Power Electric Seat Tilt Stopped Working

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scottkeen

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I have a 07.5 Laramie and today the driver side power electric seat tilt stopped working.

The seat has three controls:
  • front tilt
  • 4-way forward, back, up, down
  • rear tilt
The rear tilt stopped working. I can hear the electric motor running, but the rear of the seat is not tilting up and down. The other controls work fine.

Do you know how to fix this or do you have any recommendations? Would the mechanic who works on the engine, brakes, etc also be the same person to repair the electric seat if it needs repair?

Thanks,
 

GTyankee

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I believe that
There are 3 motors in the seat base
all 3 motors are identical
you can fairly easily take the seat cushion off the base

Just watch for any electrical connections, when lifting the seat cushion, you don't want to break any
 

SYKRAMMAN

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If you can hear the seat motor but don't have movement it's likely the plastic gear is broken on the motor, they are easy to replace.
 
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scottkeen

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If you can hear the seat motor but don't have movement it's likely the plastic gear is broken on the motor, they are easy to replace.
I believe this is correct. When the problem first started, the rear of the seat was going up and down a little bit (not fully) but with a "clicking" or "grinding" noise. I stopped messing with it, figuring it was the teeth of a plastic gear getting broken off. When I got home, I tried to it again and the seat was not moving up or down but you could hear the motor whirring when I moved the up/down switch. Probably the gear teeth had all broken off and the shaft was free-spinning.

After doing some searching, I found on the DodgeTalk forum this problem and the part needed to fix it from https://www.twomenonegarage.com/dodge

The steps to remove the seat and the motor parts to replace the gear look complicated but you say it's easy to replace.

Could you please give me some steps or pointers? I'm good with DIY but my vehicle skill level is somewhere in the level of changing my disc brake pads and wiring in a backup camera, but not much higher. Thanks.
 

SYKRAMMAN

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Yeah it's really not complicated at all, take the four bolts out holding the seat to the floor, unplug connector and flip seat over, from there, there is a few more screws and bolts to remove motor, than there is the cap with two or three tiny bolts where the gears are on motor shaft, I have an 8 way seat so should be the same or similar. Don't unplug the connector before removing all anchor bolts on floor because you have to move the seat all the way in either direction to get to the bolts.

The post above yours says you can get to it by taking the cushion off but I'm not sure, I haven't done it that way yet.

I just look at the link you posted and looks like you might as well replace the whole motor since it comes with the gears, and they are steel too so that should last the life of the truck.
 
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HemiLonestar

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scottkeen

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Yeah it's really not complicated at all, take the four bolts out holding the seat to the floor, unplug connector and flip seat over, from there, there is a few more screws and bolts to remove motor, than there is the cap with two or three tiny bolts where the gears are on motor shaft, I have an 8 way seat so should be the same or similar. Don't unplug the connector before removing all anchor bolts on floor because you have to move the seat all the way in either direction to get to the bolts.

The post above yours says you can get to it by taking the cushion off but I'm not sure, I haven't done it that way yet.

I just look at the link you posted and looks like you might as well replace the whole motor since it comes with the gears, and they are steel too so that should last the life of the truck.
Thanks. Hopefully the 4 bolts aren't rusted on.

That would be great to get to it by removing the cushion.

I would think that replacing the motor would be easier to do than replacing the shaft and gear. The price difference looks like $30 more, which is low enough to be worth less hassle.
 

GTyankee

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for a penetrating spray Use whatever you have, according to this video


Many other videos about the Dodge truck seats, enjoy & learn


What do think about the Torque Multiplier Wrench he used ?
There are times that they really are handy for loosening things
 
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Sparkie838

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I have a similar problem where my front driver side not tilting either up or down with the two rocker switches. The motors are not moving at all with these two switches, but they do move the seat up and down when I use the center toggle button. Any thoughts on what the issue could be?
 

PJ Moran

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Thanks to this site, I was able to get the repair parts from Geno's. In my case, the plastic teeth broke off the sprocket on the end of the big screw. The worm gear on the motor was still intact.

I bought the kits from Geno's. I needed one for the front motor and one for the rear motor. One requires a longer drive screw than the other (by 1/2"). I don't know that these are OEM, but I suppose they could be. They're definitely high quality pieces. The wheel gear on the drive screw is steel on the new piece. The included worm gear is plastic just like the original. So, the weak link (plastic wheel) was addressed by swapping steel for plastic.

I watched the various videos on YouTube. None were very good, but I got the gist of the operation from them. The actual seat is secured to my tracks with four 1/2" (not metric) nuts. Release the switch per the videos and disconnect one seat belt connector and the seat comes right off. It makes no sense to me to attempt to remove the whole assembly and work on it that way. Pull the seat, then pull the track assembly. Then, take it to your workbench and do the surgery there.

I used a large C-clamp and a socket to get the knurled pins started. Then I was able to carefully drive them out using a cold chisel under the head. The roll pins are the big challenge of the job. Geno's tells you to drive them in, cut them off, then drive the rest out. The pins will be shortened, but still usable.

I used a new, quality set of Vice Grips with nice hard, sharp teeth to grab the inboard end of the pin and use various pry tools and spacers to "pull" the pin out. No hammering required.

Once these roll pins are out, you're over the hump. Now, you just swap out the kit parts per the instructions (very straightforward) and prepare for reinstallation.

You can drive the roll pins back in without too much trouble, but you could also use ordinary 1/4" pins (with holes for cotter pins) or 1/4" bolts or something similar. I don't think the roll pins are absolutely necessary. The knurled pins at the end have to be driven back in, but they don't put up the fight that the roll pins do. You should use a heavy mass backer to hammer against, otherwise it's much more difficult to get them in.

Upon removing my motors, I checked the mechanism for freedom of movement. It was extremely stiff - almost frozen. So, I applied oil to all pivot points and gradually moved the mechanism through it's travel and "watched" it loosen up dramatically. Back and forth, back and forth, until the oil had worked its way into the joints and freed things up. Once it was all nice and smooth, I put the motors back in.

I set the mechanism back into the truck and tested it. Works like a charm! Nice, smooth, quiet action throughout its travel range.

I would not call this job easy, by any means. But, if you're good with tools and have some inginuity, it's fairly straightforward. But, I can't condone the brute force approaches I saw on YouTube. They're just not necessary. All in all, it took me most of a full day.

Yes, you could purchase the complete motor assemblies and save some work. But the work you save is easy work and for all we know, the new assemblies have the same plastic wheel gear as the originals. So, I'd say getting the kits gets you a better and cheaper result.
 

bobby a

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I know this is an old thread but I need some input please. My seats are called a 6 way power drivers side. I hear the motors when pushing the switch but no movement. The only function that does work is the forward and backwards. I really need to get this fixed because its stuck in the tilt back function and its kinda uncomfortable for me to be driving this way 1200 miles back to MI. from Fl. Could use some help please. Thank you
 

Dean2

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I know this is an old thread but I need some input please. My seats are called a 6 way power drivers side. I hear the motors when pushing the switch but no movement. The only function that does work is the forward and backwards. I really need to get this fixed because its stuck in the tilt back function and its kinda uncomfortable for me to be driving this way 1200 miles back to MI. from Fl. Could use some help please. Thank you
Well, if you read through the thread you have a good idea what the problem is. Take the seat out and find the gears that are broken and replace them. You know the motors work, so not much left it can be.
 

bobby a

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Well, if you read through the thread you have a good idea what the problem is. Take the seat out and find the gears that are broken and replace them. You know the motors work, so not much left it can be.
O.k. thank you for your time. I have read through all the posts, it sounds like a job for my body shop guys. I am not very skilled nor do I have the tools or the patients/ time. This forum is GREAT thank you again.
 
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bobby a

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One more question guys, one said that the motors are all the same does anyone have a part number for the whole kit(everything included to fix the seat). Thank you
 

Dean2

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One more question guys, one said that the motors are all the same does anyone have a part number for the whole kit(everything included to fix the seat). Thank you
Not all years are the same parts, take your VIN to the parts department and they can get you the right stuff. I would take it apart and see what you need before I ordered parts though. Sounds like you should just need replacement gears but if you are having someone else do the work, might be cheaper to just order the whole motor and gear assembly than to pay the labour to repair the existing units, once you know exactly what the issue is.
 

bobby a

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Not all years are the same parts, take your VIN to the parts department and they can get you the right stuff. I would take it apart and see what you need before I ordered parts though. Sounds like you should just need replacement gears but if you are having someone else do the work, might be cheaper to just order the whole motor and gear assembly than to pay the labour to repair the existing units, once you know exactly what the issue is.
O.k thank you
 

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