Probably the switch. I would take it apart and clean the contacts. Lot's of crap falls down in those areas.

 

thanks ill try that

 

so i tried taking it apart and i didnt really know wat i was doin and i didnt wanna break anything. do u guys think my best bet would be to take it to the dealershi?

 

try operating it and hear for the motors trying to work. if it's silent, then it could be the switch. but if you hear them trying to move, then of course something is causing it to stick in it's place somehow. if you don't mind paying out the azz for the stealership, be my guest. dropping money and doing no work is as easy as 1, 2, 3...

 

Ok so I did that and the motor doesn't make a sound like its stuck. So that means its gotta be the switch right? So am I gonna have to replace the switch even though the other 2 buttons work for moving the seat forward and back. I'm not really sure how to change it but I'd like to know how to save some money from the dealership. So does anyone know if there's a write up for something like this? I highly doubt it but its worth a try

 

I had a problem like this, but in my previous Saturn vehicle. Not entirely sure what the cause of one switch not working may be, but for me, I accidentally left my windows partially cracked and it rained The next day, my car was full of a smoke scent, as the motor had actually burned itself out overnight. However, this caused all of my buttons to not work, not just one.

If only one of the switches isn't working, then it definately is not the motor. In fact, there's a way you can manually adjust the seat electronically the same way you can with the switch (i know this, because the dealership did it for me once). You probably could take off the plastic covering to gain access to the motor and then play around with it from there.

If you're a careful and observant worker, you probably won't mess up anything as long as you put it back the way you found it. I'll look online to see if I can find it somewhere.

 

yea i tried taking it apart but the plastic piece that covers everything isnt coming off and i took of the one screw by the motor so i didnt wanna pull it too hard and break it. if u can find anything post it up cuz ive been searchin and came up with nothin. i really dont wanna go dealership but if worst comes to worst then i might have to

 

Ok so I searched these forums under various search results of "Power Seat", "Driver seat motor", "seat motor failite" etc, and found some different responses.

This seems like a common problem, as I found pretty much the same story every time. This story came out with a positive ending for one guy:

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/general-nissan-altima-discussion-1993-2001/276337-power-seat.html

It appears there actually are TWO SEPARATE motors on the drivers seat, one for the back/forward motion and one for the up/down motion. Similar to what AceCombat mentioned, if you can expose the metal under the cover, try cleaning the contact points. In the post linked above, one guy got it working by having a friend push the seat forward while he cleaned/adjusted the seat. Eventually it worked.

So it might be a short in the motor, or the motor may be gone altogether, but you should be able to test if the motor is dead or not. If its not dead, then possibly a little wiggle and play, and some cleaner sold at radioshak and get to work.

Also, though not entirely Nissan related, but a quick search in google turned up many more similar stories. One in particular mentioned a fuse that controls the driver's seat. I don't know if this applies to Nissan vehicles, but take a look into it.

 

edit: More stuff from Google EHOW

How to Fix Power Seats in a Nissan Altima | eHow.com
How to Troubleshoot Nissan Power Seats | eHow.com

A couple other threads mentioned fuse also. Check your fuse box and see if any of the "power" fuses are blown.

 

so i just tried to take apart the plastic siding of the seat that covers the motors and stuff but i cant get it off so then i followed the wires from the recline motor and played with it and still nothin. i tried pushing it with a friend for a minute and nothing. im really thinking that the motor is shot cuz i cheched the fuse box and pulled the fuse that said electronic parts i believe and it was good. the motor doesnt even make an effore like i dont hear anything when i move the buttons

 

Hmm I see. If you absolutely think your motor is shot, then it probably may be. A couple things you can do from there

1) Call the Nissan Stealership and ask for the part number of the motor. If you have to, order it but don't buy it. It doesn't cost them anything to retrieve parts since they make it. Once you have the model/part#, you can try searching on google to see if anyone is selling it cheap and if there are instructions on how to install it. Chances are, there is a mechanic who can fix it for you if you have the part for severely less than any dealership. But that plastic cover does come off, either with the whole seat or by itself. Not sure which

2) You could try scrapping your seat (if it bothers you that much) and install one with a manual jack instead. You'll lose the convenience of your power seats, but at least it will work.

3) You could hook up a multimeter to the motor (or have a mechanic do it) to determine if the motor really is shot. The meter can tell you if there is any current or voltage running through the unit.

Thing to remember with something small and annoying like this is to start from the ground up; try to go the most inexpensive route first before deciding to replace your whole seat or motor. It would be a shame to shell out needless money only to find out its a fuse or stick in the motor. Hope this helps a little.

 

Just wondering how long ago did you buy your car. If it was in the last couple of months dealer might fix it for free.

 

Ok so this is good and bad. The seat just reclined all of a sudden this morning when I came in the car. This is good cuz this means the motor isn't shot but that its something with the wires cuz if somethin was blocking the motor it wouldve made a sound which it doesn't. The bad this is my seat is reclined all the way back and isn't coming back up which makes my situation worse cuz nothin is supportin my back.

 

holy $hit. have you tried pulling on the seat while trying to recline it?

 

Basically what coconutt said. Now that you know the motor works, try pushing the seat from behind while agitating the motor and pushing the swtch. Get the seat to where you want it to be and then you can work on fixing it afterwards.

 

^yeah screw whoever needs to drive your car other than you lol for the time being anyway.

 

It is the switch. you should be able to get the pig tail plug off the back then using some wire cross the connections to get the seat up. Just be careful you don't short anything out. Worst case take the seat out 4 bolts and work on it from underneath.

 

Im going to try this i don't really have anything to lose bc its not working 😕

 

so the seat goes back like all the time but it never goes forward. me and my friends tried pushing it forward while pressing the button to go forward and nothin happened and we kept pressure on the seat forward for a good minute or more. so im thinkin to maybe take the 4 bolts for the seat off and workin on it from under because i really dont know wat acecombat is talkin about because there are alot of wires under there and im not able to see good under there and i cant get the plastic siding off the seat. i really wanna fix this because the deal wants $100 just to diagnose it!!!!!!! plus if they do anything i gotta pay more. if anyone has anymore suggestions im open to all of them lol

 

Well if your having a hard time understanding what I said then I think maybe you should bring it to the dealer. Just pay the money. I can't simplify it anymore.

 

its not that i dont know wat ur saying but its that its so tight under the seat that idk where the pigtail plug for the switch is.i mean i tried using my hand to reach for it but i didnt feel any wires i only felt the tracks.

 

ok guys heres what happened, so i took it to the dealer for a diagnostic on the seat and somethin else and they said it was the motor and that to do it it would cost $500. i wasnt gonna pay that just for the seat to recline and come back up. so thanks to you guys on the forums i went and bought a switch for $48 off ebay and now its fixed. thanks alot guys, now i can drive comfortably.