You’ll never realize how convenient it is until the power seat breaks. Once damaged, your seat will get stuck in place, which can be very uncomfortable for you. To protect your back and neck, I’ve put together a quick guide to fix a damaged power seat in your car.
How do I repair a damaged power seat in my car? A large part of repairing a damaged power seat has to do with troubleshooting the source of the problem. Check switches, fuses, wires, connections, and motors before moving forward. From there, simply replace the damaged parts. Remove the seat from your car so that you can easily dispose of broken parts.
The following sections will outline how your seat works, ways to repair a damaged power seat in your car, some important troubleshooting steps, temporary fixes, and permanent repairs for your seat.
What does a power seat do?
If you have a modern car, your seat may move automatically at the touch of a button. These are known as power seats, and they are new alternatives to seats that require you to pull a lever and swing the seat into a new position.
Power seats usually allow you to move at least front and back. Others also adjust the lumbar support, rotate the seat back, move the seat up and down, and adjust the angle of the seat bottom.
How power seats work
There are one or more small electric motors at the bottom of the seat to do this. When you press the button to move the seat forward, the motor will drive a gear that moves your seat along the track.
There can be many different tracks and motors that enable your seat to achieve some of the more complex movements outlined in the previous section.
If you move the seat all the way to the front or rear of its range of motion, you can see one of the tracks along which your seat travels.
Do you need a mechanic to fix a damaged power seat in your car?
In reality, there is nothing that forces you to use a mechanic to repair a broken power seat. At the same time, it doesn’t have to be a simple process. Troubleshooting takes a little time, and repairs can be very annoying.
In my opinion, it is worth trying to fix it yourself before going to a mechanic. Even the most honest mechanic can charge hundreds of dollars to fix your seat.
Troubleshoot damaged power seats
How do I repair a damaged power seat in my car? As I mentioned, troubleshooting is the first step in repairing a damaged power seat. This can take a while, so make sure you have time to spend it and that you’re in a particularly patient mood.
How broken is it? Check each switch
The first step is to figure out how bad your seat is. If your seat has more than one switch that can move it, try it.
If only one of them breaks, then the repair work you have to do is greatly reduced. It could be a problem with the switch or motor.
If none of them work, this is still a good clue to understand what the real problem is. This could be a wiring issue, a fuse, or a power supply issue.
Check the rails
It’s also a good idea to look at the rails themselves. It’s not uncommon for something to get stuck on the rails and prevent your seat from moving.
Before going through the annoying replacement process for the parts that are fine, clear the rails and try again.
Ways to repair a damaged power seat in a car: Look at the fuse
As you probably know, fuses wear out over time and eventually die. They can also explode if there is a power surge that could damage the electronic components at the other end.
For power seats, you have at least one fuse dedicated to the seat circuit.
If the fuse blows, simply replace it and try again.
Check the incoming line
Power seats are useless without power. Power is delivered to your seat through many different wires.
The first step in troubleshooting is to pass and inspect the incoming wires. Look for damaged, frayed, or cut wires. If your car has a mouse problem, this could be the cause of the problem.
Check the wire connections
Another aspect is to make sure that each wire is properly connected to its final plug. Depending on the complexity of your seat, you may need to trace many different wires.
Personally, I would recommend unplugging and replugging in all the wire connections you can reach. Be sure to disconnect the battery first to avoid an electric shock to yourself.
Another good practice is to check the wires at each connection. There is a chance that the wires will be bent or damaged at the connection point, which is why your seat cannot be moved.
How to manually move the seat before repairing
How do I repair a damaged power seat in my car? Even if your power seat breaks, you won’t get stuck. You can still move it and avoid driving in awkward positions.
It’s a fix that won’t officially fix your seat, but it will allow you to drive your car comfortably until you have time to fix it. Keep in mind that this is not a super quick fix and requires the use of some tools.
There are two general ways to manually move the seat. One requires tearing off the seat fabric, while the other requires you to completely remove the seat from the car.
In both cases, you want to have access to the mechanical parts that drive the motion of the seat. This will allow you to move the seat without the need for a power source.
Before you start, make sure you park your car in a safe location and have enough space to handle your vehicle. Also, disconnect your car’s battery to avoid accidents during the repair process.
Option 1: Cut your seat
The first step is to open the seat in question. This can be done in a few different ways. The quickest and most destructive option is to use a knife to cut your seat from the rear and remove all the trim.
For reference, the upholstery is the fabric part of the seat, covered with a metal frame and padding.
Some seats have the option to remove trim. You may be able to remove some of the bolts and pry the trim out of the seat.
Whatever you do, aim to have a seat at the end of this step without any cushioning or coverage. You should be able to see the inside of the “seat frame”.
The seat bolts to the frame of the car seat
To remove the backrest, you’ll also need to cut some mesh holes in the bottom of the seat.
Once the mesh is removed, you will be able to manipulate the long axis that determines the seat position.
Use a pair of pliers or Channellock’s mechanically operated gears and drive your seat forward or backward.
It may take several turns to get your preferred final seat position.
When it’s in the right place, put the seat trim firmly back in place and consider adding aftermarket seat covers to help with aesthetics.
Option 2: Remove your seat
Some people choose to dismantle the entire seat and dispose of it. If you have an open space to move around, this is the perfect choice.
You may need another set of hands to help you remove the seat.
Start by removing all the bolts that connect the seat rails to the floor of your car. There should be at least 4 bolts that need to be removed.
After removing these, you can completely remove the seat from the car. Turn the seat over and look for the gears that drive the front and rear movement of the seat.
Use pliers or channel locks to actuate this gear and position the seat. Similarly, it may take several rotations to get the perfect position for the seat.
How to Repair a Damaged Power Seat in a Car: A Step-by-Step Guide
This section covers the official ways to permanently repair a damaged power seat. Since there are many reasons why a seat can be damaged, you have to do some troubleshooting first.
Ways to repair a damaged power seat in your car: My suggestion is to split the repair into two sessions and two different dates. On the first day, focus on steps 1 and 2. The next day, focus on the remaining steps.
Step 1: Troubleshooting
The actual troubleshooting steps are probably the part of the repair that takes the longest. As I mentioned, there are a lot of things to test and look at before knowing what the culprit is.
You can try to replace parts without spending time troubleshooting, but end up wasting more time and money than necessary.
As with any other repair you make to your car, understanding the cause of the problem is the first step to solving the problem.
See my previous section on troubleshooting to find out what to look for.
Step 2: Disassemble
Another big problem with repairing a broken power seat is that almost everything is hidden from you. Motors, wires, and gears are nearly impossible to reach from the front or rear of the seat.
Since the seat doesn’t move on the track, you can’t maneuver it to help.
The best thing to do is to disassemble your seat. Earlier, I showed you how to do this. The preferred method is to completely remove the seat from the car. You have to pay attention to the wiring and make sure the mains power supply is disconnected so as not to tear it off when you remove the seat.
Step 3: Replace
Almost all of the reasons why a power seat doesn’t work can be traced back to the parts that don’t work.
In most cases, replacement is the best (and sometimes only) solution. Once the seat is removed from the car, replacing the parts should be very simple.
Make a note of the part number and take a photo of how it was assembled. Replacement parts will vary depending on what you’re replacing.
If it’s just a fuse, the replacement process will take a few minutes. Take out the old one and throw in the new one.
If you’re replacing the motor, it can take up to an hour. Before calling it a day and reinstalling the seat, make sure you do check the screws and connections.
Carry some tools with you, such as socket wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers.
It’s also a good idea to stick with an OEM to replace defective parts. Seat components can vary greatly, and it’s easy to choose the wrong aftermarket parts. Doing so will only waste more time.
Step 4: Test the new part
Once the replacement parts are installed and secured, place the seat back back in place. Reconnect the battery and start the car.
Cross your fingers and press the power button on the seat. If it works, then complete the full range of motion of your power seat.
If it doesn’t work, take a deep breath. It’s common for car repairs to not work on the first try.
Go through these steps again and pay special attention to the troubleshooting phase. Recheck all wiring connections and take a closer look at the parts you just installed.
This could be as simple as forgetting to complete the connection of a newly installed motor.
Don’t be afraid to call a mechanic
Ways to Repair a Damaged Power Seat in Your Car: If you’ve completed the steps I’ve outlined and still can’t get your seat to work, don’t worry. After you’ve tried to solve the problem on your own, there’s nothing wrong with going to a mechanic.
At least now you have a better idea of which parts don’t work. Tell your mechanic that this can save them a lot of troubleshooting time. This ultimately means that you can save some money when it’s time to pay the bill from the mechanic.
Conclusion
How do I repair a damaged power seat in my car? At this point, you should have a functioning power seat or know exactly how to get started. I’ve outlined some troubleshooting and repair steps that should help you a lot. If it helps, please leave a comment below. Also, be sure to check out my list of tools and accessories that you should have. If you liked this article, check out the rest of my site to learn more.
