middle seat latch broken, won't fold down

[DAB]

Our middle seat latch broke and now the seat will not fold down. Does anyone know where one can purchase this part and/or how to take the seat apart to do the job.

I would prefer not to have to pay the dealer to fix this problem since they will charge a lot!!!

[Scoobs]

You don't need to purchase a new part. What has happened is that the wire that connects to the top latch that you pull on has cut through the plastic tab on that part of the latch that it connects to. Honda in their wisdom, or perhaps because they knew it would fail at some point, built two installation points into the latch so what you need to do is switch the wire from the broken part of the tab to the good part of the tab. The explanation is the easy part. Unfortunately when I fixed mine I didn't take any pictures as I was pressed for time. If no-one else has pictures available I can post the process as far as I can remember. My wife has our Pilot out of town so i can't post any pictures to point you to the areas of the seat that need to be disassembled.

[DAB]

Thanks for the reply. My husband has messed with the seat a bit, but hasn't figured out how to take the thing apart! If you could give us an idea of where to start taking it apart, I'm sure we can get the thing fixed without paying $150!!!

[Scoobs]

OK here goes
1) pull the back panel off the seat. There are plastic plugs ( @ where indicated in green ) attached to the back of the seat. Start at the bottom. These plugs press into holes in the metal frame of the back of the seat. When you GENTLY pull the back of the seat off the plugs will come out of the back of the seat and stay in the holes on the frame of the seat. Once you have the seat panel off you will have to pull the plugs out of the frame using pliers as you will need to put them back into their slots on the back panel. Don't panic when you see that the slots in the back of the panel have pulled apart a bit when you took the panel off. Just press the panel material back down and slide the plugs back in. They'll hold well enough when you put the panel back on at the end of the job;
2) Now you have to pull the leather/cloth back from the sides of the seat. It is attached by loop hooks passed through plastic tubing located ( @ where indicated in yellow ) You'll see what I mean when the panel is off;
3) next step is to take out the screws (@ located in red ) They are all phillips head with the exception of the one located at the bottom of the seat, it's a torx head screw. You have to pull back the plastic cover on the arm between the back of the seat and the seat cushion to get at the torx screw. The seat shouldn't move when you take out the torx screw;
4) once you have removed the screws you have to remove the plastic moulding ( @ located in blue );
5) once you have done that you will have exposed the cable mechanism that operates the latch ( @ located in orange line ), you'll be looking right at it;
6) at the bottom of the cable where it slots into the bottom latch you will see that you can disengage the cable from the attachment. I can't remember how I did it but I think it rotated at the attachment point to create enough slack to take it out ;
7) you can now remove the latch mechanism from the top of the seat ( @ at orange circle ) There is a small tab that you have to remove on the latch under which you will find the screw to remove the latch;
8) when you pull out the latch mechanism slowly take care to also pull out the cable. You'll see the part of the latch that is broken ( and also be amazed that Honda would have put such a flimsy piece of plastic in a part of the vehicle that was going to be pulled on a fairly regular basis) and you see where you have to switch the top of the cable from the broken attachment point to the good attachment point ( if it breaks again you will have to get a new latch )
9) once you've attached the cable to the new slot put the latch back into the seat but don't put the screw back in yet;
10) now reattach the bottom of the cable and then screw down the top latch mechanism at the top of the seat
11) gently test the cable to see that it now works and allows the seat to be folded up and down;
12) assuming everything works fine reassemble the seat.

I hope this helps. Take your time and you should be able to do it. Just post or message me if you require further clarification. I'm not sure whose Pilot this picture is from but I found it in the forums.

[DAB]

Thank you SO much! We didn't have time to work on it last night - hopefully it will get done this evening.

[DAB]

Scoobs, thank you so much for your helpful reply; it definitely got me started down the right path. I'm making progress, but don't have it solved yet.

First, the broken latch on my pilot is on the larger driver-side double bench (not the single seat). It has two cables attached to it (photo). Is that similar to the one on the single seat, or does the single seat have only one cable attached? Does that mean I won't have an "extra" spot to reconnect to?

Second, I have the latch out & visible (photo), but I don't see anything obviously broken. The problem must be on the inside of the latch and I haven't figured out how to open it up. Did you have to "open" the latch up on your repair? How?

Ideas: 1) there is a metal hinge pin - perhaps that can be simply pushed out the side? 2) there is a spring visible on the back that could be "released", but then it would disappear to the inside of the latch (& might be hard to "retrieve"!).

Any further ideas? (I'm assuming that type of plastic interior part is a Dealership-only type of thing, so I won't be able to get a part (if needed) until next week...I guess my seat will stay disassembled a few days!!)

[DAB]

double bench latch

[Scoobs]

Hi DAB,

Mine was on the other side so I only had one cable going in. I suspect that you may need to order a new part because both of the spots in the latch are being used.

Yes I did have to take off that rounded part on the back of the latch. Sorry I forgot to put that in my instructions. I think I just pulled the latch as open as I could after the bottom of the cable had been disconnected and then I pinched that rounded part and it came off the latch. I was then able to get at the spot inside where the cables actually attach to the latch. Looking at your picture you would think that the cables are properly attached and working but if you open up the latch I think you find that one of them has pulled through the piece of plastic that it was attached to.

You have to take off this piece of the latch marked in yellow ( there's no significance to the squiggle on the left side, just my shaky hand ). The latch looks like it's all one piece but if you pinch it from the sides I think you can release the pressure on it and you can get it apart. I didn't mess with the metal hinge pin or the spring, I just took the back off the latch and was able to get at the attachment point of the cables.

[carlosruben84]

Hi Scoobs/ Dab... any addition help on removing the wire from the bottom part of the seat. I have done all of the steps but I cannot figure out how to remove the wire from the bottom part of the seat so that I am able to remove the latch on the top part. I have done so good as to NOT break anything, I thought I would stop and ask before I keep going. Any input / help is greatly appreciated.

Pics: three wires that are connected to the different latches. I am working higher up one on the picture (top to bottom).

[hibern8r]

I just did mine yesterday. The left middle behind the driver. Not really too bad. That a mechanic couldn't figure it out in 3 hours I would call incompetence. I was really upset when i got the actual latch opened (its 2 pieces) and saw how cheaply it had been made. I think mine had been broke anlready and switched to the second hole before I opened it. Putting it back in the car after I clean my rugs and mats. Great instructions Scoob.