remove rear seat or recline it or something?

[sumone 10+ year member]

searched and searched...can't find out how to do it

- 2000 malibu (n-body)

I'm trying to wire some stuff under the sills of the kick panels to the back and into the trunk:

left side:

- 8ga power wire

- 22ga remote lead

right side:

- 2 pairs of 16ga speaker wire

- 2 pairs of rca cables

If I don't have room for both speaker wires on one side, I'll do one on each side. Today's task was only on trying to do the power & remote.

But I need to remove the backseats or let the vertical part of them down cause without removing, it's real hard to get the stuff into the trunk - I've tried for 2 hours straight trying to remove them with NO success.

the three things on the rear deck with one screw each - I've removed them but the seat doesn't come out or anything. there's like something on the back of the vertical part of the seat at the center that's securing it to something...I couldn't even find out how it is secured which makes me more confused.

So, anyone with tips on how back seats generally come out if not specifically for n-bodys or malibus or chevrolets or whatever...?

Click to read more...

 

[Ricktc 10+ year member]

Isn't there a handle you pull from inside the trunk (right around the rear dashboard, looking inside the trunk) that released the rear seat and lets it fold down? My aunt's Malibu is like that.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

My car (Neon) uses the seatbelt bolts to hold the back part of the seat in. Try checking Crutchfield for disassembly instructions. That's where I found them for mine.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

ricktc - what year is your aunt's? Nothing caught my eye the many times I hopped in my trunk, but I'll look more closely next time I hop in.

helotaxi - is that the crutchfield advisor? did a search for rear seat/back seat/disassembly/seat removal in crutchfield.com and crutchfiedadvisor.com ...nothing relevant as to how to take em off.

 

[Ricktc 10+ year member]

It's a '99. Open the trunk, there should be a black T-shaped handle to pull, if not then only thing I could think of is maybe some latches inside the car if they changed since the '99 model year.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

yea they must've changed it - no t-handles on the trunk. thanks anyway.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Why not just take them all the way out and run the wires under everything and then will look alot neater when you're done and you don't have to worry about them getting snagged on something or someone either.

adam

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

well, to tell the truth, I don't know if I'm trying to get the seat back down or the full seats out in the first place. But I think whatever you have to do to get the full seats out, you'd have to take out the seat back first?

 

[allyourblood 10+ year member]

well, to tell the truth, I don't know if I'm trying to get the seat back down or the full seats out in the first place. But I think whatever you have to do to get the full seats out, you'd have to take out the seat back first?

no. if you're trying to remove the seats themselves, to get underneath them (not counting the back), you shouldn't need to remove the backs.

your car may certainly differ quite a bit from mine, but here's how my seats work, as well as some similar cars:

in the crack between the seat & the back nearest the center seatbelt, there is a piece of steel, screwed down to the metal frame. this holds the seats in place, and keeps them from tipping forward. the space between the seat and back is very snug, so i needed to hold the two apart as my dad unscrewed the bolt.

after that's out, the seats just lift forward. they're sort of "snapped in", so a slight tug popped them out. they didn't come all of the way off; if i wanted them out completely, i'd have to unscrew the pivot screw at either side of the seats.

some other cars also have a latch or "pull" underneat them, nearest where your feet rest. you yank on it, and that unsnaps the seats, allowing them to fold forward.

idk, try some of that..

abe m.

 

[allyourblood 10+ year member]

d'oh! i just reread your last post. it looks like you're trying to fold the seats down. some cars have a keyhole on the rear dash, in the middle (between your rear speakers). you turn the key either way, and pull down on the headrest.

otherwise, really look around in the trunk for those pull-tabs. they should be up underneath your rear dash, right next to your speakers. i'd be stunned if they weren't there. from the 90s on, i think those tabs are required by law, so kids don't get trapped in the trunk and run out of air. in some cars, they're glow-in-the-dark (that typical off-white color), so you can see them when the trunk's closed.

abe m.

 

[MrBill2U 10+ year member]

i'd be stunned if they weren't there. from the 90s on, i think those tabs are required by law, so kids don't get trapped in the trunk and run out of air.

Yeah, so just find a kid and lock them in your trunk. They'll find the handles for you

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

oh well, still no luck in finding them. no holes on top of the rear deck between the speakers. I think it's just a lost cause by now. Either they were there and they were removed (used car), or I still don't know what I'm looking for to distinguish them. One thing I know now is that if I ever do find a way to get them up, I'll see two sets of car keys....(yup, lost my main ones and my 1st spare inbetween the seats in the process. glad I got 2 spares)

pics of my trunk top

- that red tape over the left speaker's wires...is my kind of "sound deadening"...

However, I did finally get the wiring through to the trunk! what I had to do was:

1. from inside the trunk, trace the wires that go to the rear lights, to the hole where they enter the cabin; and stick a screw driver in the hole that they go through.

2. now inside the car, sitting on the backseat, find the screw driver poking through the hole

3. tape the wires going to the amp to one of my drum sticks

4. stick the drum stick in the hole along the screw driver

5. go in the trunk, pull it through the rest of the way.