TxWally Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) OK, This weekend, I tried to fold the rear seats down, and it seems that on the passenger side either the cable came loose, got disconnected, or is missing since the handle has no resistance. The driver side works perfectly. Dropping it off at dealer early Saturday since they have to remove the back seat to get to the cable!!! Now the warning: If you happen to see a great big space under that rear seat, It should be common sense, but should you have a lapse like I did :confused: ... DO NOT have you hand under the rear seat is being folded down!!!Although, now I wonder why ford didn't list their mobile pannini press as a feature. ;) Edited February 6, 2013 by TxWally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelnLa Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Yikes! Hope the hand is okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mipmapped Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 I found the same issue on my car. I dropped it in the service dept. They said they adjusted the cable bit it's still a bit floppy and operates only at the extreme of its movement range. Did you try lifting the handle all the way, through the resistance at the very end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Ouch! I have to confess I haven't ever put my seats down since buying it which is negligent. Did it in the demo, but didn't try mine so I will do it tomorrow and keep my hand away from the C-Max pannini press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roninsd Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Did George Forman have a part in designing the seats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxWally Posted February 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Thanks, The hand is OK.@mippedmapped, yes, pulled the handle all the way. There is no resistance throughout the handle travel. When i brought it in to service, they asked me to drop it off for the day since they need to take the seat out. Now I'm figuring it's a good way to crush old soda cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdefny Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Ever notice they always need it for the day no matter what you bring it in for? roninsd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtorres Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) That's why I paid for first day rental coverage on my extended warranty. It comes in handy and then I'm not worried as much if it takes more than one day. Edited February 8, 2013 by dtorres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdefny Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Good idea. I only got the extended warranty once. The car was a lemon, but it the problems were never covered by the warranty. At least you are sure of getting some value out of it. I always count on the free loaner car, which also seems to never be available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roninsd Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 If my dealer needs to give out loaners, they use the Enterprise people they have on site, and pay for the rental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CassidyB Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 I still don't understand the whole Ford/Enterprise agreement.. If I owned a Ford Dealer that housed an Enterprise car rental place, I would want Ford products as part of the fleet. The longer I have the loaner Jeep Compass, the more I like the ugly, but indestructible interior. In my Max, my wife is not allowed to touch anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotPotato Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 OK, This weekend, I tried to fold the rear seats down, and it seems that on the passenger side either the cable came loose, got disconnected, or is missing since the handle has no resistance. The driver side works perfectly. Dropping it off at dealer early Saturday since they have to remove the back seat to get to the cable!!! Now the warning: If you happen to see a great big space under that rear seat, It should be common sense, but should you have a lapse like I did :confused: ... DO NOT have you hand under the rear seat is being folded down!!!Although, now I wonder why ford didn't list their mobile pannini press as a feature. ;) Mine had the exact same defect on delivery. Weird, I assumed it was a fluke. Dealer fixed it easily (you might check to be sure they get the part in first -- I had to go back a second time because the part was back-ordered and not delivered timely for my first appointment). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxWally Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Good to know it's not just me. Well, I was told I would be called when the part came in (on 2/9). Still waiting. Not usually a problem, but we just moved, and I could really use a whole fold down rear seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archcreate Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 The lever on my left hand read seat no longer allows the rear seat to fold down. The car is out of warranty and the dealer just advised that the cable is broken and the repair will be in excess of $500. Have probably folded the seat down 8-10 times in the last 2 1/2 years. The cable is inaccessible so I can't have damaged it.Any thoughts on approaching Ford with this? Seems like it should have failed after less than 10 uses.I have downloaded the ALLDATA repair info on the cable, but doesn't look that easy.Anyone else having this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Any thoughts on approaching Ford with this? Seems like it should have failed after less than 10 uses. Unfortunately the warranty is measured in miles and years. The dealer you bought it from might give you a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wab Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Ours gives us trouble, we use it a lot.Is the lever easy are hard to move? Ours is hard to move making me think the seat is broken.Unless I pull/push on the seat back at the same time I work the lever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlapean Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 I have a 2013 CMAX and recently,.....for only the 2nd time, I tried to lower the rear seatback (the 2 seat side, behind the driver) and,.........the seatback won't go down. Took the car in for it's 25,000 mile inspection and mentioned the rear seatback failure. Their answer, the release mechanism failed but it's part of the whole seat frame and will cost $700.00 to repair ! ! ! That's right, some FORD designer was too stupid to think,.."What if this mechanism ever fails? , replacing the whole seat frame might be rather pricey, lets design this differently so it's a simple repair." Well, needless to say,...the car is off it's warranty and I'm not paying $700 to have this fixed. But,......I'm wondering if anybody on this site has access to the Service manuals and could send me a picture of this rear seat mechanism or just how the rear seat gets connected to the car? Why? Because I think I'm going to do some junkyard searches and see if I can pickup a rear - leftside seat and do the replacement myself. Or at least take the current seat and see if I can set it in the DOWN Position and leave it like that, I asked the dealer if they could do that and they said NO, it would mean tearing the whole rear seat apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Here is a link to our sight: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/4335-remove-rear-seat/with the info you need. You can also look at FORDPARTS.com for parts and prices. Good Luck. :) Paul obob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edevenne Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 It seems that my cable broke and I am unable to lower the 60 side of the 60/40 rear fold down seats. Does anyone know if there is a lever behind the seat that I can access to get it folded down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobe2013 Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Looks like the cost to repair LH rear seat fold down has gone up. The local ford dealer now wants $1600.00 to fix. They say the mechanism is binding and needs to be replaced. The Premium Care extended warranty denied coverage. So much for bumper-to-bumper coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Fukuda Posted January 23, 2020 Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 I bought my CMax brand new. I had the same problem back seat could not fold down. I don’t know why vehicle isn’t fully checked over before selling. I found out the day before my trip. It’s a feature I would rarely need to use. I just tried to fold back seats again for a road trip and it failed is this going to be a recurring problem? Will Ford just fix or a big cost in involved? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67gtcougar Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) The lever quit working on the right side of our 2013 Energi last week. I was hoping it would be an easy repair. I will pull the seat soon and see if I can't repair it myself. Update: I dismantled the lower part of the seat today, and found the problem. By the way, you need to remove the 2 bolts in the front of the seat with an 18mm socket then lift up the bottom of the seat, and remove some of the trim to get at the bolts holding the actuator. The actuator cable was broken right where the sheathing was pinched. The sheathing splits into 2 pieces, so I was able to take it apart and use vise grips to pull the cable to lower the seat back. I found the part on the FordUS website for $134.69, and I will call my local Ford dealer tomorrow to check their price. I guess a cheaper fix would be to substitute bicycle brake cables and sheathing, or just reattach the vise grips to the broken end of the cable. Actuator Part #: 96613A68 Ford Parts Logo (Fix or Repair Daily ? ) Usage: 07/23/2012 - 04/26/2018, C-MAX Energi 2014-2018 (CCG) Section: Rear Seat Base Most parts available next business day. Your Price: $134.69 MSRP: $134.69 Edited February 22, 2021 by 67gtcougar Update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67gtcougar Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) I decided to repair the cable with bicycle parts. The cable housing was badly damaged, so I bought a piece the same size from a bicycle shop. I also bought a shifter cable and a cable ferrule to attach the old Z-end to the new cable. After assembly, I made sure that cable and housing wasn't being pinched when the seat back was laid down, which caused the original cable to break. I tried to find a cable with the same size barrel end (5x8 mm), by settled on the shifter cable with a different end. Be careful when when reaching under the seat, there are a few sharp edges that can cut your fingers. Edited February 28, 2021 by 67gtcougar Bill-N, stolenmoment and fbov 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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