Rear seat not latched error..

JKM320 · 08-02-2013, 10:42 PM

So my X5 has this error that won't go away stating that the rear seat isn't latched. It is in fact latched though, checked all latches, wiring that's accessible, etc and everything looks good.

I have the platinum extended vehicle protection plan warranty and took it in to the dealer. 3 days later (today) they say they found a wire that's frayed and likely the problem along with the micro-sensors in the seat?.. $1600 approx to fix as its not covered under my extended warranty supposedly. And no guarantee that this will actually fix the problem. BS in my book.

I had them put it all back together and picked it up tonight. The service advisor had sent me a pic of the wiring harness in question and I checked it again when I got it home and see no frayed wires anywhere. I could easily fixed frayed wires myself without any question.

So now I'm back to square one on this thing. Anyone else dealt with this issue before?

The tech did say there was a voltage variation when they checked the circuit for that seat. Is there a wiring diagram for the back seat of the X5 I can get somewhere? Heck I'm fine if there's a way to bypass that warning entirely. If someone knows how to do that I'd like to know. I never would drive with the back seat unlatched anyway. And you can easily tell when it is latched securely.

I'm really surprised this isn't covered under my platinum evp too. So I'll be calling BMW about that. And this error is an annoying one that dominates the idrive and info screen constantly, blocking other info out from the NAV, etc.

My X is a 2008 3.0si with 3rd row. The 2nd row (left side) is the seat with the issue.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out with advice.

serge1 · 08-03-2013, 02:01 AM

A couple diagrams

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...37&hg=52&fg=20

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...59&hg=52&fg=20

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...22&hg=61&fg=10

SoLo · 08-03-2013, 09:09 AM

Get in contact with BMW corp and complain about it and you will see the dealer will fix it for free..

JKM320 · 08-03-2013, 08:12 PM

Thanks, Serge.

That will help me take a closer look myself to see if it is something I can troubleshoot on my own. That seat isn't very easy to get access to the areas affected (microswitches). If that is the cause.

I plan on calling Monday to BMWNA. Not sure who the best contact is for this though. If anyone knows a good contact number other than general BMWNA contact numbers please share.

I will update with how this progresses.

JKM320 · 08-04-2013, 04:52 PM

OK so I was able to narrow down the issue to one of the microswitches on the bottom back left part of the seat. For now I bypassed the microswitch by closing the loop prior to that switch by stripping a small part of the wires and soldering them together.

I ordered a replacement switch already and when it comes in, it will be easy to undo the temp fix I did as I left all connectors in place.

For those of you that say I should have just fought the fight with BMW over this until they took care of it... The EVP plan I have (Platinum) has a $50 deductible for any repairs anyway, and that was the cost of the replacement switch anyway. Also this is a quick fix for me to do as I know how. And I don't want to deal with the hassle of leaving my car with the dealer for days, using a smaller loaner car when it is a 15 minute fix.

I still plan on calling BMWNA to see what they have to say about the dealer not covering this repair under warranty. And why the dealer claimed all microswitches needed to be replaced ALONG with the wiring harness... $1600+ for this repair?!?! when it only needed 1 microswitch? And no, this doesn't surprise me that a dealer/tech would claim this crap when it wasn't necessary.

So for now the error is cleared and the car thinks that seat is latched all the time. The right side still lets me know when it is not latched. And once the new microswitch gets to me, I will have it all back to original in about 15 minutes.

Thanks again for the diagrams posted, it helped me greatly in locating the microswitches for troubleshooting.

serge1 · 08-05-2013, 12:36 AM

You are welcome, and good job!
Add that website to favorites - very handy, you can dig down into almost any part of the vehicle.

P.S. It's outrageous the way dealer quoted you for the fix, especially not even guaranteeing anything. The very reason these cars cost so much post warranty, and have bad rap for being expensive - these incompetent dealers.

P1 · 08-05-2013, 08:30 AM

I almost fell off my chair when I read the dealer wanted to charge $1,600 to fix that. i hope you give them a ring and tell them you were able to do it for next to nothing in less than 15 minutes.

JKM320 · 08-06-2013, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1et

I almost fell off my chair when I read the dealer wanted to charge $1,600 to fix that. i hope you give them a ring and tell them you were able to do it for next to nothing in less than 15 minutes.

I actually went into the dealer yesterday and told the service advisor myself. He played it off and blamed the tech, and acted like he couldn't believe it. Then tried to tell me I should have them look it over to clear out the errors from the ECU and calibrate the micro switches (on my dime of course)............... Wtf...huh?!? Told him no way.

Seriously lame attempt to make money. I don't understand the mentality of dealers, why not build loyalty in your customers so they come back rather than gouge them every chance you get.

These people never cease to amaze me with their lust for greed.

Anyway I had brought it back in yesterday because my son brought to my attention that when we got the car back, one of the AC vent tabs was broken off of the back. This is the tab that changes the direction of airflow for the vent.

The service advisor is going to have it taken care of, and surprisingly didn't give me any trouble over it. Just waiting for the part to come in.

serge1 · 08-06-2013, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKM320

Anyway I had brought it back in yesterday because my son brought to my attention that when we got the car back, one of the AC vent tabs was broken off of the back. This is the tab that changes the direction of airflow for the vent.

Funny, I had that tab fall off after a kid (not mine, mine knows better) kicked it somehow while riding in the back with his parents.

it's actually relatively easy to put it back in.
Take a close look at it, it's composed of 2 pieces. Take them apart, place where they are supposed to be on the vent, and put together. By taking close look and seeing how they go together (if I recall correctly, one piece kinda slides into another in the back), you can get it done.

I needed to make me a small metal hook to hold the tab from the back when trying to put together. Took about 10 min. $0.

I am pretty sure you can fix it yourself, man.

Update: I didn't realize the dealership are the ones who broke it. In that case, they should fix it.

Schwaben · 08-07-2013, 02:58 AM

Exactly the reason why we need a DIY sub forum. Anyone listening Mods?? Don't suppose you would be willing to snap a few pictures when you replace your switch to add to this thread for others? Would surely help if someone else encounters this problem.

JKM320 · 08-07-2013, 12:37 PM

The 2nd piece to hold the tab on was inside the vent and fell into the air duct. I explained this to the dealer and they said they are ordering a whole new assembly? I'll have no way of knowing if they get that piece out of the air duct unfortunately.

Their part is supposed to come in today for the air vent and they claim its a quick fix to replace that whole HVAC assembly for the back.... We will see.

I don't mind at all taking pics. And it would be very nice to have a DIY sub-forum here. I got the microswitch already, but turns out I should've ordered it's bracket as well. So when that part comes in I can take some pics. It's really a straightforward replacement.

My pics and write-up would only help though if it happens to someone else in the exact same spot. But in that regard, it very well could be. I am thinking this all happened because of people's feet while seated in the 3rd row going under the 2nd row seats and banging against stuff. There's no evidence of that, but its the only conclusion I can come up with for this issue, unless the switch just died.

serge1 · 08-08-2013, 11:10 AM

I am up for DYI forum. Warranty running out in 7K miles and I am keeping the vehicle.
There's already plenty of topics (with pics) that just need to be cut/pasted into the new forum.

Oakland · 11-29-2018, 10:05 PM

I have the same error "rear seat not locked" on my X5 as well. In regard to JKM320's post, the microswitch on the bottom back left seat. Is this sensor on the underneath side of the seat or actually under the seat surface? Did you have to remove the seat cover to get to the microswitch?

08-02-2013, 10:42 PM	#1
JKM320 Private 59 Rep 87 Posts Drives: X5 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	Rear seat not latched error.. So my X5 has this error that won't go away stating that the rear seat isn't latched. It is in fact latched though, checked all latches, wiring that's accessible, etc and everything looks good. I have the platinum extended vehicle protection plan warranty and took it in to the dealer. 3 days later (today) they say they found a wire that's frayed and likely the problem along with the micro-sensors in the seat?.. $1600 approx to fix as its not covered under my extended warranty supposedly. And no guarantee that this will actually fix the problem. BS in my book. I had them put it all back together and picked it up tonight. The service advisor had sent me a pic of the wiring harness in question and I checked it again when I got it home and see no frayed wires anywhere. I could easily fixed frayed wires myself without any question. So now I'm back to square one on this thing. Anyone else dealt with this issue before? The tech did say there was a voltage variation when they checked the circuit for that seat. Is there a wiring diagram for the back seat of the X5 I can get somewhere? Heck I'm fine if there's a way to bypass that warning entirely. If someone knows how to do that I'd like to know. I never would drive with the back seat unlatched anyway. And you can easily tell when it is latched securely. I'm really surprised this isn't covered under my platinum evp too. So I'll be calling BMW about that. And this error is an annoying one that dominates the idrive and info screen constantly, blocking other info out from the NAV, etc. My X is a 2008 3.0si with 3rd row. The 2nd row (left side) is the seat with the issue. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out with advice.
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08-03-2013, 02:01 AM	#2
serge1 First Lieutenant 32 Rep 389 Posts Drives: X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW X5 35d [0.00]	A couple diagrams http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...37&hg=52&fg=20 http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...59&hg=52&fg=20 http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...22&hg=61&fg=10
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08-03-2013, 09:09 AM	#3
SoLo Leader 20 Rep 96 Posts Drives: E30/S54turbo,F10535I,E70X5M Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Atlanta iTrader: (0)	Get in contact with BMW corp and complain about it and you will see the dealer will fix it for free..
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08-03-2013, 08:12 PM	#4
JKM320 Private 59 Rep 87 Posts Drives: X5 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	Thanks, Serge. That will help me take a closer look myself to see if it is something I can troubleshoot on my own. That seat isn't very easy to get access to the areas affected (microswitches). If that is the cause. I plan on calling Monday to BMWNA. Not sure who the best contact is for this though. If anyone knows a good contact number other than general BMWNA contact numbers please share. I will update with how this progresses.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-04-2013, 04:52 PM	#5
JKM320 Private 59 Rep 87 Posts Drives: X5 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	OK so I was able to narrow down the issue to one of the microswitches on the bottom back left part of the seat. For now I bypassed the microswitch by closing the loop prior to that switch by stripping a small part of the wires and soldering them together. I ordered a replacement switch already and when it comes in, it will be easy to undo the temp fix I did as I left all connectors in place. For those of you that say I should have just fought the fight with BMW over this until they took care of it... The EVP plan I have (Platinum) has a $50 deductible for any repairs anyway, and that was the cost of the replacement switch anyway. Also this is a quick fix for me to do as I know how. And I don't want to deal with the hassle of leaving my car with the dealer for days, using a smaller loaner car when it is a 15 minute fix. I still plan on calling BMWNA to see what they have to say about the dealer not covering this repair under warranty. And why the dealer claimed all microswitches needed to be replaced ALONG with the wiring harness... $1600+ for this repair?!?! when it only needed 1 microswitch? And no, this doesn't surprise me that a dealer/tech would claim this crap when it wasn't necessary. So for now the error is cleared and the car thinks that seat is latched all the time. The right side still lets me know when it is not latched. And once the new microswitch gets to me, I will have it all back to original in about 15 minutes. Thanks again for the diagrams posted, it helped me greatly in locating the microswitches for troubleshooting.
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08-05-2013, 12:36 AM	#6
serge1 First Lieutenant 32 Rep 389 Posts Drives: X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW X5 35d [0.00]	You are welcome, and good job! Add that website to favorites - very handy, you can dig down into almost any part of the vehicle. P.S. It's outrageous the way dealer quoted you for the fix, especially not even guaranteeing anything. The very reason these cars cost so much post warranty, and have bad rap for being expensive - these incompetent dealers.
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08-05-2013, 08:30 AM	#7
P1 Lieutenant General 11569 Rep 11,136 Posts Drives: 2004 3/4 ton Duramax Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: United States iTrader: (1)	I almost fell off my chair when I read the dealer wanted to charge $1,600 to fix that. i hope you give them a ring and tell them you were able to do it for next to nothing in less than 15 minutes.
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08-07-2013, 02:58 AM	#10
Schwaben Private First Class 26 Rep 120 Posts Drives: 2016 X5 35i Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Coloraaado iTrader: (0)	Exactly the reason why we need a DIY sub forum. Anyone listening Mods?? Don't suppose you would be willing to snap a few pictures when you replace your switch to add to this thread for others? Would surely help if someone else encounters this problem.
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08-07-2013, 12:37 PM	#11
JKM320 Private 59 Rep 87 Posts Drives: X5 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	The 2nd piece to hold the tab on was inside the vent and fell into the air duct. I explained this to the dealer and they said they are ordering a whole new assembly? I'll have no way of knowing if they get that piece out of the air duct unfortunately. Their part is supposed to come in today for the air vent and they claim its a quick fix to replace that whole HVAC assembly for the back.... We will see. I don't mind at all taking pics. And it would be very nice to have a DIY sub-forum here. I got the microswitch already, but turns out I should've ordered it's bracket as well. So when that part comes in I can take some pics. It's really a straightforward replacement. My pics and write-up would only help though if it happens to someone else in the exact same spot. But in that regard, it very well could be. I am thinking this all happened because of people's feet while seated in the 3rd row going under the 2nd row seats and banging against stuff. There's no evidence of that, but its the only conclusion I can come up with for this issue, unless the switch just died.
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08-08-2013, 11:10 AM	#12
serge1 First Lieutenant 32 Rep 389 Posts Drives: X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW X5 35d [0.00]	I am up for DYI forum. Warranty running out in 7K miles and I am keeping the vehicle. There's already plenty of topics (with pics) that just need to be cut/pasted into the new forum.
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11-29-2018, 10:05 PM	#13
Oakland Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW X5 Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Indiana iTrader: (0)	I have the same error "rear seat not locked" on my X5 as well. In regard to JKM320's post, the microswitch on the bottom back left seat. Is this sensor on the underneath side of the seat or actually under the seat surface? Did you have to remove the seat cover to get to the microswitch?
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