A quick update on the rear seat issue.
I got access to the back to the seat (zip and hooked flaps of fabric secure the seat covering).
Two catched hinges at either side of the seat back are actuated by a looped cable passed across the back to the seat.
Both catches unlatched when levered by screwdriver and the cable ran freely. The catches seemed stiff (strong spring?) though.
Not finding anything mechanically wrong I gave them a blast of WD40 and turned by attention to the release lever.
This is cheapy plastic. The metal splinea/spindle of the catch/hinge is mated to a plastic socket arrangement which had broken. The metal spindle had been stripped by previous repeated attempts to activated the catch using pliers (I know because I did exactly the same thing trying to test the mechanism).
DBMandrake's point about instinctively pulling the lever up when trying to raise the seat back is very true but I think the combined resistance of two (too) stiff latches was just too much for the half hearted lever.
Having satisfied myself that the mechanism did work (by strong arming the spindle with a pair of mole grips) I resorted to creating a stronger lever.
After looking around I decided there was nothing for it but a bodge.
I bought a universal window winder handle from ebay, rebuilt the spindle, with a combination of drilling to provide purchase and liquid metal to increase the diameter, so that one of the supplied adapters would grip enough to overcome the resistance of the stiff mechanism.
It works and looks quite good. Not sure how long it will last so if anyone has a better solution I am all ears.
I am not replacing the other side until it breaks.
The other niggles sorted:
I don't think this i-miev had ever been rapid charged so they had not noticed the chademo flap did not work (cable had become disconnected at the level end - apparently very common).
We have a heated driver's seat - switch was just not connected. Not found any reason to disable heated seat yet ....
I am now scouring the internet for solutions to the dreadful heater - 17miles of predicted range lost with one click of the ac button! I used the tip from elsewhere on this forum of just using the fan on two clicks without heat to demist the windscreen but my wife is not impressed (but the heated seat saved the day).
Unfortunately this i-miev did not come with a remote to allow preheating. Do all i-mievs come with the car side electronics to allow preheating - ie is it worth hunting down a remote (or hack) to try activating the preheat?
Otherwise pleased with the car - I prefer it to our PCP'd 22kw slow charging Zoe which was too little car in some respects and too much car in others. My wife would beg to differ!
I got access to the back to the seat (zip and hooked flaps of fabric secure the seat covering).
Two catched hinges at either side of the seat back are actuated by a looped cable passed across the back to the seat.
Both catches unlatched when levered by screwdriver and the cable ran freely. The catches seemed stiff (strong spring?) though.
Not finding anything mechanically wrong I gave them a blast of WD40 and turned by attention to the release lever.
This is cheapy plastic. The metal splinea/spindle of the catch/hinge is mated to a plastic socket arrangement which had broken. The metal spindle had been stripped by previous repeated attempts to activated the catch using pliers (I know because I did exactly the same thing trying to test the mechanism).
DBMandrake's point about instinctively pulling the lever up when trying to raise the seat back is very true but I think the combined resistance of two (too) stiff latches was just too much for the half hearted lever.
Having satisfied myself that the mechanism did work (by strong arming the spindle with a pair of mole grips) I resorted to creating a stronger lever.
After looking around I decided there was nothing for it but a bodge.
I bought a universal window winder handle from ebay, rebuilt the spindle, with a combination of drilling to provide purchase and liquid metal to increase the diameter, so that one of the supplied adapters would grip enough to overcome the resistance of the stiff mechanism.
It works and looks quite good. Not sure how long it will last so if anyone has a better solution I am all ears.
I am not replacing the other side until it breaks.
The other niggles sorted:
I don't think this i-miev had ever been rapid charged so they had not noticed the chademo flap did not work (cable had become disconnected at the level end - apparently very common).
We have a heated driver's seat - switch was just not connected. Not found any reason to disable heated seat yet ....
I am now scouring the internet for solutions to the dreadful heater - 17miles of predicted range lost with one click of the ac button! I used the tip from elsewhere on this forum of just using the fan on two clicks without heat to demist the windscreen but my wife is not impressed (but the heated seat saved the day).
Unfortunately this i-miev did not come with a remote to allow preheating. Do all i-mievs come with the car side electronics to allow preheating - ie is it worth hunting down a remote (or hack) to try activating the preheat?
Otherwise pleased with the car - I prefer it to our PCP'd 22kw slow charging Zoe which was too little car in some respects and too much car in others. My wife would beg to differ!
