XJ8 Rear Seat Removal
 

It's me again (Margaret).

Just noticed that the latch for the middle seat belt in the back seat is fallen beneath the rear seat. I tried the "push back-lift up" method common for most U.S. cars, but it didn't work.

I've done Google searches, and searched the archives of several Jaguar forums, but couldn't find how to remove the rear (bench) seat cushion in a 2004 XJ8. Please help.

Thanks in advance,
Mitch

I don't know if we are the same, but I have an '06 XJR....feel around the lower front edge for some plastic triangler shaped "fingers". If you find them, try to move them either left or right. They are latch releases (4 of them). If they won't move, put a little downward pressure on the seat at the same point as the latch. Once you have released all 4 latches, lift the front of the seat up to unhook the rear. Be mindful of any wiring for heated seats or whatever. Hope this helps Bro.

Thank you MarlboroLTS, they are indeed the same. The seat came up with no problems, I was able to recover the seatbelt latch, and netted $1.74 in change in the process ;^). Good for a gallon of Premium gasoline, anyway...

Rear seat removal - 2005 XJ8L
 

Anyone else successful in removing the rear seat on an 2005 XJ8L?

I have re-read the above and retried to remove the back seat but am unable to move the 'fingers' left or right. Am I missing another bit of info?

EDIT: So, should I be feeling for the levers/latches through the leather or reaching behind and up the seat foam to find the release?

Thanks-

It is in fact damn difficult on some cars. The key is downward pressure on the seat as you pull the latches down. I had to get the dealer tech to walk me thru it the first time but it is still a 2 man job for me.:icon_razz:

Tarheal-

Thanks for the response. I will enlist a second set of hands and give it another go.

To clarify, am I reaching under/behind the foam edge of the seat, or should these release latches be able to be reached and moved through the leather on the 'face' of the seat?

They are under the seat of the edge that faces the front of the car, by your feet.

I am in the same boat. i bought a 2008 XJ8L and am missing the middle seat belt attachment. I have playd with taht seat for an hor and cant get the middle to release !
RRGGG !

thanks for the info on how to do it- I will have my 7 year old sit on it while I try and release it again,

Here ya go! Helps to have little fingers.


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...ine=1358990152

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...ine=1358990152

thanks- that was so nice of you to post that.

Jag XJ8...photos were a HUGE help with my rear seat back disassembly. If I could have given you 10 more thank-you clicks, I surely would have. There is no way I would have gotten my seat bottom removed without knowing what I was looking for and where.

Hey, what strikes me is that in the original post from 2009 $1.74 was enough for a gallon of premium!
:icon_eddie:

Great pictures. Gave me an idea of what I was feeling around for. I made this quick video to show how to press the latches to release the seat. I could find them, but about broke a finger trying to push them the wrong way. Once you know which way they go, it is a piece of cake to remove the bottom cushion. I only had one (far right one) that I had to push down a little on the seat cushion while pressing the lever (fingers didn't like that). But I had the seat out in under a minute. I suggest putting a screwdriver or something next to each latch when you release it so that the seat doesn't pop back into the latch while you're working on the next one.

Wow, thank you! Only your video really clinched it. I did it in 15 minutes. Thanks!

I agree. This was very helpful. Sometimes something that seems obvious to someone isn't obvious to everyone.

If a picture is worth a thousand :icon_pics:...then a video is worth a million "attaboys" :icon_clapclap:.

Thanks again!

And if you need to remove the rear bench just pull the two cloth pulls hanging under the base of the rear bench. They look like seat belts minus the latches but you pull each then pull the bench out.

Took me a while to figure out on a 2005 VP breaker vehicle.

Rear bucket seat removal 2006 Xj350 super v8 Portfolio
 

Anyone have tips on how to remove the rear bucket seat bottoms? Am I feeling for the same triangular levers as in a bench seat? Makes sense that the hardware on body is the same regardless of seat fitment. None of seat controls on side - recline, headrest and lumbar - are operational thus I’m assuming it must be switch. The memory buttons on the door will move the seat ever so slightly. The seat switches on the other side are fully functioning. Can the seat switch be removed without removing the seat bottom?

When my electric rear seat on one side was not working when i first bought my 2004 Super v8 i also thought it may be a switch, however it was sorted by the dealer doing a software update ! no need to renew the switch after all.
Sometime electronics in cars can be like a computer, turn it off and on again, I dont know whether a hard reset ( disconnect battery for a while and the reconnect ), may help you.

Unintended consequences of hard Re-set
 

Thank you Roviw. Are there potential untintended consequences from a “hard Re-set?” In other words, is there any known reason I should be reluctant to try this?

Good stuff and relevant over ten years later! Except the gas price! Can we go a step further and talk about how to take the seat backs out? I'm striking out on searching how this is done and am needing to do this next to install a CATS-bypass module. Making it possibly more difficult are the power rear seats. :confused:

You need to remove the seat bottom and then pull the straps for the back cushion to release the latches.

I have the NP04 (New Product 2004) training guide from Jaguar when I attended the class but it is a PAPER 3 ring binder.
It has the interior trim remove/replace section but I would need to find it in the plastic tubs I keep for all the old books.
Jaguar might have updated the info to .pdf since I left the dealer?

Got it. Thanks! I'll ping you if I can't figure it out, and will update back with photos if I can.

Pull the straps. A latch, located above the strap, about 3/4 of the way up the seat back, will release, and you can pull the top of the seat forward. Do the other one. The seat does have a habit of falling back into the latch if you let go of the top.

With both latches released, roll the seat back forward, and it will lift out at the bottom. It's not necessary to remove any of the hardware you see down there.

This is a necessary trip if you need to access the Air Suspension Module, which is located on the wall behind the seat.

Much appreciated! Planning to take care of this during some downtime over these next two weeks.

Success, though getting to those bottom latch switch things sure was a bit of a chore as mentioned prior. A combination of long fingers and a big flathead screwdriver got the four of them undone. I used some thick cardboard padding remnants to shove under a few sections as I went to keep them from re-latching. If you have power rear seats, there's enough slack in the wiring you can move the seat bottom a few inches forward to do the work without disconnecting if you don't have to take the bottom out (you don't for the module install as is the case here). The tan straps for the seat backs were clearly visible at that point- pull the strap down, grab the headrest, and pull it toward it the front seat to rotate each one forward. The sound deadening insulation can then be carefully pulled back to do whatever. So many wires in looms back there! Don't sneeze with scissors back there or anything. Only the (US) passenger/right side seat back needed to be exposed- I actually didn't pull the other one back to investigate as it was getting late and I just wanted to get the task done successfully.

At any rate, the WABCO controller for this case was clearly visible as shown for what I needed to do and I was able to follow the Arnott instructions clearly from there. See the last few pages in their PDF link below for this that clarifies further. I stuck the module on top of the controller with a thick loop of duct tape. And I ended up seating the unplugged plugs 'ajar' back in their slots but obviously not pushed back in, and held them in place with another strip of duct tape for good measure. No issues on the first try and the 'false positive' suspension fault message vanished on startup without having to mess with the battery (verify this before buttoning everything back up of course). Taking your time with the wire taps and connecting them properly is everything, since the wire color targets don't necessarily match the module wire colors. The target plug you tap into is probably yellow, and the one closest to the door on that side.

https://arnottinfo.com/manuals/C-2745.pdf

Set the sound deadening rear bulkhead insulation back how you found it, and tuck the side in behind the trim- you'll probably need both hands to pry the trim forward and tuck the insulation back in. Carefully make sure the seat back bottom hinges are fully pressed back down into their cradles so the seat back pushes back toward the rear bulkhead and latches into place. And again if you have power rear seats, you'll want to test and make sure they still power recline forward and back a few cycles- mine took one cycle to 're-seat' itself and all was well. No issues and relatively easy thing for first timer inside of 2-3 hrs. taking your time and double checking things (and looking up shop manuals, YouTube videos, and getting another beer).

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...ca66f146eb.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...b2b105a940.jpg
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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...e19dc93e1d.jpg

Nice write up with lots of pictures, appreciated very much:icon_biggrin:

+1 to Wingrider's comments, this post and the others on this thread are very helpful. I have a replacement sun shade to install and have been wrestling with the seat latches.

This is a really helpful writeup. I'm having a very difficult time getting the 4 clips on the bottom seat cover accessed, is there any particular trick? I can get at the two outboard clips but there's so little room for the two inboard clips. Do I just need to insert a thin board or something and pry up on the cushion to allow some access?

Reach in there with a finger, while lifting up on the cushion... It's difficult the first time but once you get it... done!

I marked the locations of the tabs with a sharpie in the carpet. The marks are not visible unless you're down there looking for them, but with them there, I now know exactly where to reach for the release tabs without hunting.

Thank you so much for posting this information.
Great photos too!
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Charlie

As it was not mentioned before, here's a trick about how to remove the rear bench easily, at least after the first time, which will still be a pain.
I have read about this trick in the English Jaguar Forum, I hope that the author does not mind...

Once you have removed the rear bench for the first time, drill a small hole into the black part of the clips and tie some strings to them (I have used shoestrings). The strings can be hidden underneath the bench and can be pulled out when needed. With them, releasing the bench by pulling on them to release the clips will be child's play and no broken fingers anymore...

You can see the strings in the picture

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...cb07dfde30.jpg
Best regards,

Thomas

I will second that! I did exactly same thing: drilled 1/8" hole and used shuestrings! I did it when I was fixing/replacing parking proximity sounder under parcel shelf. Then I had benefit of improved bench delatching when I had to run wires for aftermarket Android head 6 months later.

Agree that the video is a clincher. A photo of the matching hardware attached to the bench seat would be helpful.