I'm a neophyte Volvo owner and a first time poster here, and I feel like an idiot.

Just bought a new 2002 V70 2.4T and had the dealer install the third seat. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to access the spare tire/battery/toolkit under this seat. The lower bench neatly bisects the spare compartment. I can pull the cover up and peek in, but with the bench in the way have no idea how to gain full access. The manual says nothing about this problem.

There must be some nifty way to pull that bench out to gain access to the spare, but I am just too dumb to figure it out. Help!

I also did not receive the parts that were removed when the third seat was installed. Since this was not part of the original car we bought, but an additional add-on, shouldn't we have received back the parts that were removed when the third seat was installed? Are these important enough to make a fuss over? I wonder if they would be useful should we decide to remove the third seat down the line.

The fitings at either end of the bench allow you to pull it out when it is in the vertical position. I think that you have to pull the left end up first.

They may not have had any parts left over. They would have cut a hole in the back of your rear seat, and attached the padding of the bench to your spare tire lid. I'd ask them to explain the prosess, I sure that they will.
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2 8s & 2 7s 600,000 miles total

Thanks for trying to help me out--this is a wonderful resource, this site.

I wonder, though, if the third seat I have is different from what you are familiar with--maybe Volvo has changed them recently. There is no hole in the rear of my original backseat at all--it is unaffected. The back of the third seat folds up from one half of the spare compartment and secures to the back of the original backseat. Then the bench folds over (reverses)from the other half of the spare compartment to provide a surface to sit on. It is this bench that is in the way. I have tugged on both ends, which seem securely bolted down, and can't see how it comes out.

UPDATE (edit):

I went back to the dealer to have him demonstrate how to access the spare. Indeed, the bench does not come out. You have to takeout pieces of the floorboards which clip in place with spikey plastic nails--not a very safe operation, especially with kids bouncing around the car. Then you unsnap a tray from snaps that do not seem to be meant to be reused much (that felt-like molded stuff) and slide/wrestle it out from under the bench, trying not the crunch it. This exposes the tire and battery area, with the bench still above it. You then have to reach a bit under the bench to extract the tire and slide it forwards to get it out. In short, this is a bit of a pain and not as convenient as if the bench simply lifted out, you've got sharp spikes lying around, and you are probably creasing and damaging the felt tray as you wrestle it in and out. I guess that is just the price you pay for having a third seat--and I hope I will never have to use that spare. I bought a can of fix-a-flat after I saw that demonstration.

Also, the dealer did keep a great many parts that I would need if I ever wanted to remove the third seat and put the car back to its original state. I did get there in time to save the two large hinged wooden/felt pieces that covered the tire well prior to installation of the third seat, but a tray and some other pieces were gone. They've promised to save the extra parts from the next install and give them to me. That does not sound quite right to me--what about the next guy? Whatever happened to the requirement that all used parts be returned to the owner?

There are some pieces that have to be drilled to remove, and are not re-usable. Other pieces can be re-used. There is a requirement in most states that old parts be saved for inspection/return to owner ONLY if you request it at time of order write up. If you don't ask, they don't have to give you anything.