passenger seat stuck in the forward position

[tkr360]

I'm hoping someone can give me some direction. I just bought a 2008 135i M convertible. Love the car but the passenger seat was moved forward to let someone in the back seat and now it will not go back. I've tried pulling on the seat after an hour of trying everything else and it will not move. It feels like it's locked in that position. Can anyone tell me if they have had a similar problem and what am I doing wrong?

Thank you !

[DriveHard]

does it not have the power buttons up by the headrest ??? or is that 3 series only ??? i forget but check anyway...


also check if you crushed a water bottle or something under the seat.. happens all the time

[GrumpyBimmerFan]

.... and this is a 1m section, you have a 135...

[tkr360]

This does have the push buttons to move the seat forward and back. This is a M version that I have.

[fourtailpipes]

^(giggle)

[tkr360]

All that I did was pull the manual release on the top corner of the seat to allow my son to get in the back. Then I tried moving it back and nope! It is locked leaning forward. I've tried pulling with a lot of force but it will not release. I could put more muscle into it but I'm afraid of breaking it...........

[DriveHard]

The lever on top of the seat does 2 things... it lets the seat back recline foward AND slides the seat foward for easy acces... all in one motion.

just pulling on the handle and trying to get the seat back without the seat sliding foward wont work.

Pull the handle with left hand, then with the right hand grab the seat bottom ( where the inside of your knees would touch if sitting) and push the whole seat back in one motion..

10 bucks says something is under that seat.. just a hunch...

[tkr360]

Thank you....my seats are electric with the power button on the top of the seat as well. I finally broke down and took into the dealer this afternoon. They told me it was the catch that needed lubricant and that because it was dry wouldn't release.......not sure if I buy that explanation but it's the only one I have.

Thank you for the help though....

[BrokenVert]

You don't have an M vert...they don't make those...they didn't even make an M sport version until 2009, so I'm not sure what you think that you have

Also don't pull the handle when you want to move the seat back to it's upright place. Just give it a good push without touching anything else and it will go back

[N11BOT]

Originally Posted by tkr360

Thank you....my seats are electric with the power button on the top of the seat as well. I finally broke down and took into the dealer this afternoon. They told me it was the catch that needed lubricant and that because it was dry wouldn't release.......not sure if I buy that explanation but it's the only one I have.

Thank you for the help though....

This is a bit of an old thread but it does not look like it has reached a proper conclusion yet.

I collected a 2008 UK market 125i cabrio 27,500mls yesterday and took it to be hand-washed and vacuum the interior on the way home. The guys folded the (electric memory) front driver's seat forward via the catch on the top corner of the seat, to get at the rear mats, and then it stuck in that position.

Short of simply trying to force it I tried everything along with some of the finest brains in the car valeting business but it appeared stuck and refused to return.

I tried everything I could think off, every adjustment, power on and off, etc etc but in the end I decided some cable must have failed and put the seat back as far as I could to at least get it home and sort the issue from there-on.

But as I pulled-away and my full (considerable) weight was forced back onto the backrest , with a massive clunk, it jumped back into place.

So the solution is put a bit of weight on and drive away sharply!

I think it is possible the driver's seat had rarely been folded forward by the previous owner and so the locking mechanism needs some use or indeed lubrication to work correctly. I have not tested my conclusion yet !