Suddenly, the rear seat behind the driver's seat (the bigger one) will no longer fold when you pull the release. Found I can easily over-ride the release by opening the rear door and working it with my fingers under the seat. Fiddling with this tells me that the release handle is actually working fine. Can't really see under the seat too well, but it did not seem like there was a second spring-loaded release on the opposite side. I'm pretty sure there is just one mechanism and that it is located around the seat support closest to the door. (am I wrong?) I question myself because it is acting like there IS a second release in the middle and that is my problem. I put a few drops of oil on the opposite side but this did not help. With the small seat folded forward and the upholstery pulled back, nothing seems loose or broken or unusual. With the release pulled up, I tried strong pushes and sharp short pops with enough force (at least!) that has always worked before. No luck. Searched Forums for anyone else who had/solved this problem but found none.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

check for something jammed in the latch mechanism

 

Sometimes its caused by there being too much upward pressure on the latch, and the handle won't release it. Does it make any difference if you pull the seat back towards the rear of the vehicle, or kneel on the seat while you pull the release handle?

 

Didja try jiggling it?

lol, but really. If it's very stuck, I would take it out of the truck and really inspect the mechanism. It's a pretty simple mechanism and it might just need WD40 or something. Maybe there's a cheerio stuck in it.

 

Both sides of that seat latch. (I just had to fix mine) right at the bend of the seat on the passenger side is a latch in between two parallel bars. You cant see it without a flashlight. I had to push straight back on the latch with a thin screwdriver and pull the latch to unlock the other side. Once you get it down you can see the flimsy cable connection

 

Now that the 9-day-long heat wave has passed, I fiddled with this problem again. I decided to un-bolt the "legs" from the front edge of the seat. (Easy. 2 bolts.) This allows you to flip the bottom seat cushion up like movie theater seats work and get an unobstructed view. Despite what 1000monkeys says, there is no cable release on the opposite side. Strange, since we both own '98 models. Mine is an LT with leather but that should not make any difference. I studied the other seat's workings, did some oiling, banging, pushing & pulling but could find no obvious problem. It looks like it should work. It just doesn't move more than a couple of degrees before refusing to go further. I am now wondering about the headrest. They are designed to flip backwards when the seat is folded. As I see it, this is the only other "moving part" in the whole process so, if there is some sort of problem with it, then the seat won't fold. (??) Sounds stupid but I'll do some more fiddling.

 

Apologies to 1000monkeys. Apparently there IS a latch on the other side. I pulled the release handle up and saw TWO cables attached to it. (Why didn't I do this earlier!) The left-hand one has obviously broken or become detached. Can't explain - especially with the seat cushion lifted up (!) and the smaller seat folded forward - why I saw no evidence of a latch. No spring (like the other side) or any part that seemed like it should move. Gonna poke around with a thin screwdriver as suggested and, if successful, see if I can attach a wire down there as a substitute coz, at present, I'm guessing that threading a new cable behind the seat fabric will be a major pain.

 

Success! I took my skinniest phillips and flat-head screwdrivers down to the truck. I folded the smaller seat forward, pulled back the spring-loaded flap that bridges the gap and examined the support that holds the seat back in place (again). I noticed a jelly-bean sized hole in the support directly above where the seat-belt clasps are fastened. There was something inside this hole and (maybe because both rear doors were open and there was lots of light - otherwise a flashlite might have been needed) I could see a small hole in this "something" near the top of the jelly bean. I slid my phillips into the hole and pressed down and a wedge-shaped thing arose in the area to the right of the hole. This released the seat on that side! I was able to then insert the flat head screwdriver behind the wedge piece to prevent it from disappearing back into the slot and re-latching when I removed the phillips. (There's a un-see-able spring in there somewhere) I had to walk over to the other side, pull the release handle, start lowering the seatback and pull the flat-head out when it was about half-way down. Don't pull the flat-head out too soon or it will re-latch and you'll have to start over. No ideas come to mind yet on how to simplify the process. (it's already pretty simple with the two screwdrivers. Could probably succeed with a couple nails, pens/pencils, roadside sticks or other tapered things if your in a pinch.

 

Great explanation! I was having the same problem. The hole to move the release cog is kind of hidden behind the seatbelt buckle when the seat is in the upright position. Kinda hard to see. Below is a pic of what you are looking for. (screwdriver pointing at it) It moves forward when the seat is laid down. My cable acts like it is stretched. I can still see it move when I pull the lever, but not far enough to release. I haven't looked to see if I can tighten it up yet.