Rear Passenger Seat Won’t Recline

[ExcursionDiesel]

The seat back slide is vertical (at a slight angle). It appears that the latch (attached to the seat back) is very tight and roughly machined, so it grabs the slide bar (which is greased) and cuts detents into it that prevent movement. Any attempted movement just digs in further. Seems like the latch would need replacement (or adjustment/finishing) along with the slide bar. Unfortunately, it took the dealer 2 months to get the slide bars in last time around.

Definitely sounds like a good debur / polish and lube would go a long way in preventing damage. The long term issue is that lubes dry up over time and most won't recline their seats often.

 

[GreyGoat]

Humm, I only checked that the seat behind the driver slid freely as I'd have to remove my daughter's carseat to check the other side. I guess that needs to happen now...

 

[abody711]

I know this an old thread but.... Is all that is required to upgrade to reclining rear seats is the reclining seat frame?

 

[edrclark]

This thread is about vehicles that had reclining rear seats that were not operating properly.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

Furthermore, I doubt the existing seat cushions and covers would work. There is a handle and bezel that sits in a cutout in the lower edge of the seat cushion.

 

[throwaway76456312]

The seat back slide is vertical (at a slight angle). It appears that the latch (attached to the seat back) is very tight and roughly machined, so it grabs the slide bar (which is greased) and cuts detents into it that prevent movement. Any attempted movement just digs in further. Seems like the latch would need replacement (or adjustment/finishing) along with the slide bar. Unfortunately, it took the dealer 2 months to get the slide bars in last time around.

It's actually a misalignment between the mechanism and the slide bar. The seat back and mechanism tips, while the slide bar on the wall doesn't. If they're not aligned properly (because of a bad back frame), the mechanism will actually tip into the slide bar and dig into it. As ExcursionDiesel mentions, the mechanical leverage is pretty high.

Replacing the mechanism and/or the slide bar won't fix it if the frame has an alignment issue. To save time and headaches with dealers, if you're inclined to do so, make sure there is no "burr" on the slide bar (file it down), add some grease and while the seat back is disconnected from the wall, slide the seat to about a mid position on the tracks, then use a pry-bar to bend the mechanism until it looks about 90 deg to the slide bar. Latch the mechanism to the slide bar and you should never have a problem again.

 

[SpeedyV]

It's actually a misalignment between the mechanism and the slide bar. The seat back and mechanism tips, while the slide bar on the wall doesn't. If they're not aligned properly (because of a bad back frame), the mechanism will actually tip into the slide bar and dig into it. As ExcursionDiesel mentions, the mechanical leverage is pretty high.

Replacing the mechanism and/or the slide bar won't fix it if the frame has an alignment issue. To save time and headaches with dealers, if you're inclined to do so, make sure there is no "burr" on the slide bar (file it down), add some grease and while the seat back is disconnected from the wall, slide the seat to about a mid position on the tracks, then use a pry-bar to bend the mechanism until it looks about 90 deg to the slide bar. Latch the mechanism to the slide bar and you should never have a problem again.

This is a very old thread; I had my slide bars replaced, and that fixed one side completely. On the other side, the problem reoccurred almost immediately, so both the latch and bar were replaced. That resolved the issue. The most frustrating part of this process was that it took nearly 6 months in total to correct this issue - first observed at delivery - mostly due to waiting on parts.

 

[throwaway76456312]

This is a very old thread; I had my slide bars replaced, and that fixed one side completely. On the other side, the problem reoccurred almost immediately, so both the latch and bar were replaced. That resolved the issue. The most frustrating part of this process was that it took nearly 6 months in total to correct this issue - first observed at delivery - mostly due to waiting on parts.

Yeah, I realize it's old, but I was hoping to help others in case they run into a similar issue. It's unfortunate it took so long to get parts to the dealership.

 

[Msimic]

I have a 2019 Laramie with this seat issue on the passenger side. After the dealer took 3.5 hours of my life away to unsuccessfully fix the problem, I looked online and found this thread, which helped me resolve the issue. So here is my contribution of info that may help someone out...I found that my seat was getting stuck because the clasp on the back side of the seat was digging (literally) into the attachment slide ring on the back wall of the truck. I filed the the gouge out of the slide ring. I filed the sharp edge off the seat clasp. This process took ten minutes and my seat now reclines as smooth as silk.

 

[SpeedyV]

I have a 2019 Laramie with this seat issue on the passenger side. After the dealer took 3.5 hours of my life away to unsuccessfully fix the problem, I looked online and found this thread, which helped me resolve the issue. So here is my contribution of info that may help someone out...I found that my seat was getting stuck because the clasp on the back side of the seat was digging (literally) into the attachment slide ring on the back wall of the truck. I filed the the gouge out of the slide ring. I filed the sharp edge off the seat clasp. This process took ten minutes and my seat now reclines as smooth as silk.

Yep...this matches the experience others of us have had. The latches were simply too aggressive (not sufficiently deburred) from the factory, resulting in them biting (deeply!) into the slide bars. Mine were fixed after a few tries by essentially the same method as yours, except I had the dealer replace the slide bars too.

 

[DCGibson]

Same on my Longhorn, just reattached the cable.

How did you reattach the cable? My passenger side back seat won’t recline and the handle is completely soft.

 

[Gideon777]

any ideals on how to reconnect the cable ??