I'm guessing no one here has done this before. Well, I checked with a local dealer and got two quotes, the part is $273.33 plus local tax for the part only. I talked to the service dept and got a quote of $683 plus tax for the part and installation. A used parts yard told me that they wouldn't take the assy off the seat since it would render the seat unsellable, so that was the end of that conversation.
Well, I think that sucks, a gear that can't be accessed or replaced, and is prone to fail with no recourse once the vehicle is our of warranty. Now I'm not a cheapskate, but I am a senior citizen on a fixed income so I'm not about to spend $700 on something I used probably a half-dozen times in five years, so I'm giving it a try myself. I found the part of the Net for around $230 including shipping. I spent about an hour getting the seats out. I say "seats", because you can't just take out the left seat, they come out together or not at all. Since I'm a bit past my prime and I figure the seats weigh a good 100 pounds, I'm going to ask one of my sons to help me get the seats out to where we can work on it and change the part out once I get it. I'm not sure how much more it's going to take to get it out, but I can't see it taking but a few more hours... I really hope so...