JOsworth
New Member
So, the back story. Bought a used 2010 Jeep Liberty. One thing I noticed during the test drive was it was hard to get comfortable in the seat. I figured I just needed to spend more time with it and it would be fine. Well I was wrong. It seems the person that had it before me must of been huge... I could never get the seat in the right position. I discovered that the side trim was being held on with glue and screws since all the clips were broken. Last but not least, the darn lumbar support would stick in the worst place on my back. Adjusting it just mad it worse.
So, I decided to fix it. I bought a new lower cushion and the side trim. The cushion was around $70 and the side trim was $50.
Here are the steps.
Remove the seat
Remove the two front bolts. 18mm
Pull off the trim (out then up) covering the seat belt anchor. Remove the seat belt. Torx T50
Move the seat forward and remove one bolt and one nut from the back. Both 18mm
Lean the seat back and unplug the electrical connections. Mine is heated and power so I had a large and small plug. Don't forget to slide up the red locking tab on both connectors before trying to unplug them.
Remove/Replace Bottom Cushion and Side Trim
Unhook the retaining clip on the recline handle. I used curved needle nose to get in behind the plastic trim. The handle then just slides off.
If your trim is not broken, try to unlatch the three metal clips from behind. They are very hard to get out. Squeeze them with pliers while pushing out should work. Then lift up and forward taking off the trim. There are two slide in plastic clips. Now either unclip the power seat switch or just let the whole thing sit to the side.
Unhook the plastic J channel on the front of the cover.
Unhook the plastic J channel on each side of the seat.
Unhook the individual plastic J Clips at the back of the seat bottom.
Unplug the wires coming out of the cushion if you have heated seats.
The seat cushion and cover just slide out as one.
Curl up the edges of the cover and you will see a front and two side pieces that are actually clipped to the cushion. Cut those clips with side cutters being careful not to cut the plastic rod that is part of the cover.
Lift the cover off the cushion.
If you have heated seats: Very carefully remove the heating element pad from the cushion. I used a razor to cut the foam since it was being tossed anyway. Then carefully razor off residual foam being very careful not to cut the pad. Spray adhesive in two strips where the old adhesive was. The new cushion will have small corner markers molded in. That is how you position the heating pad.
Replace the cover by starting with the front part that was clipped. Using hog ring pliers and #1 rings, reattach the three strips to the rods molded in the cushion. Make sure you really press in those rings and get that tight. If not, your cover will be bunched or wrinkled when you go to put it all back in.
Replace the cushion in the opposite way you took it out. Push the back in under the seat back and affix the rear clips first. Then move to the sides and finally the front.
Plug back in anything you unplugged.
Replace the side trim in opposite order as well.
Fixing the Lumbar
So, I decided to look at the lumbar support as well.
Push the seat back as far forward as possible.
At the base are two plastic strips that interlock with each other. Split those apart. There were zippers on either side of the backs of my seats. Unzip those and the back of the seat back cover should just fold up.
There is a large curved plastic panel in the back that moves up and down with a cable.
I unhooked the cable from the panel and slid it out. Zip up the side zippers. Refit the two plastic channels.
That's it. My seat feels great now. Also, there is no more issue with the lumbar either.
So, I decided to fix it. I bought a new lower cushion and the side trim. The cushion was around $70 and the side trim was $50.
Here are the steps.
Remove the seat
Remove the two front bolts. 18mm
Pull off the trim (out then up) covering the seat belt anchor. Remove the seat belt. Torx T50
Move the seat forward and remove one bolt and one nut from the back. Both 18mm
Lean the seat back and unplug the electrical connections. Mine is heated and power so I had a large and small plug. Don't forget to slide up the red locking tab on both connectors before trying to unplug them.
Remove/Replace Bottom Cushion and Side Trim
Unhook the retaining clip on the recline handle. I used curved needle nose to get in behind the plastic trim. The handle then just slides off.
If your trim is not broken, try to unlatch the three metal clips from behind. They are very hard to get out. Squeeze them with pliers while pushing out should work. Then lift up and forward taking off the trim. There are two slide in plastic clips. Now either unclip the power seat switch or just let the whole thing sit to the side.
Unhook the plastic J channel on the front of the cover.
Unhook the plastic J channel on each side of the seat.
Unhook the individual plastic J Clips at the back of the seat bottom.
Unplug the wires coming out of the cushion if you have heated seats.
The seat cushion and cover just slide out as one.
Curl up the edges of the cover and you will see a front and two side pieces that are actually clipped to the cushion. Cut those clips with side cutters being careful not to cut the plastic rod that is part of the cover.
Lift the cover off the cushion.
If you have heated seats: Very carefully remove the heating element pad from the cushion. I used a razor to cut the foam since it was being tossed anyway. Then carefully razor off residual foam being very careful not to cut the pad. Spray adhesive in two strips where the old adhesive was. The new cushion will have small corner markers molded in. That is how you position the heating pad.
Replace the cover by starting with the front part that was clipped. Using hog ring pliers and #1 rings, reattach the three strips to the rods molded in the cushion. Make sure you really press in those rings and get that tight. If not, your cover will be bunched or wrinkled when you go to put it all back in.
Replace the cushion in the opposite way you took it out. Push the back in under the seat back and affix the rear clips first. Then move to the sides and finally the front.
Plug back in anything you unplugged.
Replace the side trim in opposite order as well.
Fixing the Lumbar
So, I decided to look at the lumbar support as well.
Push the seat back as far forward as possible.
At the base are two plastic strips that interlock with each other. Split those apart. There were zippers on either side of the backs of my seats. Unzip those and the back of the seat back cover should just fold up.
There is a large curved plastic panel in the back that moves up and down with a cable.
I unhooked the cable from the panel and slid it out. Zip up the side zippers. Refit the two plastic channels.
That's it. My seat feels great now. Also, there is no more issue with the lumbar either.
