Stupid question regarding front seats

So I've always wondered. Is there a way to lock the front seats or do they fold freely. All seats I've seen lock but I've never been able to do that with the Riv. I think the little black hook at the base in the back has something to do with this, but I've never figured it out.

BTW, I fully understand if I'm just being stupid too.

Not a stupid question; the answer isn't so obvious! The seats were designed to lock when they need to (under significant deceleration). When you brake hard, a mechanism locks the seats so they won't move forward. This can also happen on an extreme incline. The little black handles on the seat are for such an occasion when the seats could become locked, making it hard to access the back seat. I've never needed to use mine.

I've had to get used to this as well. Never had another car seat that worked this way.

I figured that was the case and I did some trials to see is that was so but still, it never made sense why they would do that except the fact that if you figure that your target market was an older generation & the seat belts get in the way when entering the back. Maybe they figured it's too far to stretch for old people when helping granma get in the back. One more thing that sorta makes me love the riviera more everyday.

I always thought they didn't lock because the passenger side always went forward under hard braking. AA- do you have a photo you could share to show me where the lock mechanism is so I can tinker with it tomorrow?

Actually, GM has been using these 'inertial' seatback locks for 30 years...
Just like Twilight Sentinel, automatic brake release and the comfort-feature and release-solenoids that they built into our shoulder belt retractors, they figured that unlocking the seatbacks was something that their luxury car buyers shouldn't have to put up with. Before the inertial setup was perfected, 2-door Cadillacs in the 70's had an extra door-jamb switch that fired a solenoid in the seats that released the latch.

I don't think you should mess with the latch assembly. You might be able to rig up something to make it manual, but right now the pendulum locks the seatback independently, and the lever just pulls the pendulum back if you park on a real steep hill...

changing the seatback lock mechanism would not be on my to-do list.

Albertj

any way to adjust said pendulum? my passenger seat is always flying forward and HATE it.
Even just riding in the passenger seat it can feel a little un-nerving when you lean forward and the seat moves too. (or so i've heard since i dont let anyone drive my car)

as a very quick temporary measure you might try adjusting the seat. If the pass seat is a power seat, tilt the seat base so the back is lower than the front and recline the seat back a little - not so much that it bugs you or looks strange but enough until it makes a difference.

Albertj

Quote :

I always thought they didn't lock because the passenger side always went forward under hard braking. AA- do you have a photo you could share to show me where the lock mechanism is so I can tinker with it tomorrow?

I don't have any pictures, as I've never actually seen the mechanism. But I know it works because my seats (driver nor passenger) don't move forward under hard braking.

I'm on thin ice here becasue I've never had the seat apart to service the mechanism - but it might be that something is binding so that the seatback latch is not working right. If it is lubricated it'd probably be a dry lube such as graphite. If not I'd suspect the mechanism is damaged or some upholstery material got into it and needs to be removed.

Albertj

I have been thinking about the seats too and I am glad I found this post. For a while I thought my seats were defective and if I ever crashed I would be sandwiched by my seat! The thought of it is terrifying!

I second that, Charlie!
Stumbled on this thread... It answers one more question on the list that I have about this car.
I've drawn a line through that one.

I'm new to your site, and have found the information on your site to be very valuable (and entertaining) in helping to fix the issues with my car (no a/c fan = bad blower control module was huge and made me a daily visitor).

I have a silver '98 SC Riviera (every option, from what I can tell) with the gold package that was originally sold in Las Vegas, NV (Desert Buick GMC), and made its way to Tucson, AZ. I bought it off Craigslist (after a friend of mine in Phoenix looked it over), and drove it back to Buffalo, NY back in April. I had a black '96 SC Riviera back in 2006-2007, but sold it to a friend after 6 months - it had been driven through many winters, and I really prefer a rust-free summer driver, but I was hooked on finding another SC Riviera.

My passenger seat folds forward like it should, but my driver's seat won't fold forward at all, even when I try to use the little black hook at the base of the seatback - any suggestions on what to do next would be greatly appreciated, since I'd like it to work the way it should.

John P.