So since I've owned my car, I always get the message on the instrument cluster that the third row seat isn't in a locked position. This happens when the seat is down. The seat is mechanically locked. When raising the seat, I'll have to usually hit the button a few times until it registers as locked and releases the lock.

There is some misinformation on the third row seat operation, so thought I'd summarise.

The motor module has five wires, as it contains the motor for movement and a hall sensor. The hall sensor is only used as a stall detection device and does not encode the position of the seat.
The locking module has an actuator (wiring diagram says two motors), and a position switch. The position switch is mechanical and switches between two positions. They are locked and not locked. So the same switch is activated for either the up or down position.
There is no way to adjust the seat movement. It is controlled by the limit switch. The left and right side of the hinges operate independently, so no calibration is needed - the motor can't be installed on the wrong gear mesh. It is a pretty simple and robust design, but does depend on the working limit switches.

So back to my problem. I have stuck a bore scope up the back of the seat to look at what is happening with the locking module (if anyone has taken a seat apart, I'd love to see some pictures). The limit switch seems to be activated by a single cog. The issue that I have is my seat is closing slightly too far, which means the switch goes on, then off. If I pull the seat up in the locked position, it can rotate a fraction, which then activates the switch.

Below is the limit switch in the correct position, sitting on the top of the cog

Below is a photo with the seat slightly too closed. The limit switch is now just past the cog and not activated.



I'm going to investigate whether the motor has any movement. It may be lose on the one bolt, which allows some rotation (fraction of a degree) which throws the limit switch off.

 

Did you resolve the third row seat not being in the correct position? I'm in the same situation with the error code. Sometimes I get the message every five seconds, sometimes I drive 60 miles without issue. The seats being up or down doesn't seem to matter. There is not anything jammed under the seat.

Thanks!

 

Yes and no.

I haven’t moved the seats since I last played with it, so it has remained in the closed position, which means no dash warning. I’ve done a few off road tracks with the car bumping around and it hasn’t come back.

If you get the warning on the dash, you can pull the seat and see if the warning light goes off. It took reasonable force to pull the seat up a fraction.

 

Thanks! I was wondering if I removed the seat entirely if this would solve the dash warning. Very unlikely I ever use the third row.

 

I got rid of my third row seats. Installed a panel so now I have extra storage space. I did a thread on the topic a while back. I'm super pleased with the outcome; it holds my roof cross bars, my tools (including my diagnostic computer) with room to spare.

 

Yes, unplugging or removing the seats removes the dash warning. It will through an internal fault unless you program the seats out.