If you need to free up a little room in the back of your Hyundai Sonata, you can remove the back seats, even though they weren’t designed to be routinely taken out. All you need to do is determine whether the seat is fastened with bolts or clips, and remove the fasteners from the chassis to pull out the seat. The process sounds simple but will take some muscle on your part to get it done.

When you need extra space for hauling the dogs around or packing in boxes for a move, you can avoid renting a larger vehicle by taking the back seats out of your sedan. It will free up a surprising amount of space, and when you’re ready you can re-install the seats again.

To help you through the seat removal process, we've put together a step-by-step guide. Read this guide before you get started and you’ll have more space in your Sonata in no time!

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Can you remove the second row seats from a Hyundai Sonata?

Yes, you can remove the back seats from a Sonata, but it’s not going to be an easy process. That’s because these seats weren’t really designed for frequent removal. They’re bolted or clipped in, and it will take some elbow grease to get the fixtures loosened up enough for removal.

You’ll want to consider a few safety precautions before getting started:

Don’t mess with the seatbelts. When you remove the back seat, you or someone down the road will likely want to reinstall them at some point, and when you do, you must have a safety restraint system in place for passengers. Do not attempt to alter or remove the seatbelts.

Cover the floorboard. Certain fixtures will be exposed when you pull your back seat out. To keep your pets or your cargo safe from scratches, throw down a heavy rug or tarp in the back of your car.

Put the bolts away. Keep them somewhere safe, and somewhere you will remember. You’ll need them to safely reinstall your back seat.

You’re ready to remove your seats, but you want to make sure that the process is totally necessary before getting started. You might consider just folding the rear seats down to make more room. We’ll go over those instructions later.

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How to remove the second row seats from a Hyundai Sonata

Here’s how to take the back seats out of your Sonata:

Determine whether the seats are attached by bolts or clips. When you look under the seat bench, you’ll see either bolts or plastic clips. If the seat is held in by plastic clips, it may pull out without any tools. If not, you might have to apply pressure with a screwdriver to the plastic clip portion while pulling to release the metal hooks attached to the seat.

If it’s bolted, find out where and how many. Some Sonatas with fold-down back seats are only connected by bolts at the front. If your seat is connected by bolts at the rear and front, you’ll need to access the rear bolts through the trunk, and the front bolts under the front of the seat. If there are only two front bolts, just lift up the rear seat with the folding mechanism, and you’ll be able to access them.

Unscrew the nuts. You’ll want a Torx bit or star bit to unscrew the nuts before pulling out the bolts. If your seat is bolted in four places, front and back, start with the rear bolts through the trunk. Then find the front bolts by looking under the seat by the passenger footwell.

Remove the bolts. When you’ve removed the nuts, you can safely remove all the bolts. Keep all nuts and bolts together somewhere safe, so you can reinstall your seats later.

Lift the seats out of your Sonata. When all the bolts are removed, or the clips have been released, you should be able to lift your rear seat up and out of the vehicle.

Clean up and put down a cover. You might find some long-lost relics under your rear seat when you take it out. Be sure to clean up any loose debris, and then throw down a tarp, rug, or floor cover.

Now that your seats are out, you can fill up the cargo space with whatever you’re hauling. It’s a good idea to move your seats somewhere inside where they’ll be protected from the elements until you’re ready to put them back in.

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How do you put the back seats down in a Hyundai Sonata?

If removing the seats seems a little too much, you can still achieve extra space by folding your rear seats down. Here’s how:

For cars with a string/strap system: This isn’t the most common folding system found in Sonatas, but they’re out there. It depends on the model year and trim level you own. To check for the string/strap system, look between the seat bench sections. If you see colored straps or strings, give them a pull while pushing the back of your seat down. This will lower the seatback, freeing up space in your car. You’ll have to repeat this process for each section of the bench seat.

For cars with a push-button system: Feel around the headrest area of your back seat. If you find pushable buttons near the headrest, this is likely the release to fold the seats down. By pushing this button and pushing the seat section back at the same time, you should be able to fold down each section of your back seat. You’ll have to do this for each section separately.

For cars with a pull button system: Finally, some Sonatas might have the seat-fold release mechanism located between the sections of your back seat. Similar to the string/strap system, you should look in the creases between seat sections for a button, switch, or lever. When you find it, operate the button or lever while pushing your seat back into a downward position at the same time.

If you’re still not sure how to proceed, or you want a more detailed set of instructions, you can visit Hyundai online to select the

owner’s manual

for your particular year, make, and model.

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FAQs

Is 2014 Hyundai Sonata seat removal hard to do?

We’ll put it this way: It’s not exactly easy, but you can do it if you need to make space in your 2014 Sonata, or any other model year. If you find your rear seat is clipped in with plastic clips and metal attachments, you might have to apply pressure to the plastic clip to release the metal fixture and remove the seats. If the seat is bolted down, you’ll need a Torx or star bit to loosen the nuts.

Do Hyundai Sonata rear seats fold down?

Yes, but the method varies among model years and trim levels. You’ll have to operate a string/strap, push-button, or level on the rear seat while simultaneously pushing the seatback down to fold it in and make more room. This can help expand your cargo space, but won’t give you as much room as pulling the whole seat out.

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