Rear seat not folding...

**M-R-P** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:12

With the "V" in V70 supposedly standing for "versatile" (we all know it actually doesn't but there you go) you can imagine my annoyance when I tried folding the seats down, only to find the release button and the latch are no longer talking to eachother

. I wasn't aware of them having any kind of disagreement but I've not driven the car much recently.

I think the P1 mechanism is pretty similar, so if anybody has dealt with this before and knows of a fix that doesn't involve me using bolt cutters, please step forward

I can strip the seat down and repair (bodge) the latch mechanism, but I need to release the bloody thing first.

Heeeeelllllp!

**oblark** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:16

Disc cutter at the ready

**jdavis** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:17

Are you sure you are pushing the release latch all the way back? Daft question I know.

**M-R-P** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:28

Originally Posted by oblark

Disc cutter at the ready

Down big fella, there'll be no disc cutters in the sweed thank you

Save it for Steve's cabbie

Originally Posted by jdavis

Are you sure you are pushing the release latch all the way back? Daft question I know.

In a fight between my thumb and the release button, believe me, my thumb would win

**jdavis** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:34

Can you not get at the mechanism from the boot?

**M-R-P** · Thursday 17th April 2014, 10:38

Originally Posted by jdavis

Can you not get at the mechanism from the boot?

I had a brief look but there's not much you can get at. I thought about prodding the inside of the latch to release it but it's designed to "fail safe" and not release if it goes wrong.

The plastic casing can be removed - when the seat back is down lol.

The other problem I have is I'm 6'2" and about as wide as the average doorway so climbing about in the back to wrestle with the seat isn't as easy as it could be

**JUDGENINJA** · Friday 18th April 2014, 00:18

Stolen from VOC:

Stuck rear seat backI have a 2003 Volvo V70 2.4 T and I appear to have found a way to release the stuck rear seat latch without resorting to the use of tools or excessive force. Open the plastic cover on the back of the seat at the top where presumably the cargo net resides if you have one, which I don't. There is a black lever inside immediately behind the seat release button. At first, this lever appears immobile; however, if you push down on the lever with one finger while holding the seat release button back (as you would normally do to lower the seat back) and wobble the seat gently backwards and forwards, the lever will move down, unlatching the seat back. I repeated this several times on both left and right rear seat backs with success. This remedy might only apply to my year and model and I am not sure if it will work where there is a cargo net installed as it might have to be removed first.

Don't know if this helps...?

**M-R-P** · Friday 18th April 2014, 09:35

Thanks Wayne, the cargo net does indeed get in the way but I found another way that involves poking the same lever with a screwdriver from the front, between the leather and the plastic trim. I would've taken photos and done a quick how-to but my camera is having a short holiday at Graham's house at the moment lol.