REMOVING FRONT SEATS

1 Move the seat fully forward to access the rear mounting bolts and the seatbelt mount on the outside of the seat. If the seat can’t be moved electronically, it’ll have to be stripped to access the mounting bolts.

2 Prise off the plastic cover on the side of the seat at the very back, then undo the Torx T50 bolt that secures the end of the seatbelt into the seat. The seatbelt will remain inside the car, but the cover can be refitted on to the seat to ensure it isn’t lost.

3 With the seat fully forwards, prise off the plastic trim that covers the mounting bolts on the ends of the seat runner to reveal a single 15mm bolt on each side. Fully undo both of these bolts to release the back of the seat from the floor.

4 Move the seat fully back and you’ll be able to see the front mounting bolts. These are concealed inside the seat runner and should have a Torx E12 head. Fully undo the bolt for each seat runner. Carefully adjust the seat forwards until it’s roughly halfway on its runners.

5 Disconnect the negative terminal from the 12V battery, followed by the positive terminal, first making sure you have any radio codes. The battery is in the boot and must be disconnected to avoid activating any fault codes for the next step.

6 Wait for 15 minutes after disconnecting the battery, then tip the seat back by 45° and look for the electrical plugs underneath. There should be three to disconnect. All three of them have different-shaped plugs and sockets, so they can’t be mixed up.

7 The seat can now be lifted out of the car. Watch the seat runners – they can easily scratch the paintwork. Refitting the seat entails following our steps in reverse order. Apply thread lock for the mounting bolts and the Torx T50 seatbelt bolt.