Introduction
The seats shown are off a Porsche Cayman, Boxster, or 911 (987/997, mk5 VW similar). At the bottom are additional notes specific to mk4 Volkswagen seats. VW, Audi, and most other German seats are very similar so you should be able to figure out any variation after reading this article. Shipping car seats is usually cheapest through Greyhound freight. You have to drop off and pick up the package at the local Greyhound station. Always make sure to pad any corners and wrap them so they cannot shift in their boxes.
To swap in power seats on your VW-Audi or reskin the seat upholstery, see 1000q: power seat swap
To remove the seats on your mk5 VW, see 1000q: front and rear seat removal
Warning: ground the seat and yourself before working with any wiring! There is a small chance that static electricity could ignite the side airbag in the seat! Read and agree to the TOS Agreement for the full legal disclaimer before proceeding!
Procedure
First remove any trim around the seat bottom. You'll have to remove the seat tilt/height lever first. Remove the cap using a plastic pry or dental pick where the gap is. Then remove the T30 torx bolt in the middle.
The Porsche 987/997 seat has two T20 torx screws that hold the plastic trim on. Remove the trim - it's somewhat clipped at the back.
Unplug the backrest adjustment and set the trim aside.
Remove the T30 torx screw and phillips screw holding the side trim. The yellow arrow is the less visible screw that was holding the last piece of trim on. Click to enlarge the thumbnail.
Unplug the white plug at on the left (front of seat) and the seat heater plug at the top of the picture, both marked. You'll have to release some zip ties. If you use a dental pick you can release the zipties instead of cutting them off. Click to enlarge the thumbnail.
Pull the yellow plug towards the rear of the seat and use a pick to release the clips holding the inner plugs in. The middle plug has to come out. The inset picture is a frontal view after removing the middle plug.
Remove the torx screw holding the plastic trim on the inside. Then remove the two T45 torx bolts marked. The seat back and bottom can now be separated. Click to enlarge the thumbnail.
Here are some additional notes and pictures for a mk4 VW.
The seat lever is held on by uncovered screws.
Trim half removed:
Seat wiring: The big red plug is power/ground for the seat motor and the tan plug is for memory function.
Here's a picture showing the plug for the upper seat skin heater element.
Feel free to ask a question about this article at the myturbodiesel.com Volkswagen TDI forum