Replacing rear shocks, how to remove rear seat?
 

Greetings to all on the board.

Has anyone been successful removing the rear seat bottom? Can you describe how to do it? I've tried pulling and pushing various ways to no avail., and would like to hear from a knowledgeable person before I accidentally rip something apart.

Background:

I'm replacing the rear shocks on my '02 Echo since one of them is leaking oil. To summarize the service manual, you have to remove most of the car's rear interior in order to reach the tops of the shocks. Once the interior is cleared, it should be as easy as the Scion threads describe.


Thanks!

Hey, you got the same yr as me!
I just did that, and it's a little annoying, but it can be done.
There's two "latches" where the bottom cushion meets the back of the seat, about 3" from either door. They should have a little fabric label that says LATCH.
Shove your fingers in there, and you should feel/see a metal thing about 1 3/4" wide, black. Don't pull on it. Rather, grasp the cushion, with the back of your fingers touching the latch. Pull the cushion up, and you should feel it lift (it's not very heavy).
Finally, shove the seat belts down through their openings, and wrestle the seat out.

If that's all you need, great! If you need to take the back cushion off too, you need a wrench to remove the 3 bolts (13mm I think) that hold it in place.
Hope that helps.
~JT