timreagan

Greetings. I have a 2003 GX470 and the passenger side 2nd row seat will not fold down to allow access to the 3rd row. I believe a cable is broken or came off the lever lock. I am looking for help/instructions on how to fix this.

ljerryd

I just spent about 2 hours getting the Driver's side released. The seat back would fold over, but couldn't flip the whole seat forward against the front seat. I took way more apart than I probably needed to, finally took the smaller seat apart to find the release cables. If I can get the time in the next day or 2, I'll take some pictures. I haven't re-assembled yet and haven't found where my cable is broken, except I know that it is before it "Y's" to each release. Wish there was a diagram!

timreagan

Thanks for the feedback and for sending the picture. What you described is the issue i am having.

ljerryd

I THINK I have it working again. I am including pictures, but can't upload the MP4s about the operation. I'll try to post on photobucket as they are also too big.
Picture names don't stay with photos so I'll describe (L to R): 1. Seat bottom removed at rear. 2. Hinge release section pointing to back release cable. 3. Pointing to bottom release cable. 4. Bottom cover removed showing full mechanism. 5. Actuator at front outside of seat frame seen from below.

Once I freed the seat, I could open and release the locks easily as long as it wasn't latched to the floor. As soon as it locked to the floor, I could only manually unlock unless I played with the cable. Seems that the return spring wasn't able to move the actuator when pressure was on the latches.

Here is what I had to do:
Release and fold seat over.
Loosen seat cushion upholstery across the back where it connects to the plastic bottom. It's held in with a plastic v-shaped bead into a channel in the plastic bottom. I used an angled tool to start loosening at one edge, pulling up and out CAREFULLY so as not to damage the upholstery.
Remove the plastic seat bottom mounting screw where it attaches to the metal bar near the center of the section.
You should now be able to pull the bottom away to see the two latches and their release cables.
With a long blunt tool, push the release levers toward the front seat. On mine, the right lever would release easily and stay released, then the left one popped free to lift the seat.
Block the two loop catches in the floor so if the seat comes back down, it won't latch again.
If you want to see the release cables behind the handle, remove seat release handle and surrounding plastic.
Loosen seat cushion upholstery around the remainder of the perimeter of the plastic bottom and the remaining bottom mounting screws. Warning: they used sheet metal screws in a pretty hefty steel tube and some of mine were difficult to loosen. I worked them back and forth to loosen them gradually.
To get a really good view of the actuator that is hidden in the front outside corner, I popped the support strut so I could tilt the plastic down away from the frame.
I cleaned the actuator really well and then examined the actuator lever. Found a small burr on the edge that was catching on the roller and not slipping past. I deburred and polished with a couple of pieces of sandpaper, medium, then fine. I put a rag over the cables so no sand or filings got into them.
Cleaned and lubed (1 drop oil on all pivot points and under the roller then grease on the roller face and actuator lever tip).
Tested before putting back together. Seems to be working, but time will tell.

ljerryd

See if you can use this link to view videos.
http://s244.photobucket.com/user/lje...y/GX470%20Seat
If it asks for a PW, use CL0119

Johnny Rad

Pro tip! Thanks for sharing the troubleshooting info.

raj2020

I am not able to access the video..having the same issue , can you let me know if this video is still accessible?