Driver's seat backrest squeaks continuously!!

[andmcit]

the car is great to drive and is really quiet OTHER THAN the
continual squeaks if I fractionally press against the backrest!

What's the deal with this - is there metal fatigue or is there
genuinelly something I can do to remedy it as it's now been
bugging me to the point where I simultaneously listen for
and dread hearing it!! Sometimes it is the little things that
finally do eventually wear you down.

The car is my black Activa so I like the more shaped supportive
seat but these aren't so readily found if I decided to call it a
day with this one and swap it for another.

Is there a fix apart from a loud stereo or earplugs!
What would I even spray with oil or WD40!!

Andrew

[CitroJim]

I know all about squeaky seats Andrew

Which ones are they? the leathers or the velours? If the latter, it's not too hard to pull the upholstry off to get at the frames and mechanism. How you'd get leathers apart, I'd not like to say.

You may find a heavy person has been in and a crack has developed around the gears that operate the recline mechanism. Even more simply, you may just find it's nothing more than loose screws underneath that bolt the runners onto the main seat frame. They do come loose after a while but it's a seat out job to tighten them.

There is also a bar underneath that can break. If I remember correctly, it's the bar that operates the tilt mechanism.

My 19 stone son wrecked the seat in the 405 he had (as well as tearing out a mounting rom the crossmember) and I had to dismantle the seat completely to expose the framework so that I could weld it up when it had cracked and broken. If you do need to weld, it's a wise precaution to also remove the seatbelt pretensioner along with all fabric and padding.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

hi andrew,

I recently replaced my xantia drivers seat because it developed a squeak and the back came away from the main hinge that adjusts its forward and back angled position.

I sourced a tatty spare from A5 car spares on the A5 believe it or not for £15.

I put this one in the car to make it safe and stripped the covers off the old seat only to find that the back frame had been spot welded on (probably by an incompetant robot) it had broken at the welds, with the seat stripped bare I had the back frame mig welded on to make it extra strong and it only cost a fiver, I rebuilt the seat in two hours easy job and well worth learnning.
trouble is i seem to be stuck with the tatty ole seat now taking up lots of space in my shed until I find a use for it.

regards Nigel.

[andmcit]

Thanks for the comments - I'll be brave and dismantle the seat to sort it
as it does sound likely there's a failure lurking there under the surface!

May take the opportunity to redo the foam cushioning on the squab side
bolster as it's collapsing but hasn't worn the seat cover, yet!!

Guess it's be a good opportunity to take step by step pics for the hints and tips section (more likely, how not to do it!! )

Andrew