2010 LGT Broken Lumbar

The lumbar support in my 2010 LGT broke a while back. I haven't been able to make it to a dealer for a warranty repair so I decided to look at it myself. After reading the previous threads on the topic, I believe they are spot on in that the S-hooks they provided are undersized. I am going to replace them with something beefier. I was wondering if anyone knew where the S-Hook on the right side of the seat attaches as I did not see an obvious location.

http://i.imgur.com/6fYCw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/o7uzf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wGFmO.jpg

The last image is a broken piece of the hook I found in the bottom of the seat. Both sides of my lumbar support were detached when I took off the rear seat cover.

This is a known issue and no fix. Just take to the dealer to repair.

 

Do some searching...there is a thread on this already.

When mine broke the dealer fixed it under warranty and the service writer told me that they'd seen several and would always beef up the hooks when they replaced it. It's been about 2 years since mine broke and I haven't had an issue with the replacement. I'm also a "wide load" and put some serious stress on the seats.

see this thread for the location of the clip

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/inside-2010-legacy-seat-and-lumbar-adjustment-128157.html

This is a known issue and no fix. Just take to the dealer to repair.

 

Do some searching...there is a thread on this already.

The dealership fixed mine and it broke again 2yr later, they only replaced the broken part with another weak link that eventually broke. Also the plastic trim on the side of the seat has never fit right since. Plus it took two trips to the dealership. The first one took them a couple of hours to figure out what the problem was then had to order new parts which took a few weeks (they replaced the whole seat frame). Then the second visit took them another couple of hours to install the new frame.

 

I'm not going to let the dealership waste any more of my time on this one and fix it myself.

^^ +1

 

Mine has broken twice now. The dealer just replaces the crappy part with an equally crappy new part. There has to be a better way to fix this and save myself going to the dealer to have them diagnose the problem, and then going back when they get the part in.

Well after a visit to Fastenal I found something which ended up working perfectly. http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=45211&ucst=t They also have higher grade material on their website which is rated a bit stronger, but more expensive and I don't believe it is necessary. These links have a 175 lb rating.

 

I decided to do a little mini how-to on what I did. Total cost $2.50 ~1-2 hrs.

 

Step one - detach the lowest elastic strap on the seat. This strap holds the fabric on the back of the seat snug. This was fairly difficult as it had to be done totally blind. Taking pictures with my phone helped me see what was going on and I was able to unhook it afterwards.

http://i.imgur.com/vEI9c.jpg

Another view of the elastic strap.

http://i.imgur.com/STTMP.jpg

 

Second step. Remove the two screws located under the flap of fabric and foam at the bottom of the seat back.

http://i.imgur.com/7btQH.jpg

 

The seat has two snap on clips on the each side of the bottom. You have to grab the seat back on the side and pull out with a little bit of force to get it to pop out of these clips. After you do that it will easily slide straight down and off.

 

Once the seat back is off repairing the attachment points of the lumbar support is pretty straight forward. The next three photos show how I attached the quick link on both sides. On the left (Drivers) side of the seat the quick link needs to be attached with nut in the back. This essentially shortens the link length. I originally attached it like the right side and the lumbar support did not act evenly. It pulled in way further on the right side then the left side. I'm a little worried about the left side slipping around so that is a full link length and the same thing will occur, but so far it has worked.

 

Right Hand Side

http://i.imgur.com/Q9bL7.jpg

 

Left Hand side Top view

http://i.imgur.com/cRlJa.jpg

 

Left Hand Side Bottom View

http://i.imgur.com/6Z0gX.jpg

 

It was a little tight getting the quick links to thread together with my fingers, but manageable. On the right side there is was a plastic gromet which I removed from the hole in order for the quick links to fit. The threads of the quick link just barely fit through the original attachment points. I will update this thread if I end up doing anything else as a repair. Hopefully this will help some people out when these keep breaking after their warranties are expired.

http://imgur.com/a/nfGlr#6

Nice job.

 

I'll have to remember this for when it breaks again.

I guess I know what I'll be doing this summer.

Thanks for the good write up and Pics. My seat broke about 6 months ago and was told by the dealer that the replacement lumbar was on back order. I went in last week again to have them show me proof of the order and low and behold it was never ordered. Now the car is out of warrenty and they are going to order it again and "see what we can do" to help me out. So I just took the seat appart and used a carabiner I had laying around for the hook. Hope they will replace it for free but if not at least It now works.

Did the Lumbar repair today and everything is working perfect.

 

Bought these Quick Links at home depot 1/8" rated at 220lbs(safe working load).

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050813.jpg

 

Size comparison to the factory hooks:

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050820.jpg

 

Pics (This is not a write-up, just a collection of pics that may help somebody in the future)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050835.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050834.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050833.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050832.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050831.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050830.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050829.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050828.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050827.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050836.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050826.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050825.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050824.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050823.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050822.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050821.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050819.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050818.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050817.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/P1050816.jpg

and a video of it working

 

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/th_P1050825-1.jpg

 

http://s1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee430/isapproved/LegacyGT/?action=view&current=P1050825-1.mp4

Mine got fixed 3 times by the dealership in 2 years. First time they said that there was a recall and replaced the clip. Second time they said it just came off and had to clip it back. Third time they said they just had to adjust the motor or some bs.

My dealer told me that they would need to replace the whole seat back! $371 without labor.

 

I fixed myself with your help for $3.28.

 

Thank you very much.

I felt a pop on my seat when I sat in my car today. I decided to check

On the forum before calling my dealership to piss away money.

 

I'm not a Mr. Fixit but I can follow directions. How bad is this to do and how

much time do I need? What tools are needed? I could really use the money to save instead of spend. Thanks!

 

My dealer told me that they would need to replace the whole seat back! $371 without labor.

 

I fixed myself with your help for $3.28.

 

Thank you very much.

LOL, I felt a pop in my seat a couple weeks ago too. Just got a chance to research and found this. Thanks for the pics op, I will fix this soon!

This thread is awesome. Fixed mines in 30mins. Thanks

i love you guys !

fixing it tomorrow!

Subaru uses some cheap materials in the seats. Even the seats without the lumbar support have wires that pop off. I had to pull both seat backs off to fix and I'm only 190 lbs. Best lumbar support I ever had was a pneumatic pump like a blood pressure cuff bulb. Infinitely adjustable and never had a problem....though I could see others having problems.

 

I would wear gloves when fighting that elastic strap underneath too. Lots of sharp edges of rusty sheet metal.

Hello all,

First of all I would like to thank TheCopyCat and JLGT for their excellent pictures and directions on how to remove the backseat cover and their proposed repair for the lumbar support. I would like to add to their experiences as I have discovered the next weak link in the lumbar support system. My legacy GT now has 95,000km and my lumbar support broke first broke at 50,000km because it was still under warranty the dealer replaced those $34 clips at no cost to me. Now at 95,000 km the dealer said they would charge me at least $300 for this repair. (Subaru customer service has definitely changed over the last four years). With the help of this thread I was able to take apart the seat back and fix the lumbar support myself. I noticed that this time it was not those $34 clips that failed but it was the 90 degree hook that the clip attaches to broke in half. (Look at the picture in TheCopCat post it is the hook on the side of the seat closest to the windows). Went to another dealer to see if they sell a replacement hook and guess what nobody knows what I was referring to even Subaru canada had no part listing for this small piece of hardware. i think that was why Subaru replaced the entire seat back for Rutchard because if that clip broke on him they would replace the entire lumbar support under warranty However because the car is off of warranty who knows how much they would charge me. I decided to make my own clip using a piece of 18 gauge copper wire and it is working great. So be advised that even if you change the initial clips the next weak link is the 90 degree hook.

Gonna do this tonight, mine broke for the 4th time yesterday. Looks like dealership's 3 previous warranty fixes did nothing.

More thanks as I head mine pop tonight! Excellent write up, I will be fixing it tomorrow

Excellent write up OP. Mine broke for the second time yesterday. First time was fixed under warranty. I found a similar part at tractor supply rated for 220lbs. Cost <$5 to replace both clips and 15 minutes of time.

Just want to say thank you so much for making this thread and saved me a lot of money