was that you troublesome seat ain't no trouble any longer!

Thanks again to all our NAM buddies out there! And cheers again it works!

 

Good deal. I had to do the body slam, hurt me a little inside.

 

I'm a single mother of two very hungry teenagers, and the passenger seat of my Mini Cooper would only settle into either 3/4 reclined or all the way forward position. I took it to a couple of repair shops who told me that the seat would have to be replaced at a cost of $700!!! So I read these suggestions, crawled into the back seat, pressed my knees against the back of the passenger seat, pulled up on the seat lever, heard the CRACK!!!!

 

I'm a single mother of two very hungry teenagers, and the passenger seat of my Mini Cooper would only settle into either 3/4 reclined or all the way forward position. I took it to a couple of repair shops who told me that the seat would have to be replaced at a cost of $700!!! So I read these suggestions, crawled into the back seat, pressed my knees against the back of the passenger seat, pulled up on the seat lever, heard the CRACK!!!! Woo hoo! It worked like a charm!!! You saved me $700 and feeling like such a girl when I walk into the garage!!!

 

Body slam worked for me!!!! My mini has had a ridiculous amount of odd little things wrong with it and almost all the fixes have had to do with bashing the crap out of it. It's becoming endearing

 

im actually having a problem with the front lever that brings the actual seat forward and back, closer and further to the dash...its all the way back, and no matter how hard i pull the lever or push forward it just wont move forward...if anyone has experience with this, that would help, my cousin had to lay in the back seat because there is literally no leg room (hes 6'3) lol

 

My seat will either pull all the way forward or recline all the way back and lock into that position it won't lock into any other position when i lean it back after i pull it forward it just leans all the way back. I called mini and they told me I needed a new back which is $500 any suggestions?

 

I have good and bad news. I couldn't use enough force in the car....so I took the seat out and I made it crack. The seat is fix . Bad news is that my airbag light in now on . I guess I'll make a trip to the BMW shop to get it reset.

 

wow that worked!! I was starting to give up cuz i'm not 200 plus pounds and it wouldn't work for me...until I move the seat up forward put both my feet on the dash and pushed like i was doing squats while pulling up on inside lever! after 30 seconds i gave up, checked my seat and it was fully stuck neither levers would move! I pushed down on the entrance lever and pulled forward on seat then "crack" seat now fixed! YESSS!

 

This has been a problem for 2 years! The passenger seat was stuck in the fully reclined position. So I tried the body slam method while pulling on the reclining lever. On the third try there was a loud noise, and it's back to perfect. My back will feel better tomorrow, but now my passengers will finally be comfortable again. Thank you!

 

You guys are friggin rock stars! I was so upset today when my passenger seat became stuck in my 2002 MCS. I was afraid I would have to shell out a bunch for a new seat...

So I tried the method given here and low and behold it worked! I figured if anyone would have an easy solution in would be on NAM.

All I did was lift the inside lever and kind of rock back on the seat until it popped and then all was good.

cheers!

 

Bringing back this thread, but thought everybody should know, the slam method worked for me. I installed a new stereo head unit in the MINI today. After the install I thought what the heck, I'll try this out. My passenger's seat has not been able to recline at all for about a year now. I never touched it because it was stuck in an upright position that was not uncomfortable for passengers. Well, I hopped over into the seat and lifted the inner lever and pushed back into the seat. It didn't take any effort and all of a sudden I heard a sickening POW!!! The seat now works fine.

 

just stumbled across this thread.
my passenger seats been knackered for months now and the missus was well annoyed at staring at the ceiling of the car whilst in it.(no innuendo,please)
i read all the tips and had a go ,with my son as leaver operator...................and it worked .
saving me hundreds of £££££££s
well done to all concerned.(especially the first one that tried it)
i'm absolutely chuffed .....lee

 

alright....still having problems getting the 'crack'

i can't get enough space or leverage thats needed it seems to crack the seat back...any other pointers?

 

You have any friends who are tall? See if they can help you out. If you need more leverage, then try sliding the seat forward. Place your feet against the floor up under the dash area.

 

i've even tried putting my feet on the dash...on the ceiling...its stuck in 3/4 recline so its tough to throw it back from all the way forward to back and down even with the seat all the way forward...

 

i was successful this afternoon! i ended up getting so frustrated...i actually squeezed myself with my knees to my chest on the top of the backrest and my back to the support between the two roof windows and pulled up on the lever and just pushed away...there wasn't an awful crack at all though...just a small pop then it went all the way down and now works perfectly!

 

Symptoms:
In my case the passenger front seat was stuck at a 2 o’clock position, on my 2dr Mini Cooper 2005 Convertible, and couldn’t recline in either direction. The seat could slide back and forth as well as into the easy entry position (for entry into the back seat). It was clear that when the inboard lever was pulled up it got stuck without releasing the seat and didn’t bounce back as usual.

Method - Fix:
I first tried the brute force method described in this thread without any luck. Next I tried the following with success. In case it helps anyone – here is what I did.

1. Move the seat forward and sit in the back seat.
2. Remove the inboard lever (The one that is closer to the hand-brake). Use 4 mm Hex (Allen) key/wrench to remove the center screw and then pull the lever out.
3. Fasten a crescent wrench (longer shaft the better) to the rod (that the inboard lever was fastened to). Wrench shaft should face up and be somewhat vertical.
4. Pull the crescent wrench shaft towards you with decent force just like you where pulling the inboard lever. Have your other hand on the seat back and push and pull the seat, while pulling the wrench, to feel if it has become loose. I heard a light click sound and the seat reclined fully.

Hope this helps you.

Skuli

 

hahahaaa that worked!
In our ('04) we had the passenger seat lock up on us about a year ago, it wasn't a huge problem as it was locked in a good position but always wanted to get it fixed. just figured it would cost us a lot of $$$$ like every repair on this thing does (man they charge totally insane prices for these mini parts!).
anyways, today the drivers side went out too in the completely reclined position, already on the way to fetching a hex/allen wrench to take the thing apart i'd figure i first look online as i can't possibly be the only person with this problem (especially when it happened to BOTH seats on mine) and i ended up finding this solution together with loads and loads of people having the same problem (i love the car but it seems like bmw could have used some better parts).
but hey on BOTH seats the "brute force technique" worked like a charm, it was kinda scary to use this much force (me 225Lbs, slamming my back into the seat while having my leg lodged in the door and my hands pushing against the sealing) and if i hadn't read this thread first the crack would have scared the ^&$# outta me. but hey it worked!
the 2nd chair was actually kinda fun to do, since i knew what to expect i added some swearing to my agression to properly teach the car a lesson and it responded very well! i hope it will remember this and not flake out on me anymore now
thanks for the tips everyone, you are a life (and money) safer!

 

I just bought a used 2006 S last night.

The passenger seat back is stuck in the 3/4 reclinded position. I swear it wasn't that way when I test drove the car a few days ago.

My wife was something less than pleased when she rode in the car.

I'm going to let the dealer have a "whack" at it tomorrow. The sales people said that the service people would be pleased to fix this.

If he doesn't take care of this, I have a plan B.

 

Back again. That was too easy. Pulled up on the inboard lever and pushed on the high side of the seatback while kneeling on the seat. Pop. Everything is normal now.

Thanks.

 

Yup, it worked for me. My passenger seat wouldn't recline downward. So, I pushed the seat as hard as I could with my knee and pulled up on the lever next to the driver's seat and I heard a loud CLICK, and the seat fell downwards.... now it reclines and goes upward without difficulty. Thanks!

 

The force procedure worked like a charm for me as well...

Thanks.

 

Hi

My name is Laurent, living in France, In Paris. Ok it's not the worst place to live in .
I've bought recently a Mini Cooper - 2002 model with a blocked passenger seat . I've tried to find something on that problem on the french web... Nothing ! Then I've found this very interesting topics and tried the explained way to fix my seat..... IT WORKS !!!!!! Wonderful

So thanks a lot to the authors...

Laurent