Hey Folks,

Middle row side (by window) passenger seat has a rip in the vinyl on the side of the seatback (it got caught on the baby seat in the middle row when the kids went to flip it to get into the back). Need to remove the seatback to get it repaired. How do I go about doing this? Or do I have to remove the entire seat and if so, how do I go about doing that? Thanks.

 

According to the factory manual, the outboard second row seats are not serviceable except for the seat covers, foam, and seat heaters. You can take off the outer covering to have that repaired, but you can't remove the seat back from the seat base.

It's a PITA because there is a special procedure to remove the seats from the vehicle. If you screw it up, they can break and then you have to replace the entire seat frame. I know because I bought new seats for my truck and I now have to swap over the seat covers because the used seats were not removed properly and the frames may be damaged. Also, when I first got my truck one of the seat frames was broken and the entire frame had to be replaced (under warranty thank goodness).

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks STAR ART,

Removing seat cover may be all I need to do. Is it easy to do? Thanks again

 

Not having done it before, all I can do is read the description in the factory manual. It does not look simple. In fact, it seems rather tricky. The good news is the work is done with the seat in the car so you don't have to remove it.

I strongly recommend getting a factory service manual before attempting this kind of project.

I will be doing this in the not-too-distant future when I swap my existing 2nd row seat covers and foam pads for the ones I got with the new seats (which are heated). Since I have one almost-new 2nd row seat frame (replaced under warranty) and another one that I know is not damaged, I would rather keep my existing frames and just swap the covers.

 

We have the same problem, but I was just going to try to patch it with a leather repair kit. Have you looked into that option? Since it is on the inside, I doubt anyone would see it if it looks bad, but at least the rip would be fixed and not get worse.