Front Seat will Not Latch Down

copied this from ford forum , quite a lot of work, do your seats fold down into the floo ? if so follow this guidance
Removal and Installation

CAUTION: To prevent possible damage to the third row seat or the safety belts, make sure that the safety belts are not fastened when moving the seat to the load floor position.

CAUTION: Make sure that no objects such as books, purses or briefcases on the floor in front of the third row seats or on the seat cushion before lowering the backrest(s).

NOTE: The third row seat backrests need to be in the raised position for removal of the third row seats.

All seats


Remove the load floor panel.
Remove the jack assembly.
Remove the load floor panel latch striker bolts and the latch striker.
Remove the 3 pin-type retainers and the jack storage compartment liner.
Remove the 2 bolts in mid-floor panel support, lift on the front of mid-floor panel support to release the 3 retainer clips and remove the panel support.

Hi Lee:
Should be no big issue.
The seat slides in "rails" and there is a spring loaded latch mechanism.
I'd start by removing the seat, turn it upside down, and make sure the latch is set in the "slider" part of the rails.
Happy day!

Most rear seats need to be unlatched from the very bottom on each side. Try sliding the driver and passenger seats fully forward. With your back against the front seat press forward toward the trunk on the bottom of the rear seat on one corner at a time near the floor and lift up. This should release the latch. To replace the seat simply slide the seat back into place with the front slightly raised upward and push the seat in toward the trunk then push down til you hear the latch catch.

If I had the problem I would look at a junkyard or on line at e-bay for a replacement. You will need to get the buckle and the belt that it is attached to that goes down to the floor down through the crack in the seat.
Remember the buckle receiver is made for the certain belt in the front and rear seats. I have often tried to put the wrong belt in a buckle and it would not fit. ( Example: the right belt goes in the right buckle.)
Be blessed.

I have on a couple of occasions been able to apply some intelligent force and separate the two halves of the rigid black plastic cover of the latch (luckily the bond was weaker than the plastic) and then manipulate the exposed mechanism with a wire or screwdriver or whatever using a strong light and a mirror.

Both times I was able to fit the plastic covers back together after removing the guilty detritus (toffee papers) from inside.

if latch does not work ,you will have to get in from back seat,if it does not fold down look at floor level front of rear seat for a release for seat,if you see nothing try pushing back on bottom front of seat and lifting up.Back of seat should have fasteners on each side,remove and lift up on seat back,should have some accessto get to pull emergency release in trunk

Removal Procedure

Caution: When working with any type of glass or sheet metal with exposed or rough edges, wear approved safety glasses and gloves in order to reduce the chance of personal injury.
Important: Before cutting out a stationary window, apply a double layer of masking tape around the perimeter of the painted surfaces and inner trim of the window.

1. Use safety glasses and gloves.




2. Carefully spread the handle retainer outward in order to release the latch pin from the latch.
3. Remove the latch pin from the latch.
4. Remove the seat belt retractor. Refer to Front Seat Belt Replacement in Seat Belts.
5. Open the door in order to access the rivets.
6. Drill out the rivets retaining the window assembly.
7. Thoroughly clean all metal particles that may have lodged inside the body panel.
8. Remove the window assembly from the vehicle.

Installation Procedure

1. Install the window assembly to the vehicle.
2. Using the J 34940 (or equivalent), install the rivets in order to retain the window assembly to the vehicle.
3. Install the seat belt retractor. Refer to Front Seat Belt Replacement in Seat Belts.
4. Install the latch pin.
Using a punch, carefully drive the pin into the latch.

it could very well be just the seat belt latch but you really need to see what codes are being set because there could be other issues as well. You need to get the SRS system scanned. I do not know if the seat will need to be removed. If the latch is attached to the seat itself and it most likely is I'd say yes the seat will have to come out. Very easy to do. Move seat in full back position to get front bolts out and full forward position to get rear bolts out and then carefully disconnect all electrical connectors going to the seat.

Hey everyone--after searching in vain for an entire 10 days, and absolutely REFUSING to pay Ford's $100 diagnosis fee, and their $300 replacement suggestion ($400??), I decided to figure this out myself. And I did. Do the following to let loose the tension that has kept your seat stuck in the down position (though my truck is a 2008 Ford Escape, I have a strong feeling this is the case with any vehicle):

1. Remove the seat bottoms (which are folded forward and upward against the back of the front seats). To do this, find the bars that are bracketed into the floor. There may or may not be a little yellow lever on one of the two brackets. If so, flip it and slide the bar out. If it stops, pull the other side out. Doing this should allow you to completely remove the seat from the car. Repeat with other side.

Now you should have plenty of room to work. Move front seats forward, and you've got even more.

2. Remove your back seats entirely. (Sorry- it's a must.) For many, you will require either one or both of these:
One Torx T-50 socket to remove T-50 bolt (which bolts seat belt latches to the floor)
One Torx T-55 (which bolts the folding seat into the bracket that bolts seats to the floor).
One socket extension (tip: the extension gives you much more torque, and its easier to remove bolts) and
One a 5/8" socket. (See continuation after following tip.)

TIP: if you have a 40/60 split, you have to remove the 40 first! This will allow you room to move around the 60 seat and its stuck belt.

Continued:
Remove bolts that bolt bracket to car floor (this is the 40 seat). I believe there's two: 1 directly below the seat, and 1 that also bolts the 60 seat (you'll be using the 5/8" here)-- Don't hold me to it, though, as I've seen some different stuff. Pull seat out of the way to avoid potential damage. NOTE: THOSE BRACKETS ARE SHARP. WATCH THE LEATHER/SEAT MATERIAL-- AND YOUR HANDS.)

2. Remove bolts on the 60. Though the top part of your seat is down, you should be able to the bolt that keeps the bracket to the floor beneath where the seat cushion would be (and where the upper part of the seat is laying flat). A ratchet would probably be best for this since you can keep the socket in place and wind the thing completely out. I should say here that my seat couldn't have been tighter to the floor. If I got mine out, I'm sure you can, too.

Now here come the tricky, but verrrrry easy parts. They are vital.

1. Now that the brackets are off of the floor, the 60 seat should now be free-floating in your hands, but tethered by the T50 bolt that is keeping the seatbelt buckle to the floor. Remove it. Now you should be able to remove the seat altogether. I had to bring mine inside where it wasn't 15 degrees in my garage, but I believe you'll do these parts in the next five minutes. Do this next:

2. TIP the 60 SEAT UPRIGHT (just like it would if things were back to the normal operational mode). This is VITAL. If you cannot fix it with two or three tugs from here (don't waste more time than this-- the final part is coming), then do this next:

3. Find the latch on the back of the seat that locks onto the latch of the car. Using two gloved fingers (or tools), press the latch inward until it's in the LOCKED position (fooling it into thinking you've put it up and latched into into the truck bracket).
This should have also reset the button or lever that you used to unlock the seat in the first place. Now give your belt a tug. It should come loose like normal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: seatbelt tensioners rely on gravity (thing momentum during a crash) that locks the belt. If the seat is not sitting UPRIGHT (like in normal use mode), that mechanism is going to obey gravity if it is tilted backward or forward (which is why the seat got in the downward position to begin with) and lock.

That's it. Bolt the seats back in, and go buy yourself $400 worth of rewards.

OK. On the front edge of the seat bottom cushion, pull up hard, both sides. This will dislodge the 2 clamps that holds the seat cushion to the floor. Pull the seat cushion out & set it aside. You will now see the female latches bolted to the area where the rear of the seat cushion meets the rear seat back bottom. Remove the bolts (14 mm I think).