Rear Seat Stuck in Down Position

[ralphq]

Hi guys!

Hoping you can save me a trip to the dealer. Yesterday I lowered the back seats on my wife's '06 Cayenne to bring home some items we bought at the store. After unloading all of the items I attempted to raise the rear seats to their upright position and the seat was stuck. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it was the middle seat belt that was stuck and would not budge. Since it doesn't give way, I can't raise the seat. I have tried pulling on the belt briskly to see if it would release, but no luck.

I really don't want to take it in to the dealer since the nearest dealer is 60 miles away. Any suggestions? Anyone encounter this issue?

Thanks for all the support!

Ralph

[Cayenne17]

Hi guys!

Hoping you can save me a trip to the dealer. Yesterday I lowered the back seats on my wife's '06 Cayenne to bring home some items we bought at the store. After unloading all of the items I attempted to raise the rear seats to their upright position and the seat was stuck. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it was the middle seat belt that was stuck and would not budge. Since it doesn't give way, I can't raise the seat. I have tried pulling on the belt briskly to see if it would release, but no luck.

I really don't want to take it in to the dealer since the nearest dealer is 60 miles away. Any suggestions? Anyone encounter this issue?

Thanks for all the support!

Ralph

try to pull forward both front seats and re-lower rear seats lift up larger driver side section of rear seat....then raise passenger side the middle belt harness should re-raise..its on a spring hinge.

if not it may require a "stealers" touch

[ShadowLight]

I had this problem and I just fixed it. For anyone else who has the problem and doesn't want ripped off by the dealer, it's quite easy to fix.

Just take a hex wrench and unbolt the bottom end of the seat belt. Give it a few jiggles and it will release. Reattach and you're good to go.

[Krell]

I've had this happen to me several times now and it is really getting annoying.  So much so that I always carry an M10 XZN (Triple square socket) and ratchet with me.  Anyone know if there has been a recall? 

[Loren]

I've had this happen to me several times now and it is really getting annoying.  So much so that I always carry an M10 XZN (Triple square socket) and ratchet with me.  Anyone know if there has been a recall? 

 

You can check for (US) recalls here: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues

[Krell]

 

I've had this happen to me several times now and it is really getting annoying.  So much so that I always carry an M10 XZN (Triple square socket) and ratchet with me.  Anyone know if there has been a recall?

 

You can check for (US) recalls here: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues

 

Thanks Loren, I will check out the recalls on this.

 

I spent some time tonight to figure out what is causing this issue after the seat got stuck in the folded down position yet again.  I think I understand why its happening.

1st things first.  How to unlock the stuck seat belt.  Many people have already posted this but just in case here is how to do it....

Follow the belt down to the end and remove the bolt that holds the seat belt in place to the floor pan.  Its an M10 triple square socket.  (I have been carrying one in the glove box for this purpose since this was happening often).  Once you remove the bolt you will have removed the tension.  The seat can be lifted back to its upright position and you will be able to give the retractor some slack and then the belt will pull out freely.  At this point you could bolt the seat belt back in place but its liable to happen again the next time you fold the seat down.

Why does this happen?

 

Well the following is my analysis of what seems to be what is happening on my 2009 Cayenne.   Its possible that other years, and other vehicles including the Touareg suffer this problem in a similar way based on posts I have seen in other forums.  Your mileage may vary but this is what seems to be at issue for me.

 

Seat belt retractors are designed to lock up if it senses a hard yank on the belt.  What I did not know is that these retractors also lockup when they sense that they are at an extreme angle such as in a roll over crash or if you are simply off roading and go down a very steep grade.  When you fold the seat down the retractor senses this tiliting and thus locks.

Now if you look closely there is a little plastic button on the seat belt itself.  If the seat is upright it is close to the top where the seat belt enters the seat and goes down into the retractor.  That little button is designed to catch on the plastic trim that surrounds the belt opening and prevent the seat belt from retracting into the seat any further. 

 

When you fold down the seat, the distance from the belt anchor point to the top of the seat shortens and thus the seat belt wants to retract further inside the seat but it should be stopped by the little button.  That little bit of slack created by the button is just enough to allow the seat to be folded down and then back up again even though the retractor is locked.  

So what happens if the little button goes missing or if the plastic trim around the belt somehow allows the button to slip past it?  You guessed it!  The belt retracts and takes up all the slack in the folded down position. Furthermore, the retractor no longer being upright is also locked so it will not feed the belt back out.  With no slack you cannot raise the seat!  Ugh!!

I took a careful look at my belt and the button was there just fine.  However the 2 piece plastic trim that the belt runs through was missing the 1 inch wide center part that snaps in place.  (Its in 2 pieces so it can be slid around the belt with the belt in place) Without this tiny 1 inch piece of plastic the little button on the seat belt is free to run right past it and retract too far into the seat causing the lockup. I never noticed that this piece was missing because the belt lays over it covering it from view.  I just happend to flip the belt back over the seat while it was unbolted from the floor and could see that a part was missing.

 

I am going to order a new trim piece tomorrow and replace it so the stupid button won't retract past the point of no return anymore! I tried to post pictures but I could not get them to post.

The part numbers from PET in case you are interested are:

 

Part 5 Cover frame seat belt

955 522 661 00 k40 Chestnut Brown

955 522 661 00 01c Satin Black

955 522 661 00 6c6 Sand Beige

955 522 661 00 7a8 Steel Gray

Part 6 Cover frame seat belt

955 522 660 00 k40 Chestnut Brown

955 522 660 00 01c Satin Black

955 522 660 00 6c6 Sand Beige

955 522 660 00 7a8 Steel Gray

[wrinkledpants]

Tregs had the same issue.  Button was part of the problem, but so was the seatbelt assembly.  Something about a rivet, either within the belt mechanism or in the mount.  A new seatbelt with a better design cured the problem, as well as adding the button back if you are missing it.  

[bigfoot68]

I too have this problem on my 04.  What I do now is before I lower the seat (which I don't do often) is I buckle the seat belt and then lower the seat.  To put the seat back up, unbuckle and lift.  No more stuck seat.