Back seat 60% half wont go back up- Please help!!

[abauza78]

Yesterday I was out doing some shopping and I folded down the larger half of my backseats down to fit in a floor lamp. There was no warning stickers or anything indicating what to do. I assumed like most cars, you just pull the lever and fold down the seat. To my surprise, the seat is stuck in the down position. The middle seat belt is also tugged really tight. It feels like the seat belt itself is whats holding the seat down. I searched online and found only one site with this mentioned and of course, they want to charge you to see the solution. I called Ford and they told me my car needed to be brought in to have the seat belt physically cut to pull the seat back up. What!? So there is nothing mentioned in the manual about this, no stickers advising what the proper way to lower the seat is, and the only solution Ford has is to rip out the seat belt and replace it? The service rep also told me she could not guaranty this was covered under warranty. Um...with only 40k in miles on my car and with what appears to be a very poor design flaw, Ford cant guaranty the service is covered? Has anyone else come across this and/or know of a solution short of cutting the seat belt with scissors? For such a high tech car, this is baffling. Please help.

[murphy]

Did you have the center seatbelt latched? See if you can slide your hand in from the right side and release the latch.

[GrySql]

I just looked at my 60% seat, folded it down and back up. There is not much that can stop it from moving back upright.

It's hinged at the bottom, the center seat belt unreels and retracts into the upper seat, the driver's side seat belt just slips out of the way going down and needs to be positioned out of the way when putting the seat upright.

What could catch and hold the seat down?

Is the head rest caught on something? Tried pushing the seat down and then back up?

 

Can you pull some slack out of the center seat belt, it extends and retracts into the seat at the top.

Edited September 16, 2014 by GrySql

[jeffo65]

Can you post a couple pictures?

 

I have had no issues with puttingthe seat back down and back up.

[IraF]

This happened to me also, but the car was under warranty so I brought it to the dealer and they fixed it. They told me not to cut anything because whatever they R&R had to go back to Ford for inspection.

I could only get the 60% back seat up to about 30-40%. 40% rear seat was not affected.

Edited September 17, 2014 by IraF

[abauza78]

The center seat belt latch was still connected. There is no sticker or warning tags telling you of the proper way to lower the seat. I simply and with quit a bit of ease, lowered the seat like anyone else would have. The seat is being held down by the belt and I can only lift the seat about 10%. Not enough to get my hands under and around to locate any latch to release. It appears to be the housing unit towards the top that is stuck. I drove by a different Ford dealership to get a second opinion and they couldn't advise why it was stuck either. When I told them what the other Ford dealership said they might have to cut the seat belt, they scratched their heads and thought that was strange. I am going to consider this my luck that I happen to just have a faulty center seal belt unit. I have an appointment for service this Sat. I'll post the results.

[acdii]

I'll bet the seat belt is not stuck, but is locked in position in the child seat setting. If you pull a seat belt all the way out and slowly let it in, you will feel and hear a ratchet sound. This is to lock a car seat in place that doesn't use LATCH. To release it, you have to unlatch it. All positions except for the drivers do this. If the bottom cushion can be pulled out, you can reach the latch and unhook it. It pops up and slides forward, but I dont know if it will clear with the seat back down.

[GrySql]

There is a Special Service Message (SSM) for this issue.

 

SSM 32292

2013 Fusion/MKZ Rear 60/40 Seatback Stuck In Folded-Down Position
Some 2013 Fusion/MKZ vehicles may exhibit the 60 percent section of the 60/40 split rear seat backrest stuck in the folded down position. This condition may occur when the rear center safety belt is buckled over an empty seat, and the 60 percent seat backrest is folded down. To release the seatback, lift the 60 percent seatback slightly to gain access to the center seat belt buckle. Release the belt buckle latch and allow the safety belt to retract. Fold up the seat backrest and latch into position. Inspect seat belt for damages to webbing or stop button and verify proper function. If stop button is damaged, use service kit YR3Z-6365070-AA. Advise the customer to ensure the rear center safety belt is not buckled before folding the 60 percent seat backrest down.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 27-JUNE-2013

[Christie Beaver]

The 60% seat in our 2013 Fusion is stuck. The seatbelt is not latched, but has locked up. We've tried everything we can think of to work it loose, but there is little or no slack to work with.

[GrySql]

Hi, welcome to the Forum.

Sorry about the problem and I hate to say this but - see your Dealer.

That should be covered by a warranty and they can find out what went wrong.

[texz]

Is there a known fix to this, other than taking it to the dealer? My fusion is out of warranty and my rear seat just got stuck like this (it was not buckled in)

[Curt Croft]

So this same problem just happened to me. Soon after purchasing the car I dropped the back seat and it got stuck. instead of taking it to the dealer I was able to fix the problem. I have a youtube video showing how here.

[PASSINOS]

Your a life saver !!!

my 2013 MKZ just got stuck and this will save me a trip to the dealer

Thanks Curt

[David Burnham]

This happened for the SECOND time on my 2013 Lincoln MKZ hybrid...

Lucky for me, I had a T50 Torx driver for my 3/8" socket ratchet wrench so that I could unfasten the bottom of the seat belt below the rear seat cushion to get the slack I needed to unlock the belt retainer...

To get access to the bolt, I removed the rear seat bottom as shown in the video by releasing the two small levers at the front of the seat bottom and then lifting the front of the seat bottom, pushing the seat bottom toward the rear of the car and lifting up on the back side of each of the seat bottom rear corners. Then I slid the seat bottom forward to the back of the front seats. I was then able to access the seat belt attachment bolt by lifting the stuck seat back slightly...

It saved me a trip to the dealer, I didn't have to cut the seat belt, and I now can prevent this from happening a third time...

I took the clip that slides up the belt and attaches to the lock that holds the passenger in the seat and slid it up to the top of the back seat.

I pulled out about a foot of slack in the seat belt and tucked it beneath the seat bottom. I inverted the metal clip and slid it into the slot at the top of the seat where the seat belt comes out. I will keep the clip stored at the top of the back seat with about a foot of slack in the seat belt whenever I put the split rear seat in the down position...:D