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Driver seat stuck - faulty motor?


DeeJayDready

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My driver seat has stopped moving forward and back all of a sudden.

 

I used to move the seat while driving once or twice a week to ensure that the mechanism got a bit of use and didn't seize up. But all of a sudden the forward and back switch is having no effect. After about a week of this it suddenly sprung to life while holding the switch for a while on the motorway. I moved the seat forwards and back as far as I could a couple of times and all seems magically repaired. But the next morning it was stuck again...

The switch for the seat-back still works fine, as does the forward/back switch for the passenger-side, as well as the heated seats (so power is still getting to the seats ok).

 

In one sense this isn't a huge issue as it is currently stuck as far back as it goes, which is where I have it for driving. I also have no plans to sell the car (though £570 p/a road tax would make you think twice!). But if someone smaller than me had to drive the car in an emergency or something we'd be screwed!

 

Has this happened to anyone else before? Any ideas?

Edited by DeeJayDready
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Well, I tried to give it a clean out today (while in situ) with a paperclip followed by a bit of a bash with a screwdriver, as above, to try and dislodge any crude. But no joy sadly. To be honest the switch itself feels like it should work ok. It isn't stiff or anything and doesn't feel gacked up.

I saw a guy on YouTube saying that a chewing gum packet got lodged in one of his runners and it would only go back and not forward. I don't think that's the issue in my case but you never know.

I suppose my next move should probably be either to try and remove the switch unit from the seat, if that can be done, or remove the whole seat. God knows how to do that though given that the seat is stuck back as far as it goes, blocking the rear bolts.

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11 hours ago, DeeJayDready said:

Well, I tried to give it a clean out today (while in situ) with a paperclip followed by a bit of a bash with a screwdriver, as above, to try and dislodge any crude. But no joy sadly. To be honest the switch itself feels like it should work ok. It isn't stiff or anything and doesn't feel gacked up.

I saw a guy on YouTube saying that a chewing gum packet got lodged in one of his runners and it would only go back and not forward. I don't think that's the issue in my case but you never know.

I suppose my next move should probably be either to try and remove the switch unit from the seat, if that can be done, or remove the whole seat. God knows how to do that though given that the seat is stuck back as far as it goes, blocking the rear bolts.

I had this issue a couple weeks back with my passenger seat.

 

I sprayed some WD40 into the switch and gave it a few slaps. Started working again

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3 hours ago, DeeJayDready said:

Did your switch feel stiff before you tried the WD40?

Not as far as I remember. It would go forward but not back. After the wd40 and a smack it started working. Most likely just grime built up over the years inside the switch 

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Working again!

 

I tried some WD40 in the switch today and gave it and general area another couple of good wallops, but still nothing.

As a last resort I held the switch forward with my left hand and grabbed the front of the seat (right round to the metal bar underneath) with my right. I then proceeded to rock manically like a crazed baboon, forward and back and up and down shaking the seat. Then I suddenly realised that I was moving forwards! I think this method is known as the 'rage fix'. But I definitely think whatever was causing it to stick was freed up by the violent rocking of the seat. I got out and moved the seat fully forward and back a few times and it did still seem a bit stiff (going forwards in particular), but having now sprayed a bit of WD40 as far into the front and back of each runner as possible, it seems to be moving more freely again. I also give the passenger-side runners a spray for good measure.

 

Anyway, fingers crossed that it lasts. And thank goodness for WD40 (how many times can one product save the day...) and of course for random bouts of rage.

Edited by DeeJayDready
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  • 2 months later...

Thought it would be worth pointing out that I decided to chance it with the MOT this year (no service etc.) and it did indeed failed on the drivers seat not being able to move forward or back (as well as a suspension arm bush). So just a heads up to anyone else with this same issue.

 

I mechanic fiddled about with the switch and blew an air compressor into it and eventually the seat sprung to life again. Whether it will hold up until my retest is anyone's guess. I'm not sure what to do to be honest. A replacement switch (seemily P/N 87066-CD001) is likely to cost £90> it seems. Also all the pictures online have the wires coming out of the wrong side (as if these are for LHD models).

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  • 2 weeks later...
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For the benefit of anyone in the same boat as me down the line, I ended up just fitting the new switch myself. Fortunately my old one sprung to life again after holding it down for a while as I was driving; so I managed to drive home with the seat pretty far forward (I'm almost 6' 2"..) and got those pesky rear bolts out. If you have the seat forward a bit they can be accessed easily enough, and the rest is a pretty easy job with and extra pair of hands to hold the seat at an angle for a bit while you do the doings.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you to everyone involved in this thread, this is so helpful.

I was hoping someone might be able to help me. Cars are not my strong point and as a woman researching how to fix the issue on my own I feel like every mechanic I walk into seems to see flashing ££ signs before I've even said a word.

The driver seat motor on my 2005 350z has broken in a position too far back for me to legally drive it - so that's the first issue. The switch doesn't work at all whether I push it forwards or back.

My latest mechanic has said that it's definitely the motor after he charged me £35 to run a computer diagnostics test  - although not sure I believe him. He also said:

"The motor comes with the seat, and the seats are sold as a pair" which sounds utterly ludicrous to me. He's quoted £360 for parts and approx £140 for labour. From researching forums and YouTube videos for the last week and seeing so many of you fix the issue yourselves, I was hoping someone could give me a dummies guide to fixing it myself? When you say you used WD40, where did you actually spray it onto? Do I need to remove the seat somehow?

Sorry for the ignorance but I'm sick of being taken to the cleaners just because it's clear I know nothing about cars!

Thank you all in advance :)

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The WD40 would be for the seat runners. In my case, and in most cases it seems, it was the switch that had become faulty rather than the motor. Replacing my switch fixed mine.

 

There's a motor on eBay (see below), but give Nissan a try for the part as well. Charles Hurst Nissan sourced me a new switch for less than the second hand ones that were on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-03-08-NISSAN-350Z-POWER-SEAT-TRACK-MOTOR-DRIVERS-LEFT-SIDE-Forward-Reverse-/372165207217

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