B9 Cabrio broken rear seat release cable
03-25-2024, 07:38 AM
#11
Same issue here.
Dealer parts and labor cost quoted as almost US$1,100 to replace the latch and cable in an 18 A5 cabrio. Dealer said no way to release seat without repairing (even for a one-time release to keep the seat down).
Does this sound reasonable or is the dealer overcharging?
Dealer parts and labor cost quoted as almost US$1,100 to replace the latch and cable in an 18 A5 cabrio. Dealer said no way to release seat without repairing (even for a one-time release to keep the seat down).
Does this sound reasonable or is the dealer overcharging?
SOMEONE must know how to get those seats down
04-23-2024, 04:35 AM
#12
AudiWorld Member
I've recently had to deal with this on an A3 which is almost the same design. What you have here is a genuine 'nightmare' scenario.
In my case the latch behind the seat broke inside. The plastic release lever/cam that the bownden cable attaches to had snapped off. Access is near impossible but we did it through a small cutout on the back of the metal frame that is behind the seat. We had to partially open the roof and remove the trim from this support frame/beam. Then we could see the latch. I was able to get an endoscope in there to see what was happening in the latch through the hole at the opposite end from the cable entry. I removed the cable entirely as it's useless at this point. I had already bought a new latch which comes with the cable attached and the release lever that goes in the boot/trunk. That helped as then I could see just how the latch works and where parts are inside it.
I tried many things but nothing worked so I decided to try drilling into it. This was really hard as it's hard steel and you can get at it only through the small cutout which doesn't even line up with the latch. I managed to make a few holes.
Finally, after almost giving up, I tried gentle precision persuasion by other means. A big screwdriver into the drilled hole and a club hammer. This smashed the remaining plastic inside the latch and it popped open. There was a happy dance I can tell you. From there it's fairly easy to replace the latch.
The next day I went to put the seats down, and guess what happened? Yep, the other side broke in exactly the same way!!!! Luckily all the plastic trim was still removed on both sides of the support beam which left about 1cm gap between the jammed seat and the beam. Which was enough to get up to the latch with the screwdriver and hammer. So the second one only took 30 minutes to release.
I think it's a very rare failure. And to happen twice even more so. As such improbable things were happening I did buy a lottery ticket that week but alas the effect seemed to have worn off.
In my case the latch behind the seat broke inside. The plastic release lever/cam that the bownden cable attaches to had snapped off. Access is near impossible but we did it through a small cutout on the back of the metal frame that is behind the seat. We had to partially open the roof and remove the trim from this support frame/beam. Then we could see the latch. I was able to get an endoscope in there to see what was happening in the latch through the hole at the opposite end from the cable entry. I removed the cable entirely as it's useless at this point. I had already bought a new latch which comes with the cable attached and the release lever that goes in the boot/trunk. That helped as then I could see just how the latch works and where parts are inside it.
I tried many things but nothing worked so I decided to try drilling into it. This was really hard as it's hard steel and you can get at it only through the small cutout which doesn't even line up with the latch. I managed to make a few holes.
Finally, after almost giving up, I tried gentle precision persuasion by other means. A big screwdriver into the drilled hole and a club hammer. This smashed the remaining plastic inside the latch and it popped open. There was a happy dance I can tell you. From there it's fairly easy to replace the latch.
The next day I went to put the seats down, and guess what happened? Yep, the other side broke in exactly the same way!!!! Luckily all the plastic trim was still removed on both sides of the support beam which left about 1cm gap between the jammed seat and the beam. Which was enough to get up to the latch with the screwdriver and hammer. So the second one only took 30 minutes to release.
I think it's a very rare failure. And to happen twice even more so. As such improbable things were happening I did buy a lottery ticket that week but alas the effect seemed to have worn off.
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