e30 ETA stock seat issues.

[Pantless Spency]

so i was taking out my seats to get a thourough cleaning of the carpet, i got out the passengers seat just fine, cleaned under it, then i went to get out the drivers seat, the drivers seat is unfortunately broken, it wont tilt forward to allow people to get in the back, the wire is cut somewhere. and i don't have a small/low enough wrench or bit to get to the rear bolts without leaning the seat forward. can anyone help me?!

[zshopa]

can you get to the plug on the seat? - or get a racheting wrench set.

[GunMetalGrey]

I had the same issue im my 91 318i, and there is really no way to get the seat out, but you can grab the spot where the wire goes to on the seat, and pull the handle for sliding it forward (grab the thing where the wire should go on the side opposite side of the slide handle) Pull the area where the wire pulled on the clamping part, then pull the handle and slide the seat forward. I will be pulling my seats again soon so i can get some pictures then

[Pantless Spency]

I got the panel off the back and unfortunately the line is cut well down into the seat and I can't grab the connected half -_-

[Pantless Spency]

can you get to the plug on the seat? - or get a racheting wrench set.

can't get to the plug, and the ratchet wrench set is too big -_____-

[zshopa]

I can't think of anything other than cut it out of the car, maybe someone else on here can get u some more info

[Pantless Spency]

I can't think of anything other than cut it out of the car, maybe someone else on here can get u some more info

yeah kinda sucks! the seats weren't in bad shape neither, other than not being sport seats lol.
i might take them to my friends dad who does upholstery, or try to find a smaller sized wrench of some sort... :/

[AndrewBird]

Are they sport seats? If so, try raising them all the way up and sliding them all the way forward or backward. Might give you more room.

[Pantless Spency]

Are they sport seats? If so, try raising them all the way up and sliding them all the way forward or backward. Might give you more room.

unfortunately not :/ haha, maybe i should just use this as an excuse to get some sport seats ;)

[OdSkE30]

Slide the seat all the way forward and get at the rear bolts from underneath the seat in the back. I just removed both seats in my '84 eta. Replaced with Sparcos. It's a bitch to get to em with a normal wrench but I did it so it's possible. PM me if ya need a little better explanation.

[Pantless Spency]

Slide the seat all the way forward and get at the rear bolts from underneath the seat in the back. I just removed both seats in my '84 eta. Replaced with Sparcos. It's a bitch to get to em with a normal wrench but I did it so it's possible. PM me if ya need a little better explanation.

do you mean like come from under the seat instead of the back foot area?

[td325ic]

This is a really easy fix. You just need to know where to put your screw driver and how to release the catch so the seat will tilt forward even when the cables are snapped.

Sometimes the tilt handle still works for one side, so if that's the case then lift the handle and use a screwdriver to release the other side. If that doesn't work then just use two screwdrivers, one on each side to release both catches simultaneously. When the catches are released the seat can be tilted forward.

Pictures will explain it better:













btw, once you remove the seat you can repair the broken cables by going to a hardware store like OSH and picking up some wire rope and some ferrule crimps and crimping it to the broken cable. Or just replace the cable with a new one from bmw

[Pantless Spency]

This is a really easy fix. You just need to know where to put your screw driver and how to release the catch so the seat will tilt forward even when the cables are snapped.

Sometimes the tilt handle still works for one side, so if that's the case then lift the handle and use a screwdriver to release the other side. If that doesn't work then just use two screwdrivers, one on each side to release both catches simultaneously. When the catches are released the seat can be tilted forward.

Pictures will explain it better:













btw, once you remove the seat you can repair the broken cables by going to a hardware store like OSH and picking up some wire rope and some ferrule crimps and crimping it to the broken cable. Or just replace the cable with a new one from bmw

thank you so much :)
i vacuumed that side of my car now :)
im not too worried about fixing it, i just wanna buy sport seats