Passenger Seat jammed

[AMPUP]

So today I needed to put my passenger seat forward (pretty much all the way). It didn't seem to go all the way and stopped, but the person in the back had enough room so all was good. The problems occurred when I tried to put the seat back again, basically the left hand side (close to driver) seems to want to move but the right hand rail (next to door) doesn't (make a noise but grinds to a halt) and the seat is twisting so I have to release the buttons. I can't see any obstruction, but it wont move. Now my wife cant get in the front seat and with the kids in the back, looks like I cant take the family anywhere until i get this resolved. I have pinged my Service center but haven't heard back yet, based on it usually taking a month to wait for service I thought I would post and get some ideas of anything I can do, with your assistance. :wink:

best

Phil

 

[jerry33]

I'd call Tesla (rather than the Service Centre) and select roadside assistance. Because your car is basically not drivable, they should be able to get you in right away.

 

[AMPUP]

So I have found the problem....If i raise the seat up and try to move it I can see the motor underneath and the left and right side of the motor moving. The right side is bent and seems to have come out of the hole it belongs in. Looks like a metal bendy thick wire with a square end (I assume the square end goes into something) but for the life of me I can't wiggle it back in.

 

[huntjo]

Glad you found the problem! Wonder if this has happened to anyone else? I had a motor go bad in my sunroof, freezing it at like 20% open.
I have never had to wait for service and my service center responds to calls, email, or even text to the managers cell phone on the same day. Unfortunately due to the last minute nature of my call, they did not have a model S loaner so I had to drive a crappy Hyundai for 24 hrs. If your service center does not respond to you, I agree with Mister 33 in the suggestion to call Tesla roadside assistance directly.

 

[AMPUP]

Well the service center looked at it and basically said they need to order a whole new seat as the mechanism had sheared. Their guess is it wasn't aligned and when it went forward it put stress on the cable. No eta on the new seat though, it's a tan performance seat and I fear it won't be a quick delivery.

 

[Urowhiz]

I had a similar problem. The seat got jammed and the motors on the right side rail broke and I now have been told that instead of replacing just the two motors which are damaged, I have to replace the whole seat.
Does anyone know if it is possible just to repair the Motors rather than replace the whole seat? Who makes the seats?

 

[Phinelli]

Same problem

So, this just happened to me yesterday. I have the same issue. The wire popped out and the right side of the seat will not move. Tesla has told me it will be a month before I can even bring the car in. This is totally unacceptable. My car is 4 months old. And now I can't have anybody in my passenger seat because it is too close to the dashboard.

 

[FlasherZ]

Someone told me the other day (I can't recall who) that the seats take a week or two for the service centers to get... that's likely to be a part of it.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Someone told me the other day (I can't recall who) that the seats take a week or two for the service centers to get... that's likely to be a part of it.

Pretty big improvement if true. I know I waited nearly 3 months for mine, but that was maybe a little over a year ago. It makes some sense, though. The SCs aren't likely to stock something like seats, and shipping something that big and heavy has got to be ridiculously expensive so it likely goes via the cheapest (slowest) method.

 

[jerry33]

Someone told me the other day (I can't recall who) that the seats take a week or two for the service centers to get... that's likely to be a part of it.

They said two but it actually took six. However, it didn't jam, a spring broke. Most likely because of all the people who sat in it. This isn't one I would blame Tesla for.

 

[slyastro]

Same problem with me! Reported it 2 months ago ... I'm still waiting for the new seat to arrive at Montreal's Service Center!

 

[ishak]

I just encountered this 2 days ago. I moved my passenger seat all the way forward and now it's stuck. Also the screen is showing me a warning saying "Passenger Airbag Always On". It looks like the seat can't detect whether anyone is sitting in it to disengage the airbag, so it's defaulting to always being on. Service Center appointment Wednesday.

 

[htibor]

I have the same issue. Wife had cleaned the car and pushed the passenger seat forward to the max and now it's suddenly pulling back and forth only on 1 side. From a quick inspection (comparing to driver side chair) the rod that spins inside the chair seems bent or broken. To my surprise as I've talked to Tesla, nowadays you can buy parts and do repairs yourself, anyone has done that ?

 

[curtvb]

We had this problem as well. Its moderately easy to fix... Lift the seat as high up as you can to get access to the forward/back seat motor. Disconnect the power connector going into the motor. Then take off the stiffener clip that is on the long cable side of the motor. Now pull the motor up on the side where the connector is and as you're doing that, pull up on the long cable side to pop it out of the socket where the drive shat is inserted. Now you should be able to re-align the short end and get it back into place as you push the motor assembly back down. Make sure to get that long end in place as well. You can loosely attach the connector and jog the motor a little forward and back to ensure that the two ends are seated. You will have to wiggle it down until the motor is back in place (make sure the connector is off as its whats holds everything in place. Once its situated and seated in piosition with both drive cable shafts engaged, put the connector back in and make sure to replace that stiffener clip. Worked for me... I'm staying well clear of the full forward from now on!

 

[wide2k]

We had this problem as well. Its moderately easy to fix... Lift the seat as high up as you can to get access to the forward/back seat motor. Disconnect the power connector going into the motor. Then take off the stiffener clip that is on the long cable side of the motor. Now pull the motor up on the side where the connector is and as you're doing that, pull up on the long cable side to pop it out of the socket where the drive shat is inserted. Now you should be able to re-align the short end and get it back into place as you push the motor assembly back down. Make sure to get that long end in place as well. You can loosely attach the connector and jog the motor a little forward and back to ensure that the two ends are seated. You will have to wiggle it down until the motor is back in place (make sure the connector is off as its whats holds everything in place. Once its situated and seated in piosition with both drive cable shafts engaged, put the connector back in and make sure to replace that stiffener clip. Worked for me... I'm staying well clear of the full forward from now on!

Curtvb, Could you post a pics of the drive shaft where you pop it out of the socket?

 

[beatle]

Reviving this thread as I had this issue recently and followed curtvb's instructions. My passenger seat had a nonfunctional inside track. The outside track still operated properly which meant the seat was trying to rotate like a tank with one track spinning and the other sitting still.

It was mostly like what curtvb said, though it took a bit to get my head around it. Here is a picture from the front:

Make sure the seat is up as high as it will go. You'll want as much room as you can get.

Disconnect the connector from the motor and remove the long black metal clip that runs along the length of the light grey "driveshaft." Then put your fingers under the motor near the bracket and push it up out of the bracket. This will take some force.

The driveshaft connects to the motor with a rubber boot. I suggest pulling that end out and then pull out the end of the shaft that sits in the seat track.

There is a small rectangular block with a round hole for the driveshaft. Push the driveshaft into the round hole as far as it will go, and ensure it is not pressed into the seat track itself. (I did this by accident the first time.) Then work to fit the driveshaft back onto the motor, then press the motor back down onto the bracket and reconnect the plug.

Try it out briefly and see if the seat moves properly. If so, put the black metal clip back over the driveshaft and hope that it doesn't happen again.

 

[buttershrimp]

Is there any recalibration setting for seat tilt function? My front drivers seat doesn't come forward enough.... so now I'm too laid back

Range is decreased but still works. tried reset. Doesn't sound like anything is clicking.... it just thinks it is far enough forward.... but it ain't!

 

[tz112]

Reviving this thread as I had this issue recently and followed curtvb's instructions. My passenger seat had a nonfunctional inside track. The outside track still operated properly which meant the seat was trying to rotate like a tank with one track spinning and the other sitting still.

It was mostly like what curtvb said, though it took a bit to get my head around it. Here is a picture from the front:


View attachment 653299

Make sure the seat is up as high as it will go. You'll want as much room as you can get.

Disconnect the connector from the motor and remove the long black metal clip that runs along the length of the light grey "driveshaft." Then put your fingers under the motor near the bracket and push it up out of the bracket. This will take some force.

The driveshaft connects to the motor with a rubber boot. I suggest pulling that end out and then pull out the end of the shaft that sits in the seat track.

There is a small rectangular block with a round hole for the driveshaft. Push the driveshaft into the round hole as far as it will go, and ensure it is not pressed into the seat track itself. (I did this by accident the first time.) Then work to fit the driveshaft back onto the motor, then press the motor back down onto the bracket and reconnect the plug.

Try it out briefly and see if the seat moves properly. If so, put the black metal clip back over the driveshaft and hope that it doesn't happen again.

Does anyone have any sort of video of trying to fix this?

 

[buttershrimp]

Also anyone know what the reclining portion of the motor looks like?

 

[ClyffeWarden]

Is there any recalibration setting for seat tilt function? My front drivers seat doesn't come forward enough.... so now I'm too laid back

Range is decreased but still works. tried reset. Doesn't sound like anything is clicking.... it just thinks it is far enough forward.... but it ain't!

My 2016 MS P100D started having the same problem a few weeks ago. I described it over the app and the SC had me bring it for a motor replacement ($260), but after looking at at they said the seat was jammed and could not be fixed, and a new seat ($3800) was needed.