XC90 Third Row Seat Head Rest Won't Fold

roz12 · Post by **roz12** » 17 Aug 2011, 00:15

2004 XC90 THIRD ROW SEAT GOES DOWN BUT THE HEAD REST DOESNT FOLD SO CANT STOW FLAT.HAVE MANAGED TO REMOVE THE BACKING PLATE AND MANUALLY LOWER IT AMY IDEAS TO FIX IT PROPERLY

WinterDriver · Post by **WinterDriver** » 18 Aug 2011, 18:12

I had the exact same problem, what I did was attach a little piece of wire to pull to fix it then ran it up through the seat, hard to get though, suggestion I have is just to leave it down.

MaddieT · Post by **MaddieT** » 23 Jan 2012, 11:13

I'm on a roll with these Service Bulletins!

Service Bulletin #135G (NHTSA # 10017957) Date of Bulletin: APR 05, 2004
"Service Campaign 135G: Third rown sear, non folding. When the bottom seat cushion is pushed inwards to fold the backrest, the plastic catch may crack and come loose from the attachment. *TT"

I have that exact problem on my new (to me Oct 2010) back left 3rd row seat. I was able to manually trip the wire to get it down, but as WinterDriver suggests, I just leave it down!! (The "trip point" is on the inside at the bottom of the back rest.)

fisherad · Post by **fisherad** » 31 Jan 2012, 14:19

I am having the issue where the headrest won't fold as well. Winterdriver, how did you run the cable up through the seat. I am pulling on the cable at the bottom of the seat but don't see how to get to the top. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

VolvoEire · Post by **VolvoEire** » 09 Sep 2012, 09:27

Hi Folks,
My 2003 2.5L D XC90 is experiencing minor (but annoying!) defects as described in "Service Campaign 135".

In particular, I'm looking to get the following issues resolved: -
135F-Upper Tailgate Latch
135G-Third seat striker block

My understanding is that a "Service Campaign" is quite a minor thing compared to a "Recall". I telephoned my local Volvo dealer and they informed me that the term "Service Campaign" is an unfamiliar concept to them.

Are "Service Campaigns" a Volvo concept? Or does this come from national motoring regulatory authorities? Who pays for a "Service Campaign" - is it me, the Volvo dealership or the manufacturer, etc? Is it unusual that a Volvo dealership has never heard of a "Service Campaign"?

Cheers,
VolvoEire

mbreed · Post by **mbreed** » 17 Sep 2012, 11:18

"Service campaigns" are honored if your car in under warranty unlike a recall. In a perfect world, you would receive a letter advising you of the campaign.

As far as the repair... i remember a plastic tab under the backrest that gets pushed by the lower seat cushion when you slide it back. Anyway the tab breaks. I think that was for the same fault.

mbreed · Post by **mbreed** » 17 Sep 2012, 11:42

Reference - SMB 00-135 dated 4/04 and TNN 85-23 dated 4/5/04.
Volvo Cars of North America LLC and Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd have announced a service campaign
affecting certain MY 03-04 Volvo XC90 vehicles.
The corrective action will be to replace the latch clips for the third row back rest with latch clips of modified
design.
Approximately 16,071 vehicles in the US and 1,688 vehicles in Canada may be affected.
The following part number applies:

Part Number Description Qty
8686428 Latch 4

VolvoEire · Post by **VolvoEire** » 19 Sep 2012, 13:39

Thank you mbreed.

I've just been to the Volvo dealership; they've confirmed what you said i.e. the cost of a "service campaign" is bourne by the owner if the vehicle is no longer under warranty.

So I asked the volvo dealership to apply *just* subpart G of Service Campagne 135 (i.e. the fix to put down 3rd row seats). This alone cost 176.15 euro! Here are the parts details / breakdown prices in case you want to do this yourselves at home : -

Part Desc. QTY Unit Price DC SubTotal
A 85503 147.99
X V08686428 CATCH 29908D 3 2.76 14 8.28
X V31101329 SLIDING BLOCK 29507E 4 4.97 14 19.88
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 176.15

It just highlights the importance of catching problems before the warranty expires!

Post by **Tiberian** » 17 Aug 2015, 10:45

I know this is an older thread but I wanted to update it based on my personal experience with this problem. Yes, the issue is 2 plastic tabs on each side of the seat. Mine were missing from the drivers side 3rd row seat. All you need is 2x part #8686428 $4.50-$8.00 each depending on where you order them from). YOU DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE SEAT! ! ! ! ! All that is required is to slide the seat bottom part way forward. You can easily reach the tabs from the front. Then slip the clip on from the backside of the metal tab. It will click into place when it is all the way on. Took me less than 5 mins to fix this issue.

Suzannes6 · Post by **Suzannes6** » 10 Feb 2016, 11:02

Tiberian - I have a 2004 XC90 and had never used the Third row headrest until this past weekend. Neither of the headrests would fold back in place when the event ended which required the third row. Took the car to the Volvo dealer and 2 service techs and the service manager could not fix. Can you advise where you ordered part 2x part #8686428 from. The tab must be towards the bottom of the seat. When you said you do not need to remove the seat, you made my day. If you can provide any further information, I would greatly appreciate it. Determined, non-mechanical person on a very tight budget trying to fix this problem.