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Reinstalling the Back Seat Bench--Trouble Engaging Front Clips

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010.

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  1. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    How do you reinstall the back seat bench front clips? I can't apply enough downward weight/force to get the hooks to engage into the plastic clips. There must be some trick to this I'm missing?

    Maybe I need to lift the back up being certain it is engaged properly before pushing down in the front?

    Maybe I need to remove the plastic clips and attach them to the front hooks and then seat the clips back into the floor frame?

    Is it possible both clips are damaged and need to be replaced or somehow reset to properly receive the front hooks?

    Thank you.
     
    #1 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  2. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    The female plastic part is not meant to be re-used. It is likely damaged. Just buy new ones (like $5 each).
     
    #2 rrolff, Feb 22, 2010
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  3. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    All right... now we are getting somewhere. I'll look into replacing them. Thanks.
     
    #3 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  4. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    Wow! And I don't mean World of Warcraft. I hope Toyota saved a lot of money on the production line using such a one-time piece of crap back seat retainer. I 'successfully' removed both clips, can see how they operate I think, and only marvel in dismay at why the retention was designed this way. For production it may be an engineering marvel. For removing and reinstalling the back seat bench the design is fubar. Gee, it will be such a snap when the $7 parts come in Wednesday.

    Frustrating and depressingly yours,
     
    #4 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  5. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Say they save $10 on the fasteners per car, and sell 400k per year, Toyota makes an extra $4M per year. On repairs people don't really worry about the extra $7. It just would be nice if you knew about it before you took the car apart ;-) Good luck.

    I have too of the plastic clips that did not come out with the hatch liner. They aren't damaged yet. Any advice on how to remove them so I can get the plastic parts so I can snap it back on right?

    Good luck with your repairs.
     
    #5 austingreen, Feb 22, 2010
  6. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    Yes. If they function similar to the plastic clips that hold the rear seat bench in place they are designed to be replaced and cannot be reused. I forced my clips out of the metal structure holding them without damaging the metal work at all. I used two flat screwdrivers on opposite sides of the clip to force them out. There were some plastic slivers and I ended up with a rather mangled clip. It looks like when the new ones (which I haven't seen yet) are put in place they themselves are not retained until the mating part is pushed in place too. In other words with the rear seat bench the hook on the bottom of the seat when shoved into place sets the retainers that hold the plastic clip to the structure but also holds tghe seat hook then too.

    Yes, good luck with your repair too.
     
    #6 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  7. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    P.S. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that there are a lot of Priuses (Prii?) driving around today that have had their rear seat benches removed for one reason or another at some mod shop at some time and where for lack of time and missing replacement parts get delivered with the seats just siting in place but not retained? Either that or they tell the customer deliver is delayed while waiting for the parts to arrive to install the seat bench properly. :)
     
    #7 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  8. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    On this point I would like to add that I looked high and low in PriusChat and You Tube for information on 'how-to'. The information I found was that it took considerable hard yanking to remove the seat and that if the seat doesn't snap back into place the plastic part might be damaged and to replace it. No one and nothing initally said that these retainers were one-time-use only and must always be replaced. One person suggested using a lubricant like WD-40 or soap.

    So I with considerable effort yanked the seat out. Accomplished what I needed to do. And reistalled the seat only to discover that the plastic clips would not latch on to the bench hooks. Looking at the clips left you guessing how they worked but I could see no way how to reset them.

    Someone finally said that the clips had to be replaced.

    Nuff said.
     
    #8 Susan4ET, Feb 22, 2010
  9. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    The new plastic clips worked great. I can understand why they used a clip likie this for the assembly line. However, I condemn Toyota's lack of interest in a design that would be easily reusable. The basic concept of this clip being a one-time use was stupid and demonstrates lack of interest in their product once it was built--imho.
     
    #9 Susan4ET, Feb 26, 2010
  10. sc24vr6

    sc24vr6 Member

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    have to replace the plastic clips?? I just remove my rear seat and put it back today didnt have problem just need to push harder

    Thanks for your info will check tomorrow

    Robert
     
    #10 sc24vr6, Feb 26, 2010
  11. eric1234

    eric1234 Active Member

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    And - if you haven't re-installed yet, could you take some photos of what's going on here, so that those of us in the future that might go to remove our rear seats have an idea of what to expect? (How to remove and re-insert?) :)
     
    #11 eric1234, Mar 1, 2010
  12. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Wth, I've had my back seat cushion out any number of times and
    the clips have yet to show any sign of degradation/damage.
    .
    _H*
     
    #12 hobbit, Mar 1, 2010
  13. eric1234

    eric1234 Active Member

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    Have to admit - I don't know what I'm talking about here - just that as I read the thread, I couldn't help but think - boy, a pic or two would clear this up for me...
     
    #13 eric1234, Mar 1, 2010
  14. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Yes, through 6 model years of the Gen II Prius and tens/hundreds of threads on topics involving or tangentially involving removal of the back seat, I've never heard anyone say that the front clips for the back seat cushion got damaged.

    But now with the Gen III out for less than a year, I've heard 2 reports of these clips on the Gen III being damaged. One chatter, rrolff, even said that the clips were not intended to be reused. Although I doubt that very much, I'm thinking that with these 2 reports of trouble, that maybe the Gen III clips are not identical to the Gen II clips.

    So pics of the damaged Gen III clips would be nice.
     
    #14 Boo, Mar 1, 2010
  15. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    Back in Aug when I installed my Clazzio covers I had this same problem (not being able to get the clips to engage). With the extra thickness of the covers it was absolutely impossible to get the seat to snap into the plastic receivers. The trick I finally figure out was to remove the plastic receivers (mine were not damaged at all) and attach them to the seat. Now snap the seat into place. The receivers will snap into the holes in the body of the car very easily. Hope this helps.
     
    #15 rstark18, Mar 3, 2010
    Celanie Almquist likes this.
  16. cossie1600

    cossie1600 Active Member

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    I damaged both of mine because I didn't remove it properly (I pulled it sideway rather than straight up, of course it doesn't help that you can't put leverage in the car like that). I don't think the seat is going anywhere, but I will probably order two new ones and see if I can repair it since only one of them is locked at this point
     
    #16 cossie1600, Mar 4, 2010
  17. fhs.rudi

    fhs.rudi New Member

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    Susan,
    Do you have the link where we can buy the clips, or the part number? I'm about to try installing my seat covers, and thus, will attempt removing the back seat cushion.

    Thanks
    Dale
     
    #17 fhs.rudi, Mar 10, 2011
  18. twittel

    twittel Senior Member

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    This thread settles it for me: I'm never taking out my back seat. Actually, I started to try and remove it a few months ago and just could do it. It's not worth the hassle. The dealer can take care of it if I need to remove the seat.
     
    #18 twittel, Mar 10, 2011
  19. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    I've had my seats out 3 times - one of the clips broke once.

    The installer claims if you are careful (yank fast / back and up), they normally won't break - and many times if they are 'broken', you can bend the plastic back again, and reuse it... Bottom line, they aren't expansive,and are easy to replace...
     
    #19 rrolff, Mar 10, 2011
  20. CivicSky

    CivicSky Member

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    Try Clipsandfasteners.com, I bought some clips for my uncle's Matrix at a pretty decent price plus their shipping is fast!
     
    #20 CivicSky, Mar 11, 2011
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