1997 855 - child booster seat stuck closed(upright)

volvox · Post by **volvox** » 11 Dec 2008, 21:09

I searched the repair database, and the 850/V70 forum but haven't found anything similar.

I have a 1997 855 SE with about 180K km on it. One of the main reasons I bought it was to drive my 8-year-old daughter to school in safety of this cavernous wagon. And that's why I've grown to appreciate and love the integrated booster seat in the rear. No need to put in and then remove any after-market booster seat! Fantastic!

However, last week I was transporting some furniture and I'm afraid I didn't fully fold and push the booster seat into the seatback before I folded it down. Now the booster seat won't fully open; it opens maybe an inch or two but you can hear it hit something solid(metalic?) on the inside. I tried to find some kind of a lever or other obstruction inside it and under it, but no luck.

Anyone had anything similar happen to them?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
volvox

double_platinum · Post by **double_platinum** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:18

I can't be much of a help, as I don't know how mine fixed itself, but I did have the armrest/booster seat stick in the up position, with the same clunking sound on my 96 850 wagon. I wrote it off, and after a week or two of putting the seats up and down to carry stuff around, I had a back seat passenger fold it down with no fanfare. I looked in the back and saw he put it down like nothing ever happened. Haven't had a problem with it since.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 12 Dec 2008, 16:39

Look under the little seat itself if you can...I believe there is a section that retracts in order for the seat to be raised again...we had a problem with our in our 850 and that was it...the more pressure you applied, the more problematic...a smooth easy folding action seemed to have fixed ours too without fanfare, but it was the section under the seat that was binding with extra pressure.

Post by **findude** » 12 Dec 2008, 16:59

We had this problem with ours a couple of times. Both times it was caused by a toy wedged down inside. Wiggle gently and shine a flashlight in the dark spots. We once used kitchen tongs to get the toy out, the other time we could just pull it out.

Good luck!

volvox · Post by **volvox** » 16 Dec 2008, 10:02

Thank you all for taking the time to read my message and reply.
I appreciate that!

Will check for items stuck in or under it, and I will be gentle.

Thanks again!

4870mozz · Post by **4870mozz** » 27 May 2011, 04:42

Hi, this might be a bit late but I just had the same issue. None of the above suggestions were of any help so I took the whole armrest\booster seat mechanism out. Really easy with the correct tool, a T27 Star Key. If you pull the arm rest and booster seat forward as much as you can you should be able to access the two Star Bolts that secure the brackets to the rest of the back seat.

once you've removed the two bolts the whole mechanism comes out. In mine the locking mechanism on both brackets was jammed. Once freed, I arranged the brackets as though it were still secured to the back seat in the Arm Rest Down position (not in the Booster Seat up position).

I then just bolted the brackets back in. You may have to fiddle around for a while with the locking mechanism before Bolting it back in as I found that mine was a bit worn.

Good luck

hanseich · Post by **hanseich** » 19 Sep 2012, 20:14

I had the same issue with the armrest/booster seat on my '96 850 (wagon).

I decided to figure this one out, because I couldn't find any answers anywhere.

I opened it up, really easy (thanx 4870mozz for the tip). I was still able to pull the armrest out enough to open the two screws on the hinges (torx T27, one on each side). After that, you can simply unhook the hinges and carefully pull the armrest out. Careful, the end stops of the armrest might get hooked on the cover (material or leather) of your rear seat bench. Don't rip your material.

Now that you have the armrest / booster seat out, you can see all the mechanisms well. There are two potential issues:
1.) on the passenger side hinge, there is a pin that locks the booster seat in the down position (this pin should technically not be the issue, or else you would not have been able to close the armrest before, but you never know), and
2.) there is a gravity lock on the driver side hinge.

The following photos show the passenger side mechanism. You can clearly see the safety pin, which prevents the booster seat from folding up when in use. I ended up putting some light grease (white lithium grease) on it, to make sure it slides in and out easily.

The second lock, drivers side hing, is a bit trickier to see (and at first for me to understand). It is a gravity lock that only opens up, when the armrest in folded up position WITH the seat in upright (usable) position (this one was a fun one to figure out). This lock prevents the armrest from falling open, when you fold your seat bench down or up. This lock was the problem in my case. It was locked, and since it operates by gravity is very sensitive.

In order to gain access to it, (to oil it), I had to fold the hinge into the most upright position, then push the lock in (pen or screwdriver will do) and then fold the hinge open. I ended up using some very light oil (bicycle chain oil with Teflon) just in each side of the pin (between the plastic cover and the metal hinge) and now it works perfectly again.

Now is the time to play around and hold the chair over your head to see in which position the gravity lock opens by itself

And just a quick note on how to unfold the booster seat properly. You have to fold the armrest down first (with the little strap closed), and then fold the back up. This way the locking mechanism works perfectly and you don't jam it. Reverse sequence for folding the booster seat back up. Fold down the back rest (this unlocks the entire armrest so that it can come up), clip the strap to the bottom of the armrest / booster seat, and fold the entire armrest back up.