Several have described the difficulty of removing the rear seat with the two front clips requiring considerable upward force to disengage... I accomplished this feat successfully and examined the female plastic clips and saw no apparent damage to either. And, BTW, on the 2010 Prius there are two hooks in the back--one on each side about opposite the front clips. The discussion concerning only earlier gen maybe said there was only one rear hook in the middle of the seat. Anyway, I accomplished my task and reinstalled the back seat, got and verified the rear hooks were engaged properly and the front clips were all in proper position and all the seat belts in position too. Lastly I tried to get the front clips to engage fully with as much forceful sitting and pushing downward as I could muster--to no avail. So now I have a rear seat that is not properly engaged (secure). I'm sure my Toyota dealer would just love this story and charge me for whatever trick they might employ in a minute or so to get the seat to engage properly again. Once again though I'm thinking someone here knows the trick? In fact, while having fun writing and editing this I thought of one thing to try--remove the female plastic parts from their metal structure if possible without breaking them and engage them to the hooks on the bottom of the seat cushion. Then position the plastic parts back to the structue and see if they then will seat and lock into place? You'd think that if this really is harder to do then removing the seat in the first place it would have been talked up more by now? I wonder if there are a whole lot of seats around the world that are not properly secured? Drat!
Sorry, I probably wrote to much in the original... How do you reinstall the back seat cushion--in particular properly engage the front clips? I can't apply enough downward weight/force to get the hooks to engage the plastic clips. Thank you.
I'm copying this to Accessories and Modifications. Hopefully they are more familiar in how to properly reseat the rear seat bench.
I wouldn't think a lubricant would help at all since it is metal against a plastic. I also haven't thought the plastic clip recetacles were damaged at all but maybe they are and can't be reused by the nature of how they are forced to release?
I would still try a lubricant first (can't hurt). rrolff said in your other thread that the plastic clips were not meant to be reused. If the clip is the same as the one on the Gen II, I don't think that's true (according to the Seat Assembly Instructions for the Gen II). However, like all the plastic clips in the Prius, it could have been damaged. But I would still try a lubricant first. If that fails, I'd try to fix the plastic clip (I've never seen it, but because it's a plastic female/receiving clip I think that you might be able to reopen it with a screwdriver, awl, etc.)
For a 'lubricant' in this situation, you might try using a bar of soap. Rubbing the clips on the dry bar before you put them back will make them more slippery. Plus, most kinds of soap smell better than the fish oil in WD40. btw, this trick also works for screws in old, dry wood.
This problem is being resolved in a different thread. It is not a lubrication issue. Thank you all for trying to help.
Hi Susan: I just removed my backseat and put on the Clazzio leather cover. Now I am facing the same problem you had trying to reinstall the backseat. I went as far as taking the two plastic clips off the mounting brackets. I am thinking about putting these clips on the seat first and then push the clips together with the seat back to the metal mounting brackets. I will engage these two front clips first so that I can push as far as I can and then push the loop clips in the backside to engage in the pin. I visually inspected the plastic clips and they are not damaged but just tight. However, my concern is that the clip is very tight and difficut to put back on the loop pin on the backseat. If I do that and cannot push the clip far enough to engage in the mounting brackets I will be doomed. So I did not do it yet. You mentioned that it's been resolved in other thread. Could you tell me how you finally solve this problem? Thanks in advance. Ben
susan where are the clips located to remove the seats???? i really need to know how to remove my rear seats since im putting on clazzio seat covers..... i've tried looking everywhere so a good description will help and pictures are a bonus! yeh i aint calling toyota for the same reason u are so please help me out!! thanks!
Isn't this covered in the Service Manual? I haven't downloaded it yet ($15) 'cause I don't have a Prius, yet... Someone here has the Service Manual, right?
There are two clips in the front bottom of the seats. You grab and pull straight up. It takes some strength. You may damage the clips during removal (usually you can bend the plastic back). If one breaks, they are like $4 at Toyota (but take a day or so to com in).
Is there are part number for the clips? Any photos of the area under the seat and bottom of the seat? Thanks, Bob Wilson
