Back seat design flaw - hatch mode damages seats

[daemoniscinxi]

When the back seats are put into "hatch" mode, there is a metal bar that the back rest rests on. As you can see in the first picture, it causes indentations just above the child car seat notch. *note: this is not from the car seat, i do not have a baby!*

When you lift the bottom part of the seat up, take off the head rest, you can see in the second picture the black metal bar. When the seat is folded all the way down it perfectly lines up with the damage on the back rest of the seat. You can see it is on both sides of the seat in the third picture, as the blue metal bar is causing the same problem.

I brought it into the dealer during my oil change and all they said was it was a "design flaw" and that they wouldn't do anything to fix it. They then accused me of putting too much weight on top of the seat when in hatch mode. I have used the hatch all of 3 times to carry snowboards, a xmas tree, and random junk.

I would like to get this fixed so it does not continue to get worse, but the dealership just blew me off. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8356/8...d3a742870f.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8079/8...f52265e42e.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8373/8...19cf364b19.jpg

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[Elizabeth]

Throw a towel underthere when you lay the seat flat..
???
I have fabric and no dents.
Must be a leather issue. Probably the seat cushion is a little thicker in the leather version?

[daemoniscinxi]

I could see this being a problem with only the leather seats. While the towel idea would work, I would like a bit more permanent of a solution.

[Deftmetal]

That really sucks. The dealer almost deffinately won't do anything about it. Would cardboard, maybe a couple layers spread out the forces enough. Does the leather go back smooth? If not you could try to steam the wrinkle out.

[frinesi2]

Originally Posted by daemoniscinxi

I could see this being a problem with only the leather seats. While the towel idea would work, I would like a bit more permanent of a solution.

A more permanent solution? Okay . . . throw a towel over it every time? How is that difficult?

[daemoniscinxi]

I could probably put some sort of cardboard taped around the metal to reduce the pressure points out more evenly. The damage is done now though, they won't smooth out. At least I could prevent it from eventually puncturing the leather though.

frinesi2, i didn't buy a brand new car with all the options to carry around a towel. That may have worked in my high school $500 car, but I like things to be a bit nicer now.

[Joeywhat]

You could always fabricate a plate to go under the existing seat brackets, thus raising the seats higher. You'll probably need longer bolts as well, and they will no longer fold flat as well.

Or, like a towel or something...

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by daemoniscinxi

I could see this being a problem with only the leather seats. While the towel idea would work, I would like a bit more permanent of a solution.

Unless Ford redesigns some parts and supplies them to your dealer, I wouldn't look to your dealer for a fix.

The reality is that you will probably have to improvise a solution.

[daemoniscinxi]

What are these metal bars for? Could I just completely remove them?

[Buickboy]

if it bothers you that much and you dont have any need for car seat hooks just cut them out