I started to pull out the rear seat backs and rear side trim panels yesterday, and had a couple of questions. (this is a '04 C4S coupe) I removed the bolt in between the seats, expecting that I could then remove the seat backs by simply pulling them out. However, that didn't seem to work. It felt like there was a rod that went all the way through both seats, and I was reluctant to bend it much. Is there a bolt or something on the sides that also needs to be removed as well? If so, where is it? Similar question on the rear side trim panels. I removed the seat peg, pulled up from the bottom, and the trim panel seemed to be mostly free, but still attached at the top below the window. I expected it to pop out, but whatever was holding at the top was stronger than the force I wanted to exert. Is there something else that needs to be removed, or do I just need to pull harder?
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHRemoving rear seat backs and rear side trim panels
1 matching discussions were examined; no attributable action/outcome evidence was detected. No consensus or repair conclusion is claimed.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Read captured repliesInsufficient extracted evidence does not mean there is no answer in the original discussions.
1 matching discussions · 4 captured posts examined · 0 partial discussions
Coverage and how to read this overview
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
4 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
- Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
Still not sure about the side panels; I tried to pull the B pillar trim strip off, but I couldn't see how.
No unique explicit quoted action; no causal link assigned
Generation: 20261027T073501Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
No, dont pull or bend anything harder, or you can break the plastic posts and clips. The rear seat backs have a short rod on each side, not one that goes all the way thru. After you have everything loose, push the rods into the seat back and the whole thing will pull out. There is a common mounting bracket in the top center of the hump and it will come off too with 2 screws. The side panel has a screw under the b pillar trin strip. it has to come out. The quarter panel is shoved under the window gasket all the way across. Pull it out .
Thanks!
Just an update, in case anyone else wants to pull out the seats. It looks like there has been a slight change to the connections for the rear seat backs. There is a hex socket bolt in the middle, but there are also Torx head bolts on each side (I think it was a 40, although that seemed a little loose). The Torx bolts hold an L shape piece; the long part of the L is flat and is secure to the side of the car with the Torx bold, and the other part of the L is the round pin that goes into the seat. There's a plastic cover the snaps on to cover the bolt and the flat part of the L shape piece. Still not sure about the side panels; I tried to pull the B pillar trim strip off, but I couldn't see how. I took the coat hook off the top, and unscrewed the screw under that, but then was unsure about how to get the pillar trim cover off.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.