I tried a few times to get the rear seat squab up. I tried the 'wrong' way getting the rear up first, then had to use levers to get it back under the seatbelt 'buckles', without ripping the fabric. I suspected brute force may be required, at the risk of breaking something, so took it back to the dealers to perform the necessary.

"The seat squab doesn't remove on the 'S', Sir."

"That's not what it says in the manual." says I (there's no 'cop-out' asterisk).

After some discussion as to why the squab didn't need to be removed, I stood my ground until a mechanic was summoned who did the necessary, and it did require a *lot* of force. More than I would have wanted to use and probably have done my back in the process.

It is just a plastic socket 'grip' on to a 'staple' protruding from the underside but whoever fixed it down certainly didn't check whether it would unfix easily, or knew enough not to bother. So worth checking if you have an S, or non-folding squab, that it removes easily before you get caught out in Ikea, or other purveyor of capacious loads.

Edited 29 September, 200916 yr by icarusi@hotmail

Are you sure you are doing it right, in the normal octy2 no force is required at all.

Grasp the underside front of the seat base and lift gently and the front will lift upwards, then you can swing the base forward and out.

Are you sure you are doing it right, in the normal octy2 no force is required at all.

Grasp the underside front of the seat base and lift gently and the front will lift upwards, then you can swing the base forward and out.

I think it's a different arrangement, not like as shown in a manual. The front was really jammed down hard. No 'gentle' lifting would work. The mechanic had to wrench it really hard to get the front up at all. The sales staff were all for calling it a day if I hadn't insisted.

its dealer waffle. I have the vrs and my seat base tips up nice and easy as mannyo has stated. I pull up the seat from the front and then push forward to tip back. Not sure why yours should be so stiff but dealers do come out with some bs sometimes to fob us off:rolleyes:

its dealer waffle. I have the vrs and my seat base tips up nice and easy as mannyo has stated. I pull up the seat from the front and then push forward to tip back. Not sure why yours should be so stiff but dealers do come out with some bs sometimes to fob us off:rolleyes:

AFAIK the S is different. Doesn't 'tip', just removes, so long as you pull up violently enough on the front. Two sales bods and me (3 in total) had failed to budge it until the mechanic got brutal enough. I'd put the force at reasonable 'vandalism' level. No way would I use so much force for fear of breakage. When the dealer does it, if something breaks *he* fixes it.

I take mine out all the time (only way to get completely flat load bay, all 1.8M+ to seat backs - I have variboot aswell)

Pop the front edge up (once tension released they spring forward on their own a bit). Then either hinge forward 90 degrees to drop seat backs down (leaving squabs vertical and using a bit of load length) or squeeze hinge arms out of hinge base and completely remove from car for full load bay size.

If they are stiff there is a problem it might be a deformed hinge structure.

PS - even WhatCar in their "in-depth" road test thought the car had fixed seat squabs and complained the seat backs don't fold flat (which they won't if the squabs are left in place and wedge them at an angle!)

any pics of the variboot thing?

Official Skoda images:

and attached some of mine!

"Variboot" = 'false floor' in normal English then?

And "Maxidot" is a dot-matrix LCD display.

Where will it end?

I'm off to do a spot of Hoovering!

If they are stiff there is a problem it might be a deformed hinge structure.

AFAIK there's no 'hinge structure' just a fixed 'staple' under the squab which locates into a plastic socket set into a hole in the steel support floor. The sales bods were certain it didn't remove *at all*, which I knew couldn't be the case as access is needed to the petrol tank sensor etc. Just a question of how to lift it and what was holding it down. Current 'new' S hatchback BTW.

I am sorry, my pictures and comments may not help then.

I was refering to a vRS estate.

Of course all parts of a car are removable in some way (that is how they put it together originally and fix it when it goes wrong!). The question is whether it is a user "serviceable" area!

I can't speak for the VRS, but the rear cushions on the FL Elegance lift up fine.

Pull up on the front of the cushion. A firm one-handed tug should release it along with some odd noises from the hinge rods.

Once lifted, you can hinge the rear upwards until it's flat against the front seats backrest.

To remove totally, push the rod out of the loop and repeat on the other one.

Hopefully, these photos will help show what I mean

I took some pics:-

The mechanic did break the plastic socket inserts. One has parts hanging off now, the other disappeared into the hole. At least now I know how it's supposed to work, just need replacement plastic socket inserts which don't grip so tightly that they break.

Just checked my FL Elegance.Front edge of each side of 60/40 split squab can pop up and the cushions tumble forward in silence.No problem getting the squab back down around the belt buckles either. The little zips open to allow attachment of child seats as well.My seats are not the same as in the above pictures and definitely are hinged.

Just checked my FL Elegance.Front edge of each side of 60/40 split squab can pop up and the cushions tumble forward in silence.No problem getting the squab back down around the belt buckles either. The little zips open to allow attachment of child seats as well.My seats are not the same as in the above pictures and definitely are hinged.

Split seats are on SE and above. I prefer unsplit seats after watching the 'Fifth Gear' crash tests, but do need the squab to remove. Actually prefer removal to 'hinging' as I wouldn't be able to do the hinge sequence without moving my preferred driver's seat position.

Could do with something to keep the seatbelts away from the seat-back catches. Something on the fixed upholstery sides should do the trick.

Split seats are on SE and above. I prefer unsplit seats after watching the 'Fifth Gear' crash tests, but do need the squab to remove. Actually prefer removal to 'hinging' as I wouldn't be able to do the hinge sequence without moving my preferred driver's seat position.

Could do with something to keep the seatbelts away from the seat-back catches. Something on the fixed upholstery sides should do the trick.

I rarely use the rear seats, so what I do is put the RH rear belt into the LH buckle and vice versa. After all the seat belts are designed to do that sort of job.

I took some pics:-

Going by your pics your seat base is not intended to be removed (same as the Superb) of course you can remove them but as you have found out the plastic fixing will break every time you remove base.

After reading this thread I've just realised that my rear seat squab hinges forward to allow the rear seat backrest to lie flat. I really must get around to reading the handbook in detail.

Thi is a similar arrangement to my wife's VW Polo but the rear seat squab in the Passat I had was fixed, or at least I always believed it was as the rear seats backrests folded flat anyway (and I didn't have to remove the headrests or move the front seats forward much to do so).

Now that I've seen the pics I fancy the idea of the variable boot floor so once I get that and some underbonnet insulation and some car mats what else do I need before my car is complete ?

A friend saw my car for the first time recently and I think he was impressed but less so when I told him that after paying the dealer x thousands of pounds for it they then charged me an extra £3.20 for a lead to connect an iPod. His comments were that it's no wonder Japanese cars sell so well as you don't have to pay extra for things that you expect to be standard but are optional on European cars (he drives a Honda Accord). And thinking about it even my daughters Toyota Yaris came with mats as standard which I think was the case with all levels of trim.

Edited 30 September, 200916 yr by jzc008

Going by your pics your seat base is not intended to be removed (same as the Superb) of course you can remove them but as you have found out the plastic fixing will break every time you remove base.

I think that's the nub of the problem - if they are not split 60/40 then the squab is not really designed to be removed... if it was it woudl have the hing arrangement shown above.

Now that I've seen the pics I fancy the idea of the variable boot floor so once I get that and some underbonnet insulation and some car mats what else do I need before my car is complete ?

Where do we begin.

Under-seat storage boxes

boot liner

sill plates

The list is almost endless.

I think that's the nub of the problem - if they are not split 60/40 then the squab is not really designed to be removed... if it was it would have the hing arrangement shown above.

If that was the case it should be stated *BIG* somewhere. It isn't, the manual doesn't have a 'get out' asterisk suggesting it isn't 'standard'. If the clips are intended to be once only' (which I doubt) then Skoda will be getting a headache from me until they do something about it.

My FL brochure clearly states (for SE - Standard Equipment Over 'S'):

Split folding rear seats.

And the FL manual states:

"To enlarge the luggage compartment, the rear seats can be folded

forwards, if necessary remove the seat cushions. The rear seats can be

folded forward individually on vehicles with divided rear seats*."

(The asterisk is theirs).

I tend agree there is some ambiguity regarding the squab. I guess it comes down to the interpretation of 'removable'.

Where do we begin.

Under-seat storage boxes

boot liner

sill plates

The list is almost endless.

It did come with an underseat storage box, I'm trying to think of something small enough to fit in it though

I've got a boot liner which is a large rubber mat that almost covers the whole boot floor that I got from Costco and transferred from my previous car.

I agree about the Sill plates (I did mean to mention them but forgot like Skoda forgot to put include them as standard )

I'm sure looking at the accessories brochure I'd perhaps choose some more things but we all have different ideas of what should be standard depending on the model.

Two things I'd have liked to have seen as my previous Passat bought in 1998 had are damped grab handles and lights over the vanity mirrors although to be honest they're thing I can live without

One of the things that many cars seem to have these days (although usually an option) is ambient lighting in the footwells etc which I presume come on with the roof mounted lights when you open the door. That would have been nice.

Also I've noticed that in the brochure the transmission tunnel has a small net attached to the side but mine hasn't, is this no longer standard or has it never been standard on UK (or right hand drive models) or have they just forgotten to fix it to mine.

Also talking of the transmission tunnel, on the side is a plastic moulding but it doesn't seem to do anything or serve any useful purpose. Does anybody have any idea what it's for ?

My FL brochure clearly states (for SE - Standard Equipment Over 'S'):

Split folding rear seats.

And the FL manual states:

"To enlarge the luggage compartment, the rear seats can be folded

forwards, if necessary remove the seat cushions. The rear seats can be

folded forward individually on vehicles with divided rear seats*."

(The asterisk is theirs).

I tend agree there is some ambiguity regarding the squab. I guess it comes down to the interpretation of 'removable'.

The second sentence makes sense and has the asterisk. The first sentence also makes sense and has no asterisk, so my interpretation is seat cushions can be removed on *all* models, whether they have divided seats or not. I haven't seen anything in 'vehicles papers' stating 'seat cushions on the 'S' model are not removable', although that may change in the future. I doubt the sales staff knew the 'S' doesn't have the 'folding' cushion, at least the guy who did the sale. He was just expecting it to operate like everyone else here.

I may take a trip to Carcraft and see if I can find any other cars not having a folding rear cushion. It never crossed my mind to check for this. It's always been a 'standard' feature with folding rear seats, but then again so have spare wheels on cars.

Edited 30 September, 200916 yr by icarusi@hotmail