2007 Ford Fiesta front seat

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Posts: 1
Fiesta broken seat lifter - FIXED

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Hi - Just wanted to post a reply to this thread as it helped me.



I have the same problem with the broken seat lifter handle. And Ronine's about right - it took about 30 mins to fix. Wanted to post how i fixed it as I couldn't find anywhere on the net that did.

I have a 2005 Fiesta and I think the broken handle is pretty common.

I picked up a replacement part online for about £25 with VAT and delivery

To remove old one:

There's two clips that need to be squeezed in to take out the old one. A spare pair of hands will help for this too but I did manage it on my own.

Get a pair of pliers and pull the cable out a bit via the nipple at the top
Tie a piece of sting round the nipple - you should be able to pull this so you can lift the seat. (it's handy while waiting for the part to arrive!)
The seat needs to be in a forward position so the cable is a bit loose.
TAKE OFF THE HEAD REST! - took me ages to work out that was the angle I needed for the step 6!
Get your fingers underneath the edge and apply some pressure as if you're trying to pull it out
With a flat head screw driver or similar gently (don't rip the cloth) push the screw driver between the cloth and the plastic - first from the top (where the headrest used to be) - with a bit of fiddling you should feel the first half pop out a little.
The clip on the bottom is reached from directly above (where the handle used to be) - Pop the screw driver in and twist it to remove the clip.
If you have a look at the new part you should see the clips and be able to work it out.
With a little fiddling - it should pop out!
Putting in the new one.

It's a bit of a funny set up - i expected it to be like a brake cable on a bike but the nipple of the cable doesn't have a specific clip to go in - it just sits in a kinda cup!
The below may not be the perfect way - but it worked for me...

Carefully remove the new handle from the surround it sits in - i fitted the surround first then the actual handle. Watch out for the spring - you're going to need that!
Slot the surround in to place making sure you can still see the nipple on the cable and that the string you tied to it in the first bit is not caught.
Pull the string that is tied to the cable toward the back of the seat so it get's the nipple clear of the bottom and puts it in the right place to be picked up by the cup.

Now clip the handle back in making sure the spring is 'sprung' - this bit was a bit fiddly but I got there in the end.
Once it's all clipped in - you should be there!!

Hope this helps someone! Like i said the forums really helped me actuall think i could fix it but there was no difinitive answer on how to fix it.

Good luck!

Another suggestion / solution.

How to repair broken seat latch fiesta?



The cable mechanism consists of two separate bowden cables ( rather like bike brake cables) connected to one nipple at the seat latch end. It's best to remove the seat back from it's base to avoid frustration. Remove seat from car, detach any plastic trims at bottom of back. Be careful not to damage seat tensioner mechanism which can be triggered unless car battery disconnected first, then wait 2 minutes before removing the plug under the seat, press plastic release latch on plug to separate. Seat back angle knob levers off with a couple of screwdrivers. Remove 2 size 50 Torx bolts to separate seat back from base. Seat cover can be released by pulling plastic hook strips apart, not too difficult and gives more space to work on release latches at base of seat back.

Latch handle at top of seat is separate from cable unit. Cable unit has a plastic end which locks into hole in seat interior by 90 degree twist. The visible seat latch handle clips onto this using a plastic latch which can be seen from outer edge of the seat if handle is prised away from the upholstery (remove one long screw on passenger side handle) Press this latch inwards to release the handle from the cable unit. I broke mine not knowing how they were attached ...it cost £18 to replace doh.... Disconnect cable ends from seat latch before attempting to remove handle else cables will hold handle in place. Use a bit of string on old cables to pull new ones into place feeding down from top of seat. Fit new handle to cable before re-attaching cable ends to seat latches, there is not much slack in cable. Note routing of old cables before replacing new ones. Also note how cable ends fit onto latch mechanism.

Repair shops charge £70 upwards for this job which is probably justified by it's fiddly nature. It's not too difficult once you have figured out how all the plastic trims fit together. NOT one of Fords better designs.......

Have you had a look at this similar problem:

This message was auto-generated based on a user suggestion.

Have you had a look at this similar problem:

This message was auto-generated based on a user suggestion.

Thanks for the previous posts. They gave me some useful ideas. The following applies specifically to the Mk6: but may also be relevant for other models.

If you want to replace the release cables, you must first remove the release latch.

It's not a good idea to remove the handle from the release latch when removing or replacing it, as this weakens the hinge and it will be liable to fail more quickly.

Removing the tilt release latch without damaging it can be very tricky, as the plastic retaining clips on either side of the latch are constructed differently. On one side it is possible to insert a screwdriver from the side, as previously described, and apply pressure to release the latch. On the other side the latch is completely hidden inside the seat framework; and for me it successfully resisted all attempts to wriggle it loose. That's when I discovered there's another way in (on the Mk6 at least)! If you prise down the seat fabric at the front of the latch, you will find an access hole in the frame. This is ideally aligned for releasing the hidden catch on the right hand seat. It's not so well aligned on the left-hand seat and you may need a stout bit of bent wire: but it's do-able without too much difficulty.

There is no need to remove the seat covers to replace the cables. (I wasted hours doing this before I picked up this great tip!) Once the latch is off, just unclip the bottoms of the two cables and tape about a metre of string to each cable end. Then twist the top end 90 degrees and lift it out, taking care not pull the strings all the way through. Untape the strings, attach them to the ends of the new cable assembly, and lower it into place, pulling gently on the strings to guide them into place.

Twist the top to lock it into position and reattach the ends.

To refit the latch, push the seat into the latched position and make sure the cable lug is sitting neatly in the bottom of its trough. Then place the latch over the top of the cable assembly and simply snap it into place.

Someone please help ?!!?

I know this may sound stupid but I can't for the life of me find the "2 clips" that everyone is talking about on this and several other posts I have read, the ones you need to push in with two flathead screwdrivers to remove the old latch/handle.

I tried for around 2 hours today with no luck to my frustration the seat is now out of the car but still no easier ??

Replaced this part yesterday. The part was described as 'Ford Fiesta MK6 Front RH Seat Tilt Handle' on the website I bought it from for about 26 quid.

If you have the replacement part already, take a good look at it. The two clips that are being talked about are the two plastic posts on the replacement part that cause the part to click in to place when it is pushed in to place.

If you don't have the part already then get it first so you can study it and know where to poke the screwdriver. The lever really needs to be off the part being removed. I basically broke one of the clips to get the old part out.

Also, I messed around with a piece of string (as per the first post) on the end of the cable trying to work out how to fit the new part and could not see how that would work. This is [b]NOT[/] the correct approach. As per the later post you need the seat back upright clicked into the normal driving position then bake sure the cable end is seated nicely on the lower end of the plastic sliders then as the post describes you simply push the new part in to place tith the release lever closed till it clicks.

Worked a treat - cheers!!!

Both my latches on my Fiesta Mk6 TDCI Zetec S (06 plate) were broken and I replaced them today. It is a frustrating because I didnt know how to do it. I ordered 2 genuine ford replacements latches via eBay for about £45 for the pair inc postage, however the instructions that came with them were next to useless. I read many forums to see the best way to go about it, and here's my advise for anyone about to undertake the job.

1. Remove the headrest and then save your self a lot of trouble by removing the seat from the car. It's a 5 min job to remove the seat from the car via 4 x 50T Torx bolts below the seat squab.

2. After the seat is out of the car then separate seat squab from the seat back. Again this is a 5 mins job by removing the 2 x 50T Torx bolts that sit behind the plastic covers on either side of the seat. Remove the plastic covers (without breaking them) by locating where their plastic lugs locate into the metal slots in the seat back frame.

3. There are two cables running down the back of the seat squab. Release the 2 lugs at the bottom of each cable from the holes in the seat frame. This is an easy to do just with your fingers.

4. Using a flat headed screw driver then prise off the clips that hold the bottom of each cable sleeve onto the seat frame. Gentle pressure is all that is needed. You now have maximum play on the cable at the latch end of the cables.

5. Remove the old latch by compressing the 2 lugs that locate the latch to the seat frame.

6.Make sure the cable is pulled through to its maximum length at the latch end . Now locate the 'T' bar into the cup in the replacement latch. Now secure the new latch into the seat frame via its 2 lugs.

7. Now go to the bottom of the seat back and re-clip each cable sleeve into the seat frame at the bottom.

8. Locate the lugs at the end of each cable back into their locating holes.

9. Check that T bar at top of cable is still located in the 'cup' within the new latch.

10. Reconnect the seat squab to the seat back (2 Torx bolts) and check that the latch is still working.

11. Re-install seat back into car (4 Torx bolts).

It took me 3 hours to to replace the passenger side latch - because i had to figure out how to do it - and 30 mins to replace the drivers side.

Good luck

Basically - The solution are all rather eloquently described above. No point adding my two bits into this thread. Only problem i had was trying to find where the lugs were to unclip the plastic handle thing from the seat. The following photo's, I am hoping will assist anyone else trying to find where they are etc and basically trying to figure out where to apply pressure etc. Once I did locate them, it was a bit of a fiddle pushing the clips in and removing it but a doddle to fit the new one one back in .