Problem Reports

Rear seat relese stuck in down position

The problem was that the cable attached to the locking mechanism that holds the double rear seat (behind the driver) down to the floor broke when the seat was all the way down. The seat was locked in the full down position. We contacted 3 differenct Mercedes dealer/repair shops and none knew how to solve this problem. They all indicated that it was a trial and error process and had no idea how long it would take.

We located a similar model SUV to understand the mechanics and location of the unlocking mechanisms and realized that the cable releases 2 locks at the same time. One on the piston closest to the door and the other on the middle piston.

The one closest to the door could be accessed by hand and the cable was still attached. We pulled this cable to rotate the piston anticlockwise and released the first lock. The second lock, which was not visible, is located on the middle piston. To access this lock, we slid a 3 ft flexible thin metal strip under the metal seat frame from the driver's side to feel for the mechanism blindly. Eventually we located a moving part and pushed it towards the passenger side while holding the first locking mechanism in the release position. It was quite tricky but with a little patience you can do it. It took two people, one to hold both locking mechanisms in the release positions and one to lift the seat.

Put my back seat down and now it wont come up. Saw a cable undone and have no idea how to get it up.. Anyone know how?