Releasing the backrest of the 2nd row of seats

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.

Rear seat cushion-fold forwards,release plastic clip from hinge,remove wiring multiplug if applicable.Lift out cushion.(40% backrest)Tilt forward approx 20degrees,use a screwdriver to release catch retainer on outer pivot pin.lift backrest and withdraw from inner pivot pin.Lift the backrest from inside vehicle.(will only lift out if backrest is tilted forward 20degrees from verticle. 60% section can then be removed on saloons by releasing the lock with a finger and pulling from the anchor pins.On estates unscrew centre seat belt lower mounting and unscrew hinge pin from centre support. unhook upholstery clip and lift backrest from lefthand side mounting.slide backrest towards the door to release centre pinlug and withdraw backrest from inside the vehicle. Refit in reverse order.

There is a special spring release under rear seats, under bottom of seat,at floor level, this releases the seat and allows it to fold ahead. often rusts and needs to be greased.Suggest white spray grease!!

Your missing something's G-404 has nothing to do with it !
Seats - Third Row
The third row seat:

• is three-passenger seat.
• a 60/40 bench seat.
• folds down for more cargo area.
• has optional power fold down seats.

Third Row Power-Fold Seat
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 are on the floor in front of the third row seats or on the seat cushion before lowering the backrest(s).
The third row power-fold seat consists of the following electrical components:

• right third row seat relay.
• left third row seat relay.
• right power-fold seat motor.
• left power-fold seat motor.
• right front third row seat switch (if equipped).
• left front third row seat switch (if equipped).
• right rear third row seat switch.
• left rear third row seat switch.

For the third row power-fold seat to operate, a shared ground is supplied by the body security module (BSM) to both of the power-fold seat relays, enabling the seats to then be moved by pressing one of the third row power-fold seat switches. The third row power-fold seat operates only when the vehicle is in PARK and the liftgate glass, liftgate door or any entry door must be open.
The third row power-fold seat motors transfer movement to a drive gear assembly to raise and lower the seat backrest. The power-fold seat motors rotate a short drive cable which is connected to the drive gear assembly.
The relay's are located in Aux. relay box #2

The passenger side 2nd row release lever is at the lower right corner. On the driver side, there is no release lever, just a pull ******** the center of the seat, that sometimes falls between the seat.

try to look under it for the cheap *** piece of wire or spring they use to connect the lock levers to the handle.

hi, when you fold the back of the seats forward, keep lifting the the bottom of the seat upwards . at one point you will feel the locks release. it took me 3 days to figure out :)

check for seat belt stuck in crack between seats back and cushion.

remove seat cusion to see if soemthing is stuck. see owner manual for directions. here's explorer

Rear Seat Backrest —Third Row Removal and Installation

1. Release the two seat levers located at the lower outboard edges of the seat cushion. Lift out the seat cushion.

lower the bottom portion, there will be two black cables. follow them toward the back of the seat, past a black round plate, where they become top and bottom cables. Push down toward the floor board on the bottom cable (my bottom cable is no longer black coated but rather a bare feeling cable wire). When pushing down on the bottom cable, pull the seat forward. As the seat does come forward the headrest will fold back at the same time. Not an easy find for me either, they should just make a release lever, but oh well..... I Hope this helps. Just keep playing around with those two cables until it finally does release.

Got it, with the help and eyes of my wife. The rear latch releases as the seat back is lowered. This release is ALMOST seat back down (about 3 inches above the seat bottom). As the seat back lowers, apply constant lift on the rear latch, and it will release as the seat back lowers. Hard-won knowledge - I think I invented some bad words in the process.