Audi A6 C5: How to Install Rear Sport Seats
Audi's sport seats not only add support for hard cornering, but they also look downright cool. Here's how to install a rear sport seat in your A6.
This article applies to the Audi A6 C5 (1998-2004).
If you're a true automotive enthusiast (and of course you are, because you're reading this), you undoubtedly like to drive in a spirited manner. And that probably includes taking corners at a higher than average speed. But when you're doing so, you certainly don't want to be sliding around in your seat. That's where sport seats come into play. Providing extra bolstering on the side (and just looking cool in the process), sport seats keep you planted where you need to be while cornering. And if you've got sport seats in the front, you might as well have them in place for your back seat passengers as well, right? Here's how to install a rear sport seat in your A6.
Materials Needed
- 17mm deep socket and ratchet
- T15 and T30 Torx bits and driver
- Phillips screwdriver
- Wire cutters
Step 1 – Remove rear seat
Remove the bottom of the rear seat by simply pulling up on the front of it. Once loose, pull it up and toward the front of the car to gain access to the bottom side. Disconnect the wires for the heated seats, the sensor for the side curtain airbag, and the rear seat side airbag (if so equipped). Use wire cutters to cut the zip ties holding everything in place. Pull the bottom of the rear seat out.
Fold down the rear seat backs and remove the plastic cover by pulling up on it from the rear, then rotating up and forward. Remove the T30 Torx bolt underneath the cover. Remove the metal plate under the screw and you'll see the hinges for the seat back. Lift the 1/3 seat back out of the hinge and slide it toward the front of the car to remove it. Remove the 17mm bolt holding the middle seat belt in place, then the 2/3 seat back.
Remove the locking nut for the strike pin on the side bolsters using a 17mm deep socket, then remove the strike pin. Pull the seat bolster out of the bottom retainer and remove the seat back.
Figure 1. Remove the rear seat bottom. 
Figure 2. Disconnect the wiring under the rear seat. 
Figure 3. Remove the plastic cover and Torx bolt behind the rear seat back. 
Figure 4. Remove the 17mm bolt from the center seat belt. 
Figure 5. Remove the bolt from the seat bolster.
Step 2 – Install sport seat
If you want the locking mechanisms to match the ignition key, you can simply swap out the entire latch mechanism. This is accomplished by removing the Phillips screw and T15 Torx bolt holding it in place, then simply swapping them out. Put the new seat back in the car, then replace the seat bolster bolt and strike pin. Push the seat back into the retaining clips. Reinstall the center seat belt bolt and seat backs. Reinstall the Torx bolt and plastic cover behind the seat backs. Slide the seat bottom in and plug the wiring back in. Push the seat bottom back and down to lock it back into place.
Figure 6. To swap out the locking mechanism, remove the screw. 
Figure 7. Remove the Torx bolt and squeeze the lever to remove the locking mechanism.
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