2003 explorer rear seat fold down problem

[dah]

2003 explorer rear seat fold down problem***NEW EXPLANATION***

My 2003 explorer 2nd row rear seat lever that allows you to fold down or
lift up seat does't work. The seat is 60/40 & it is the 60 (passenger side)
that doesn't work. 40 (driver side) handle works ok.
Handle has a lot of play (no resistance) and does not do any thing to release
seat. Seat is in upright position. Does any one know how this works ( repair ) etc.
Thanks,

Dennis

 

[XLTsportMD]

Only thing I can think of is to make sure the folding parts aren't jammed. If that doesn't work just take it into ford shop they could help you with that at no charge hopefully.

 

[jrford]

There is a cable that goes from the handle to the two side, but sorry thats all i know.

 

[dah]

Thanks,, I'll look for it. The seat is 60/40 - the 60 side (passenger) is the
handle not working. The 40 - driver side handle works ok.
Dennis

 

[dah]

No luck trying to free it up. Thanks for the response.

 

[jrford]

sorry, thought you had a 3rd row.
for 2nd make sure its completely down and nothing is in the way of the latch

 

[ninobrn99]

any luck getting this taken care of?

 

[JSho]

Cable release

For my 2003 explorer that had this issue I was able to bypass the broken handle with a flat head screwdriver. If you follow the black release cable down behind the plastic handle you'll see the end of the cable has a metal cylinder attached to it. Using a flat head screwdriver i pushed this small metal cylinder down and it released the entire seat back to the upright position. Once I figured this out it took me less than 30 seconds to have the seat back up and the kids packed up to go fishing.

I'll probably have to take the seat out completely to replace parts, but at least my car is able to hold all my kids again.

Why people on this forum respond with "take it to a dealership" I'll never know. We're here to find ways to avoid paying someone to fix our cars right?

Hope this helps people in the future!