The driver's seat in my '07 Outlander is stuck in the rear-most position, again, but this time it will not budge forward, no matter what I do. About two years ago, the same thing happened, but it resolved itself and has worked just fine until yesterday. I looked for the obvious, but see nothing obviously wrong. I asked the dealer if this was a recurring problem and they said "no", of course, and said to just bring it in. Yeah right!! Big Two Mitsu in Mesa, AZ estimated the seat repair at $2700.00 + because the entire rail has to be replaced, not just a switch, servo, motor etc. It is one unit. Don't believe it for a minute!!! The seat looks like it is simple to take out, which I am going to do and test all electrical parts. Has anybody had this happen to them. If yes, what was wrong and how did you fix it? This is a big one guys that might lead to my dumping the car, so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Remove the seat and see what's there. Might be a simple case of something got jammed underneath.

Also check for power at the switch. Might be that simple.

 

Thanks for your response milliesdad - I have a bad back, so I'm going to have my regular mechanic (non-dealership!!!) pull the seat and spend an hour of shop time attempting a repair. I'll keep ya'll informed. BTW - I got sort of a "mea culpa" call from the dealership last evening; they said that the seat switch can be ordered separately at $156.00, which may be good news.

 

Look for the simple stuff first.

I had a Dodge Dakota that the seat did the same thing. Everything on the seat suspension was either pressed, rivited (rather large) or spot welded. The plastic threaded part that the long adjusting screws ran thru broke and were not serviceable (had to get the whole seat bottom.

I scrounged salvage yards and never did find a Dakota with a power driver's seat. Traded it off on my first Outlander.

 

Thanks for responding milliesdad. Spent a very reasonable $80.00 so far with my mechanic (Network Automotive in Apache Junction, Arizona) and found out that it is the front/back motor that failed, so now I'm on the hunt for a junk yard motor just like you did, or a new one for a reasonable price. I did find a dealer that will sell me a whole new rail system for $1400.00, but they're still out of there minds. The motor is riveted, but my mechanic (who I trust completely) says he can change it out with no problem, just need to find one.

 

check out car-parts.com
you can check around you for used parts. most salvage yards will remove the part for you...just have to pick it up. since the motor is rivited to the seat, you may have to purchase the entire seat. but that may not be bad, depending on the condition of the seat, if you explain to the yard all you care about is the motor.

 

Siince it is bad anyway, remove the motor and take it to a repair shop that does electric motors and electric tools. Might be a case of stuck or worn out brushes that can be repaired.

My take on broken is if it's broke, nothing you do can make it worse.

 

Dad used to say the same thing. I always would chide that I didn't want to break it beyond repair!

Rivets are easy though. They can be drilled out and replaced by bolts.

 

Thanks "ccernst" and "milliesdad" for the great info! As I've pretty much exhausted all apparent resources for a new motor with no success, I'm on the hunt for a junk yard motor as we speak. With all your great advice, I think I can fix this thinkg myself. One way or another, it will be fixed, and then I'm going to take it back to the dealer and laugh in their collective faces.