Seats manually pulled forward to get in the back?

[GGP]

I've got a 53 plate A3 TDI Sport model that I've owned for a little over a month. In order to get someone in the back of the car, the driver (and passenger) seat have to be literally pulled forward, otherwise the person would have to climb over. It's not a big deal, but it's ****** annoying having to lean over to pull my seat forward all the time!

Is this normal? or aren't the seats sliding mechanism working properly? I would've thought, once the seat leaver is pulled up, the seat would then slide forward automatically.

Cheers.

 

[evocos]

They annoy me to,but thats how they are

 

[Ads]

Nope, they don't slide forward on their own.

But I don't get what you mean by having to lean across and pull the seat forward so the person can get in the back???
When the person getting in pulls the lever they just keep hold of it and slide the seat forward in the same motion, no???

 

[smudge_don]

Why are you doing the work Gee? You're the driver!!! Get the peasant passenger to do the work and get out the passenger side

The seats have to fold forward and then they slide

 

[c_w]

You have to keep the lever held up for it to slide forward I think! And then keep it held up to fold the back down.

One curious thing I've noticed is that the seat then stays slid forward??

 

[Ads]

One curious thing I've noticed is that the seat then stays slid forward??

You have to slide the seat back to it's original position before unfolding back to it's straight position. Otherwise it's "forgets" it slide position.
If that makes sense.

 

[GGP]

Nope, they don't slide forward on their own.

But I don't get what you mean by having to lean across and pull the seat forward so the person can get in the back???
When the person getting in pulls the lever they just keep hold of it and slide the seat forward in the same motion, no???

That's the problem then. Mine don't seem to do that. Once I pull the leaver up, the seat just folds down, and doesn't slide forward. So for me to slide it forward, I have to pull the other leaver (the one at the bottom of the seat), otherwise the passenger would have literally climb over the seat lol.

Why are you doing the work Gee? You're the driver!!! Get the peasant passenger to do the work and get out the passenger side

lolll good point!

 

[Ads]

That's the problem then. Mine don't seem to do that. Once I pull the leaver up, the seat just folds down, and doesn't slide forward. So for me to slide it forward, I have to pull the other leaver (the one at the bottom of the seat), otherwise the passenger would have literally climb over the seat lol.

Ah I see. Are you sure the seat is being folded down as far as it will go?
If not then you won't be able to slide it forward until is has been.

People getting in and out of my car get it wrong all the time.

And as you say it happens with both of your seats then I would guess you are doing it slightly wrong, rather than it being both seats that are faulty/broken.

Give it another go, this time when folding the seat forward give it an extra push at the back to make sure it's folded as far as it can go, then try to slide it forward.

 

[c_w]

You have to slide the seat back to it's original position before unfolding back to it's straight position. Otherwise it's "forgets" it slide position.
If that makes sense.

Will try that later, thanks! I think these seats/levers aren't as intuitive as other cars!!

 

[GGP]

Ah I see. Are you sure the seat is being folded down as far as it will go?
If not then you won't be able to slide it forward until is has been.

People getting in and out of my car get it wrong all the time.

And as you say it happens with both of your seats then I would guess you are doing it slightly wrong, rather than it being both seats that are faulty/broken.

Give it another go, this time when folding the seat forward give it an extra push at the back to make sure it's folded as far as it can go, then try to slide it forward.

Thanks, I'll give it a go and then report back.

 

[GGP]

No luck . Maybe they changed the seat mechanism after 53 models?

 

[Pii]

My ones requires some elbow grease before they decide they can slide forward. Not sure how it can slide back though.....

 

[R7SAN]

I had the same problem with an 09 S3

Here is the post
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?83302-3-door-lift-and-slide-seat-question&p=848739&highlight=#post848739

I was refered to the user manual by smbAudi.

This is how I get it to work..... lift the handle then tilt the back of the seat forward as far as it goes, then release the handle and slide the seat forward by pushing the back of the seat.
To put the seat back so it "remembers" its last position do the reverse. Slide the seat backwards as far as it goes, then lift the handle and tilt the seat back to an upright position.

The Audi seat mechanism is PITA and I woudn't be surprised if it were part of the MENSA entry exam !! lol

 

[chrissy1502002]

I have the same problem. What happens is when you pull the back of the seat up there is a leaver and cable. Once the seat is folded forward it pull the cable up, and releases the runners so you can then slide it forward. I would put money on it that your cable has come undone in the seat!

I will be having a go at repairing mine this weekend, and if successfull i will take some pics to show in more detail.

 

[Lee_R]

these seats really annoy me too!

In my old Beetle and current Lupo, once you pull the lever, the seat literally jumps forward, base and all! In fact on ther Lupo passenger side, you could fit an elephant through the gap! The A3 ones are just too complicated! Its annoying when the ones in a 7k Lupo work much better than ones in a 20K Audi!

 

[Wozski]

My drivers seat is broken too - will be interesting if you get this fixed so i can attempt to fix mine

 

[smbAudi]

I had the same problem with an 09 S3

Here is the post
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?83302-3-door-lift-and-slide-seat-question&p=848739&highlight=#post848739

I was refered to the user manual by smbAudi.

This is how I get it to work..... lift the handle then tilt the back of the seat forward as far as it goes, then release the handle and slide the seat forward by pushing the back of the seat.
To put the seat back so it "remembers" its last position do the reverse. Slide the seat backwards as far as it goes, then lift the handle and tilt the seat back to an upright position.

The Audi seat mechanism is PITA and I woudn't be surprised if it were part of the MENSA entry exam !! lol

Thanks for the recognition chap!

as others have said, I have come across A3's in the past where if the sliding mechanism is not used it seems to get stuck. Maybe due to the grease used on the runners but it should just need a good push to free. Get in the back seat and give it a good push with the back tilted forward and push from the bottom of the back. If this frees it then it should run smoother after a few slides. Good luck!

If not then it may be broken as I can't imagine why they wouldn't have slided on earlier models though i'm not up on the specs 100%.

 

[paddy]

Seems to me you have faulty mechanisms. I lift the lever and the action of tilting the seat forward is enough to get the seat to slide to the front of the runners. i dont think i could tip the seat forward without the seat sliding forward as well.

 

[Sarah's A3]

Mine is the same as Paddy, I tilt and it slides more or less on its own. Same to get it back but it shoots back in the runners when you tilt it back lol. Maybe it needs some grease on the runners as mine seems really greased.

 

[paddy]

What a girl like you doing in on a Friday night then S ?

 

[Sarah's A3]

What a girl like you doing in on a Friday night then S ?

lol, sad isnt it! Having lagers, nibbles and watching a film whilst on here (multi tasking lol)

 

[paddy]

Yup...I know the feeling... Bottle of wine...can of Bitter.. decisions decisions

 

[paddy]

solved that one..........Both

 

[Sarah's A3]

solved that one..........Both

Good decision! I'd make the same!!!