So just earlier I was folding the rear seat back and when I got to folding down the backrest I realized the lever that you pull up on seemed to be stuck. I pulled and pushed and against my better judgement applied too much gorrilla force and SNAP! a good portion of the lever broke off. I'm thinking now the seat will never be able to fold down again. But the determination that made me break the lever also made me look at other ways to fold the backrest down. I looked at the locking mechanisms at either end of the backrest. A-ha! I simply popped the locks out and was able to fold it down. Should have done that in the first place. It looked like they were a bit unlubed and hence difficult to move freely.

So now my question is how do I replace the lever and do they even have this part as a regular replacement piece? I fear that I will have to take the backrest apart just to change it. Grrr! For the time being I'm just gonna super glue it back for aesthetic purposes.

The part number depends on the year and color of the interior. What year and what color in the interior.

Hope I can help,

RonJ

Man, they snap easily! Both of mine are broken, replaced the driverside once, but it broke. So now I just leave them like that because the visors really don't droop down :)

One of the few parts that is cheap from the dealer.

I've not bought any from the dealer. I have picked up a couple from the junk yard, but they are old and brittle when I get them, so there is not much point in getting them there.

SCORE!! Last week I found a pair of perfect (and from the feel of them, fairly new) blue door pockets at the junk yard!!! I can now throw out a pair that are mostly made of popsicle sticks and epoxy.

I've seen some very old door pockets at the junk yards that are in fine shape, and when you try to remove them they flex more than newer ones - I wonder if the plastic Volvo used over the years changed composition and became harder, more brittle.
--
Sean - now frolicking in the Land of a Thousand 240's (aka, Fredericksburg) thrice a week.

I pulled a latch assembly out of a seat and it did require a fair amount of disassembly. If the back is in very good condition then a repair might make snese else it may be easier to just get another seat back from a pic and pull. A liberal amount of oil on the latches on each side greatly reduces the force required to release the latch. Just put some old rags down to catch the drips.

Yes, it's annoying, but, sheesh, it's 20 year old plastic, that plastic has already outlived by 2x most of the lesser cars on the road. You can't get too upset over that :-)
--
-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '86 740 GLE turbo diesel, '92 Ford F350 diesel dually

You're so right! Thanks for putting things into perspective. I guess I just get annoyed easily by things that break, especially when I feel I could have prevented it! I guess on a newer car being upset would be understandable, but our Volvos are special!

Strange though, the door pockets on my 89 are super brittle (glued over and over - like everything in the car).
But I found an early 80s GLT in the junker a while back, the plastic in there was great - I took the door pockets from it, not brittle at all! and they have the manufacturer stamped date on them I think it was 83...
Too bad I could't find the car again to take the center consol from it too.

I guess at some point they changed their plastic procurement process...

Greg Mustang
www.volvoclassic.bravehost.com

I have heard that the fragil plastic that decomposes is the result of Volvo's move to use recyclable plastic. In view of the fact that very little plastic actually gets recycled, even from the junkyard, building parts that have to be replaced a couple of times in the life of the car is not my idea of sound environmental design.

Volvos did not get any better during the 90s. The '98 S70 is more fragil inside than my bricks. Other than the plastic and the ABS unit, however, the S70 has been a real good car.

Hi,

I'll just venture a guess your interior is tan. Like you said, the dry latch mechanism puts undue resistance on the flimsy plastic button, and I suppose even if it was made of blue plastic it would fall apart eventually. Mine was tan.

My better half likes the seat available, and I like the space back there with it folded, so I use it a lot and therefore set out to fix our 89 using a pre-86 (guess) metal unit. I spent all afternoon hacking the seat back's sheet metal with a cutoff wheel and trimming the cable ends to fit the old-style latch. Best I could do was make it useable but balky, bringing me to the conclusion I should have ordered a new plastic release from Volvo. All those in the junkyard were broken too. Not one of my better days.

Here's sort of a before and after of my solution, but my real recommendation is to learn from my mistake and go with the right part.

BTDT! :)

Still haven't fixed it in my 245. Though I guess it's easier to replace in the later years.

Volvo does indeed have a replacement part. $40 at our local expensive dealer. Haven't checked elsewhere. A used one is probably the way to go.

Thanks for the tips on the locking mechanism... hadn't thought of that!

Good luck,
-Ryan
--
--------------------------
Athens, Ohio
1990 245 DL 130k M47, E-codes
1991 745 GL 280k (Girlfriend-mobile)
Buckeye Volvo Club

i havent tried to fix mine yet, either...do yo have the part number? $40 is cheaper and eaiser than trying to instruct the wife and 16 year old son how to do it with a screwdriver...i'm tired of showing them how! thanks.
--
oceanre 91 240 wagon 292k

What year?
My 86 has a more substantial metal latch but,
On Mom's 87 it went away,left two white plastic 'levers'.
I now insert a 16 D nail and lift them with that to release
the seat.
Plastic is cheaper,lighter and snaps together quicker.
Take a look at a 145,now those are BUILT.
Ken
--
White 86-245 DL, M 46, IPD bars & Wagon Overloads,Commando Bumpers,SS Belly Pan & Air Pickup,Straight-Shot EMT Chassis & Tower Braces,Scorpius Alloys,2 Belt No AC Conversion,Black POR-15 No Glare Front End

Sorry, don't have experience with fixing the rear seat latch, but I do have some info on the plastic. In the 80s and early 90s, all auto manufacturers used a polycarbonate blend plastic that was great for about five years. After that, the UV baking and continued high temps in the summer "dried" out the plastic... a slang term for breaking the long polymeric chains into short itty bitty things with no strength. Ergo, brittle plastic.

I had an 81 200SX hatchback in 89 with maroon interior. One day I had to pull out the spare to replace a flat, and the carpet/board hit the plastic sides behind the rear struts. The plastic on both sides shattered into small bits like safety glass. Since they were a hundred bucks a side, I just vacuumed up the dust/crystals and forgot about it. Roughly six months later in January (Ohio), I left the car parked outside overnight. In the morning, every last piece of maroon interior vinyl tore itself into 1/4 inch wide strips. This is the absolute worst interior I have ever run into. In comparison, old 240s have their plastic issues, but they don't compare to that 200SX POS.

jorrell
--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces