How to remove the two little bucket seat bottoms?

Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 CADILLAC CTS
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 112,000 MILES
Can you tell me how to remove the two little bucket seat bottoms and center console from the rear of the car listed above (coupe)?
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:48 PM

12 Replies

Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
Can you post a picture of the rear seats you're wanting to remove? It is sometimes hard to find specific information on things like that, I just want to make sure I'm looking for the correct information. Alot of what's provided is diagnostic information.
It's just the Coupe, Wagon, and Sedan all have different set-ups, and does this have the fold down center piece on the rear seats?

Is this what you're referring to?

Looks like this comes out as one piece, I think this is what you're looking for.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:49 PM
Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 21 POSTS
Cannot release the seat back on the driver side of my car listed above. The plastic handle will not move. I'm afraid it might break off if I try harder. I took the back cover off but couldn't see any problem. The power seat works just fine, I just can't release it manually to enter back seat.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:51 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
But you can release the passenger side rear seat, okay? I agree you don't want to break that lever. Or are you saying that the front driver's seat won't release to flip forward?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:52 PM
Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 21 POSTS
The passenger seat works fine. I cannot release the seat back on the driver's side from the lever under the headrest. The lever will not move at all.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:52 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
Okay, there is a small retaining clip on the inside of that plastic handle, which needs to be removed first. I'm looking for information on the mechanical part of the seat, everything I've given you so far is for the Coupe,
Thats the Seat Recliner Handle, then under that cover (after the handle is removed) is the Bezel and bracket assembly, except the information on the seats is pretty vague. There are 2 different setups, it looks like AQ9 and W2E. Give me a minute to go through all this information. It's saying to remove the entire seat, but that seems a bit extreme unless the whole bracket needs to be replaced. I'm just wondering if something got stuck down there that's preventing the handle from moving.

This is what I was worried about, before removing any seats, there is an SIR warning, this refers to setting off the airbags by accident. I've seen this happen because there was a Supplement restraint system component attached to the bottom of the seat.

Okay, the second picture is the W2E and the third picture is the AQ9 design.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:52 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
You are not going to want to remove any seats from the vehicle. Because the SIR system must be disabled first and then re-enabled afterwards and the system must be Re-Zeroed, so there is probably a recalibration that must be done with a scan tool that's capable of reprogramming SIR components. There's always something that needs to be done. Reprogramming, calibrations, etc. I'm trying to see what exactly would need to be done.

Yeah, the second diagram states the Preload Passenger Presence System procedure must be done, this is for the sensors in the seat that detect weight, it will turn off certain airbags if a passenger is not present,
But you can still take off that side cover of the seat and see if there's anything stuck in there jamming the Lever from moving.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:55 PM
Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 21 POSTS
The above pages talk of passenger what about the driver's seat, which is the one that s causing the problem?
I would like to know if that lever disengage is on both sides of the seat or just one side of the seat because I don't see any mechanical device attached to it.
If I could just find the information as to where that lever attaches to. I pulled material out of there and there was no material in the way that I could see, made no difference.

I have access to a snap on Zeus scan tool in the future if I need to pull seats this particular seat needs new cushions and covers anyway for the driver side.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:55 PM
Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 21 POSTS
They released what I am talking about is located in the seat back, below the headrest.
I can't find any drawings or literature on that lever.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:55 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
It says the Coupe has a "Rear Seat Easy Entry Switch" (#1).
Okay, if you're going to pull the seats, then disconnect the negative battery cable and wait at least 5 minutes for the system capacitors to discharge. It doesn't show the mechanical release, if it runs the whole width of the seat.
There is the Bezel Bracket and screws (1st Pic), but I believe this is after the seat is out.
But if you're going to be removing the seat, you'll be able to see under it after it's out. It's only two bolts in the back and it looks like it just slides in on the front section.
Here is everything I can find on the seat removal. It's difficult to locate specific information because they list the Wagon, Sedan, and Coupe all together during the procedure. And then the two different seat types.
Obviously there's electrical connectors under the seat that will be disconnected for the electronic actuator adjustments.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:56 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
There is nothing else about that Plastic Lever release, I'm sure it has to be released on both sides, for safety reasons I can't see them designing an adjustment that's only held by a latch on one side. The release has to be where the seat pivots, but these seats are very complex, there's Lumbar support Bladders, air pumps in the seat backs to inflate the bladders,
There is a Seat Back Release Cable, just found this. There's a handle that releases the cable, this is where the air pump and bladder assembly are. Looks like the SIR must be disabled before removing the Cushion back.

Sixth pic is for the W2E setup, seventh pic is for the AQ9 setup.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 12:58 PM
Tiny
JC WRIGHT2
  • MEMBER
  • 21 POSTS
I found a problem on the right-hand side of the seat release. It was jammed, it's just a cam up against a pivot. I took the cable off and jiggled on it and wiggled on it and finally got it to break free and now it's working okay. i m sending a video link and a photograph of the video link. https://youtu.be/dwnzyf-HMQQ Thanks for the diagrams. like diagrams in the coming months, I'm going to have to take that seat out and recover it. I will probably get back to you!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 1:02 PM
Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,123 POSTS
Thats cool, thanks for the video, helps to get a better idea of these setups, there's so many components inside just seating units, it's too much in some cases. I can't imagine how much a whole seat would cost to replace. I will do my best when you're ready to pull the seats. I'm not sure how much more information there is, I went through, what seemed to be 30 pages for just the front seats. But there's always links on each page to other pages for each step, before you know it, we're 50 pages in. Anyway, we'll be here.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 AT 1:03 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links