[DishoomX2]

I've had some intermittent issues with the 3rd row either not folding or raising -- mainly the right seat. The seat mechanism would make noise, but then nothing happens. It's not consistent -- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I brought up this issue with my SA, and the tech found that there were fault codes stored. They attempted to update programming, but it didn't help. I've since been told that BMW recommended that the seat rails be replaced. This involves dismantling the whole 3rd row, and swapping out the seats, leather covers, etc. Quite labor intensive!

I'm a little concerned about everything having to be gutted, but I suppose it's the only solution if I want the 3rd raise/fold feature to work consistently. Glad I'm still covered under warranty!

I'm sure this goes without saying...but I definitely recommend removing everything from the trunk area (including mat) so that your dealership can try to duplicate the issue. Even though I have the 3DMats Kagu mat (w/ the split seat feature), I wanted to make sure that they didn't blame the mat for interfering with operation.

[mitch57]

There's an SIB on this issue.

[DishoomX2]

Originally Posted by mitch57

There's an SIB on this issue.

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if this is the one the tech has already followed, but I'll pass it on to SA in case it's worth looking into.

[MystroX5]

The “Bowden cable” issue is very common. It’s the only issue I got after a few months. It’s the way they route the cable at manufacturing in the 3rd row seat to drop the head rests. They still have not upgraded the manufacturing installation by now which is pitiful.
If there is any delay with the headrest folding down after you push the lowering button or even if you manually lower the head rest, your 3rd row will not lower. Eventually the head rest will not lower and you are at full lock up. One of the pre failures signs is you will start to see the head rest not falling exactly the same time and immediately. If you starts to hang up or you have to help it fall then it’s only a matter of time for the Bowden cable to fail. Mine failed a few weeks before a major family road trip and got it fixed just in time. Took a day to tear apart the 3rd row seats to install the new parts so expect to get a loaner.

[DishoomX2]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

The “Bowden cable” issue is very common. It’s the only issue I got after a few months. It’s the way they route the cable at manufacturing in the 3rd row seat to drop the head rests. They still have not upgraded the manufacturing installation by now which is pitiful.
If there is any delay with the headrest folding down after you push the lowering button or even if you manually lower the head rest, your 3rd row will not lower. Eventually the head rest will not lower and you are at full lock up. One of the pre failures signs is you will start to see the head rest not falling exactly the same time and immediately. If you starts to hang up or you have to help it fall then it’s only a matter of time for the Bowden cable to fail. Mine failed a few weeks before a major family road trip and got it fixed just in time. Took a day to tear apart the 3rd row seats to install the new parts so expect to get a loaner.

That's frustrating to hear and doesn't bode well for long term reliability (ie post warranty). SA mentioned that the tech did review a service bulletin, but said he'd pass this info along. I'm not sure why they are replacing seat rails if this could be the issue.

I'm probably already in over $6k of covered warranty work, and this will probably add another grand.