Tips for Townace engine bay access sequence: (Print)
(Mainly for new owners. Sorry if you find ALL of these completely obvious and have never been frustrated by getting the sequence wrong. A good technique for this will make the job less difficult and make you more inclined to carry out necessary preventative checks.)
Open driver's door. Press the button to unlock all doors.
Move personal items from top of console as necessary. Driver's seat armrest up.
Un-velcro carpet flap from side of console and pull it right up away from the seat slide rail and from behind the seatbelt buckle.
Slide the driver's seat fully forward and tip the backrest fully forward.
(If the seat just inside the sliding door is turned to face rearwards then go in and at least move its backrest out of the way.)
Open front passenger door.
The front passenger seat/backrest/armerest probably do not need adjusting but it must not be fully forward or the seat will hit the roof and the backrest adjusting lever will be in the way when you want to hook on the plastic retaining strap. Tilting the backrest back as a counterbalance will make the seat slightly easier to lift.
(If you want to close the front passenger door and its window with the seat up, either to drive around or just park in the rain, then the slide the seat further back now.)
Each side of the front of the passenger seat, unvelcro carpet flap (see the diagram under the one nearest you!), unclasp and leave clasp folded down, clear of the hook on the seat.
Lift passenger seat with right hand under its left front corner.
Halfway up grab the plastic retaining strap from the door pillar with your left hand and, as the seat comes up, fit it over the top corner of the steel hook under the seat before letting the centre plastic pin go into the hole in the steel hook to secure the seat.
Check that you have finished before putting the seat down. Write a checklist on the bodywork under the seat if you find that you need to.
Use right hand to lower the passenger seat, left hand to unhook the plastic retaining strap and before the seat's fully down push back the plastic strap to hang vertically on the door pillar.
From the driver's side reach across behind the backrest, push the carpet flap well down beside the drivers seat on to the slide rails.
Tilt the driver's backrest back, reach across in front of it and, with the seat still slid fully forward, push the seatbelt buckle towards the vertical and, again, push that carpet flap down as far as you can on to the slide rails (otherwise it may be necessary to slide the driver's seat backwards and forwards several times to get the carpet flap down).
Slide the seat halfway back and velcro the carpet flap fully down.
- Dave Mason, 5 Sep 2002.