I am having a problem with my passenger seat being locked in the far rear position. Seat back only, the bottom will slide forward with no problem.

I suspect a computer issue or wire problem and want to remove the seat to check out the wiring or maybe replace or fix the seat computer.

The seat base screws are easy to access except for the outside front rail screw which is under a plastic trim piece.

I don't want to snap that trim piece in half and am wondering if a member might have the correct procedure for removing this trim???

Have you removed your seat and know the proper sequence??

 

Take a long, thin screwdriver and, from the front (and a little to the center) of the seat, insert the blade under the plastic trim piece. Then slowly twist the screwdriver which will force the trim piece loose. It is held down with double sticky tape.

 

I just removed both of my front seats today for a good vacuuming. It's amazing what you'll find under there.

Anyway, on my 2002 the trim piece simply pulls forward in the vehicle to come unclipped. I remember my 1998 had the double sided tape, so it changed somewhere along the way.

 

Actually, the change to the Unclip Type may have happened in 2001 with the introduction of the new seat design with separate up-down functions for the Front and Back of the Seat Base.

 

Yep, mine came off by pulling it forward, too. I also found a couple of dollars in change under the seat from the previous owner!

 

I found just less than a buck in change. But I did find a set of foam earplugs, part of a pretzel, a ticket from a parking garage in Columbus Ohio, a melted peppermint candy, and a matchbook from a local upscale Italian restaraunt with a woman's name and phone number in it.

 

Thanks for the tip. My seat trim came off by sliding it forward.

I did discover that the computer under the passenger seat was defective. I changed out the computer from the drivers seat and it worked just fine.

Looks like someone may have spilled some coffee into the leading edge of the circuit board on the original. you can see corrosion on the printed circuit board. Not repairable without a new board.

Any members know the best place to purchase a new seat computer module at a reasonable price? I imagine the dealer pricing will be off the charts.

 

It can probably be fixed by someone who is handy with electronics repairs. Mine was totally non functional when I got the car as well. I had to run about a dozen jumper wires to repair corroded and broken traces on the PCB, but it's working fine now.

The best I found was about 300 bucks for a used one on Ebay. Spending an hour or so with a soldering iron beats that in my book.

 

Hey! I had a melted peppermint, too! It's actually still there. Melted peppermint is impossible to remove from carpet.

Send it to me. I'll try to fix it. I used to repair electronics in the Marines. PM me if you're interested.

 

... so, invest a dime

 

I haven't seen a matchbox in 15 years. She's probably old now.

 

Thanks for that offer. I will try to find one at the local Ford dealer for a lower price. The unit actually says ford on the module. I will also take a closer look at the board through a magnifer glass to see if its an easy fix.

My son soldered the leads on the ABS computer board and it worked fine. Saved me the $2,800 Jag price.

 

So you called right? Just to see what she had to say. She must be into classy guys with jags The guy lost her number under the seat, maybe she hasn't got her ride yet.

But Rev Sam also makes a good point

 

I did not call, the wife would most likely not approve. Also the area code is downtown Detroit, not a suburb...

I'm not sure you will see a problem, even with a magnifying glass. some of the traces looked OK on mine, but if I used an ohm meter, they were open. For each of the traces you suspect to be bad, follow them in each direction to a solder point on each side of the bad area, and touch the meter leads there to check the trace continuity.

 

Downtown Detroit? Hmmm... I did a little detective work and looked her up. Here's her house. You should go see her.