Recaro Trend Seat Disassembly Instructions
 

Over the weekend I installed Rostra Seat Heaters in my car. There are many different brands but the installation is pretty much the same. The directions below are geared more towards the disassembly of the Recaro Trend seat then the specifics of the Seat Heater install. If you have any questions specific to the Seat Heaters please do not hesitate to e-mail me.

The easy part about the disassembly of the Recaro Trend seat is that there are no Hog Rings.
 
Required Tools
Optional Tools
Phillips Screw Driver
Pliers
1/2 and 9/16 Wrench
2 Flat Head Screw Drivers
 
You can click on any thumbnail image to get a much higher resolution (larger) image. The larger images do not have notes.

 

Step 1 Remove Seat from the Car
   
  The Recaro Seats are held into the VX with 4 bolts. Using the 9/16 Wrench remove all 4 bolts, 2 in the front and 2 in the back. If you have plastic covers over the rails then you will need to pinch the sides and slide them off in order to gain access to the bolts.

 

Step 2 Remove Slider Mechanism
   
The slider rails are mounted to a metal frame which is attached to the seat bottom. We are interested in removing all of this. Each slider rail is attached with 2 bolts. You can remove the slider rails and then Remove slider mechanism or you can remove it as one large piece. There are 4 bolts which can be removed with the 1/2 wrench. Start by moving the sliders to their highest position and removing the easily accessible bolts at the bottom of the chair.
Next move the sliders to their lowest position. You will need to remove the bolt which attaches the slider rail to the metal frame.

After you have removed this bolt you need to pull the top of the slider rail towards the middle of the seat. This will expose access to the bolt which holds the metal frame to the chair, remove it.

Slide the slide rail back to it's regular position and reinstall the bolt which holds it to the metal frame (this is optional but keeps everything together in one piece). Repeat this process on both sides and the entire assembly will come off.

   

 

Step 3 Remove Rear Cover
   
There are 2 screws holding the Rear Cover to the Seat. After removing the screws you can pull the rear cover off by sliding down towards the exposed seat bottom.
Cover removed

 

Step 4 Remove Reclining Knob
   
This thing is really easy to remove.  It snaps on and off.  The easy method I found for remove is to use two screw drivers each on opposite sides of the knob.  Just twist the screw drivers and it will pop right off.
   

 

Step 5 Remove Rear Seat Access Lever
   
This thing is also really easy to remove.  You can pull it right off, or if it’s stuck put a screw driver at the base and tape it out.  Careful not to scratch the plastic.
Rear Seat Access Lever removed.

 

Step 6 Remove Recliner Cover
   
Notice the fixing peg.
This one is tricky.  The cover is held on by two different clips.  The first step is to push in the fixing peg.  You can do this with a paper clip or any slender pointed object.  Push it straight in and you will be able to get it once the cover is off.
For me this was the most difficult part of both chairs.  Carefully pull the cover off.  Keep in mind it’s held in with breakable plastic two clips. If anyone finds an easy way to take this off please let me know

 

Step 7 Remove Side Covers
   
There are 4 screws on the inside. They are tough to access so I would recommend a small screw driver. There is also a plastic clip attached to the metal frame by the reclining assembly. You can use a screw driver to bend it out and then pull the plastic side cover right off.  Careful not to break the clip off as it is very important to keeping the side cover secured.
Side Cover removed

 

Step 8 Remove Bottom Cushion Cover
   
The first part of this is to remove the sides. They are attached with small black plastic brackets which fits into a plastic channel.  Pliers or a flat head screw driver work well for starting to pull it out.  Once you have a small bit out you can pull the rest by hand.
Repeat this process until all the edges have been removed. There is one on each side and one at the back of seat.
Where ever you see a seam on the top of the seat cover there is a plastic bar attached to the seam holding it to the seat frame on the bottom of the seat.  The easiest way to remove these is to take a pliers pull the plastic bar over the clip holding it in place.
The last part is to remove the center seam bar.  The easiest way I found to remove it is to put one hand under the foam of the seat and use your other hand to finagle the clip.  Be careful not to rip the foam on the seat.
Once you have removed all the bars you should be able to pull the seat cover all the way to the back and expose the foam.

 

Step 9 Install Bottom Cushion Heating Element
   
This is straight forward and depending on the unit you buy you may be able to skip some of these steps.  For my unit I had to cut the center seam bar because it required me to cut to  much of seat heating element.  There are 5 spots where clips hook and I had to cut off the end 2 leaving 3.
Cut Center Seam Bar
Align the heating element however it fits in your seat. I found it easiest to get it the farthest back if the seat is fully reclined back. To wire power it was easier if the seat was reclined all the way forward. Make sure you hang the power line out the proper side of the seat based on how you are wiring power throughout the rest of the car. For the drivers seat I ran the power out the right side of the seat so it could connect with the power I had run in the center console.

Power Cable hanging out the rear.

I re-assembled the bottom seat cushion, however you could skip the re-assembly now, go to the next step, and then re-assemble.

To re-assember follow the disassembly directions in opposite order.

 

Step 10 Remove Back Cushion Cover
 
Start by removing the lining around the back black plastic piece.
Remove the lining at the bottom of the back cushion.
Remove the lining by the reclining knobs
Start peeling off the leather cover.  When you hit the vertical seams there will be a single long plastic bar that you can push in and pull out. Once you've removed the side seam bars you should be able to pull the cover up.

 

Step 11 Install Back Cushion Heating Element
   
  Install the heating element and run the power out the back. Just like with the installation with the bottom Heating Element run power out the appropriate side.

 

Step 12 Re-Assemble Entire Seat
   
  I didn't take any pictures of the re-assembly and I do not feel it needs to be describe in detail. If you need directions follow this guide in reverse and skip Steps 9 and 11.

 

Step 13 Seat Heater Button Placement
   
Placement of the seat heater buttons is entirely up to your personal preference. Make sure it's in an area you can access and remove. I removed the center console and drilled holes for the buttons right in front of the emergency brake. This was the most accessible spot I could find for both the driver and passenger. For the electrical I tapped both the seat heaters into the lighter circuit.