Back seat will not lock into position

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by liquidfire, Mar 27, 2010.

  1. liquidfire

    liquidfire New Member

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    Hi all,

    Just purchased a 2007 with what seems to be the vast majority of the available bells and whistles (Bluetooth, Nav, HID headlights, etc), strangely no power seats.

    Once I got the car home and started cleaning it up, looking into things a little more closely, I've discovered that the driver's side rear seat will not "catch" or lock onto the latch to remain in the upright position. It seems the button on top of the seat to release the latch so it can fold down is stuck.

    Has anyone had any experience with something similar, or any recommendations on some steps I could/should take to correct this, before I just start taking things apart to figure it out?

    Many thanks,

    LF
     
    #1 liquidfire, Mar 27, 2010
  2. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    For me, sometimes the rear seats will not catch or lock the first time I try. When this happens, I try again with more speed and force, and this almost always works (I rarely have had to try 3 times, and never 4 times).
     
    #2 Boo, Mar 27, 2010
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    It sometimes takes a firm push to get the seatback to latch. If that doesn't do it, it might be a problem with your particular latch. I haven't seen any complaints about it here on PC, so I don't think its a common issue.
     
    #3 dogfriend, Mar 27, 2010
  4. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    My used-to-be brand new 2009 has the same problem. Same seat - driver side rear. A gentle push is guaranteed to fail to latch. One just have to use Boo's advice: more brute force. dogfriend: now we have at least 3 complaints.
     
    #4 2009Prius, Mar 27, 2010
  5. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I meant that I had not seen any complaints about the latch being broken or stuck so it wouldn't work at all.
     
    #5 dogfriend, Mar 27, 2010
  6. liquidfire

    liquidfire New Member

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    Thanks for the responses. I'll take another look in the morning.
     
    #6 liquidfire, Mar 27, 2010
  7. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    I see. Good point. Thanks!
     
    #7 2009Prius, Mar 27, 2010
  8. liquidfire

    liquidfire New Member

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    Tried repeatedly to "slam" the back seat into place without success.

    So, I lowered the seat all the way, made sure nothing was preventing the seat from going all the way back, pulled the seat belt out, and tried again, and it worked. Not sure if the "carpet" material from the hatch area had bunched up, or what...

    Thanks for all the feedback.
     
    #8 liquidfire, Mar 29, 2010
  9. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    My problem is that the latch on the passengers side rear seat will not engage to fold down. I am not sure what to do next. Maybe remove the bench seat and see what’s under it.
     
    #9 TommySI, Jul 6, 2019
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