Fold-down rear seats jammed

[CarQuake]

My 1995 5 Series saloon (E34 525i manual) has the optional fold-down rear seats but I can't get them to fold. The handbook says that when you lift up the seat bases it releases levers beneath them, which in turn should release the seat backs. At the top of each seat back is a red plastic tag that should pop up when the seat back is released. I can lift the seat bases easily enough, but the red tags fail to pop up and the seat backs refuse to budge.
Any ideas?

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

like the Touring rear seats, then you may have to push down on the seatback to relieve the pressure on the latch.

Try those red tabs again, they also release the folded down seats on my touring too.

[CarQuake]

Sussed it!
Battery failed last week so I had to remove the carpet under the rear seat to fit a new one. While the carpet was out I pushed down on the release lever that lives beneath the rear seat and 'pyoing!', the red tab popped up at the top of the seat back, releasing the seat back from its catch. It seemed that the extra travel on the lever available with the carpet out of the way was all it needed.
Halfway down the release lever there's a joint held in place with a small Torq bolt. By releasing this you can adjust the amount of bend in the joint, allowing the lever to move more fully before stopping against the carpet.
After doing this to the levers beneath each seat they now release as they should – you simply pull up the seat base(squab) and the seat backs release. And yes, they really do go 'pyoing!'.
Success, we can go on that snowboarding holiday after all!

[Tiger]

Wow... you are lucky to have that folding seat!

[acidfire52]

Wow... you are lucky to have that folding seat!

No doubt. I really miss that feature from my Camry.