Driver's seat stuck in maximum recline position

shamsi87 · Post by **shamsi87** » 17 Apr 2010, 14:05

This is a 1995 850 wagon;the driver's seat is stuck in full recline (i.e about 30 degrees). The motor hums and runs when the switch is turned to give more recline but clearly does not move as it is already in max recline. When the switch is turned to bring the back up (or reduce the recline) it clicks, stops and goes nowhere. Obviously it is stuck. The other functions namely forward and backward motion, and tilt of the whole chair are intact and normal. How does one unjam the stuck component if possible. I can see that cutting and removing of the leather upholstery is going to be needed.

Post by **JRL** » 17 Apr 2010, 14:52

Cable has broken
This is a common problem with older 850s
The seat back upholstery has to be removed and the cable replaced

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 17 Apr 2010, 19:36

This writeup from Tech is as good as any I have found.

http://volvoforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16364

...Lee

XxJenoxX · Post by **XxJenoxX** » 17 Apr 2010, 20:30

I need to tackle this one, myself. However, that bit about the airbag and the plastic clip kind of scares the living daylights out of me. Would unplugging the battery suffice on this as well, or is there a supplemental power supply to this airbag?

Airbags make me cringe a bit when I have to work around them...

Post by **Hoov** » 18 Apr 2010, 01:30

Ozark Lee wrote:This writeup from Tech is as good as any I have found.

http://volvoforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16364

...Lee

Wow Lee! Your post here with the link & Tianas idea as well, are what makes me so addicted to this site!
Several years ago a friends Volvo 960 seat would not move backwards. I checked it out & the cable drive end was rounded off.
I cut the metal sleeve (same as another post here) with a dremel tool so the cable could move farther forward into the drive slot & presto-changeo ... ... 8 years later the bloody thing still works! LOL the man buys me a beer every time we meet & brags on me about how I saved him $700.00 dollars. Took about an hour because I had to remove the damn seat & reinstall it. The repair was 2 minutes. ... Great research Lee! ... OH! Cudos to Tianas' idea too ... ... ... is she married? hehehe

Hoov

XxJenoxX · Post by **XxJenoxX** » 18 Apr 2010, 07:52

Well I think I might just replace mine, since I'm going to the junkyard today anyway. Gives me an excuse to be there, and a good opportunity to open up a seat and take a look before having a go at my own. Hell, if I find a seat that's nicer than mine, I'll just take the whole thing. It's only $5 at my yard anyway.

Anybody have a walkthrough for that? lol

Post by **jblackburn** » 18 Apr 2010, 08:28

Look up "V70 850 seat" or something like that, I know someone did it recently - take a look in the repair database, I just can't find it at the moment.

The only thing you've got to be careful with with the airbag is pressure. Don't drop the seat or hit it too hard with anything, or that airbag will go off, even disconnected. It's meant to go off in the event of a side impact, so it would probably take a pretty hard hit to do it