Front seat not sliding forward - poss fix?

[tieak]

Hi,
Had a problem with the passenger seat not sliding forward to let folks into the back of the car. Seat would fold but not move.

Was quoted £150 for new part to fix - seems the broken cable doesn't come by itself but I needed a new set of runners too...

So, I've linked a (bike brake) cable from the original fixing point at the rear of the seat...down and along to near the end of the front release handle and, looping it through a suitable slot in the base of the seat, attached the cable to the release bar (using the release handle fixing screw to grip it).

So tilting the seat back as normal pulls the cable and releases the runners as per the standard mechanism.

Seems to work very well so far

Anyone else tried this and aware of any pit falls? - The release bar sits in its normal position when the seat's in its upright position so no danger of it releasing accidentally.

Tieak

[mab01uk]

Common problem............your cheap solution sounds like a good idea!

[Guvs]

Quote: Originally Posted by tieak (original)

Hi,
Had a problem with the passenger seat not sliding forward to let folks into the back of the car. Seat would fold but not move.

Was quoted £150 for new part to fix - seems the broken cable doesn't come by itself but I needed a new set of runners too...

So, I've linked a (bike brake) cable from the original fixing point at the rear of the seat...down and along to near the end of the front release handle and, looping it through a suitable slot in the base of the seat, attached the cable to the release bar (using the release handle fixing screw to grip it).

So tilting the seat back as normal pulls the cable and releases the runners as per the standard mechanism.

Seems to work very well so far

Anyone else tried this and aware of any pit falls? - The release bar sits in its normal position when the seat's in its upright position so no danger of it releasing accidentally.

Tieak

Thanks, I would give this post 99 out of a 100, would of got 100% if you had put a few photos in as well, sounds like a very common problem with the mini as this has happened to the wife's mini recently, and while doing searches for a fix it, and by the way this is a brilliant fix, dose seem to be something that BMW should of sorted by now, but given that you can't just buy a replacement cable but have to buy the complete workings at £150+ no wonder they haven't.
Thanks again for the post tieak, if you have time could would you post a few photos for us "not so mechanically minded" people to have a go at this fix.
Guvs.

[mab01uk]

This link has some photos which may help:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-gen...mechanism.html

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