Reversing the Passenger Seat in the NV200

Darren

5 years ago

If you’ve thought about adding a swivel to the passenger seat of your Nissan NV200, I found another way to reverse the seat and it’s FREE!

When I first started investigating the NV200 for a camper build, I came across a swivel seat conversion that is popular in Europe. However, I quickly discovered that I could not find the exact swivel mechanism in the US, it was very expensive, and it was necessary to fabricate a mount for it. After I received my new van I took a closer look and found that the seat would not clear the console or door. That meant I would need to raise the seat above the console (possibly compromising crash safety) AND I would have to open the door to swivel it.

Taking a closer look at the problem, I noticed that the existing seat brackets appeared to be symmetrical side-to-side and front-to-back. I grabbed my rachet and removed the three metric bolts and one nut, in about two minutes.

After unplugging the airbag and seat sensor connectors, the seat lifted right out. This is a good time to mention that you should NOT carry a passenger while the seat is reversed and that goes whether you reverse the seat this way, or with a swivel. The seat-belt and airbags are not designed to be used this way. When traveling, fold the seatback down to the desktop position, which will automatically disable the airbags on that side (thank you to my reader for giving me this info!). You don’t want the side airbag firing toward the driver in the event of an accident.

You will need to find another place for the jack as it will no longer fit under the seat, without some serious modification of the seat brackets. There is actually room under the back of the seat (facing the dashboard) but you’ll need to secure it in place. However, it will no longer fit in the factory position.

It turned out that the four seat bracket holes were ALMOST symmetrical, but not perfectly. So, it was necessary to “clearance” the holes, which simply means I had to make them a little bigger. This was accomplished with a Unibit. 5/8″ to 11/16″ should give you the wiggle room you need to put the bolts through.

You’ll need a 3/4″ Unibit to clearance the holes. 3/4″ refers to the diameter of the last step in the drill bit. You probably won’t actually need the last step for this project. If you don’t have a Unibit, or can’t borrow it, this is actually a good tool to buy. You’ll use it all over the place on your van build. I’ve used the Irwin brand bits for years and find them to be very durable:

The last step of reconnecting the airbags is best shown with some photos:

The airbag wires on under the seat will need to be removed from their bracket, for reconnection to the vehicle harness. Don’t worry, it’s easy!

Squeeze the bottom of the plastic clips where they go through the bracket hole. If your fingers aren’t strong enough for this part, you can use a pair of needle-nose pliers.

With the connectors now free, it’s easier to see where to squeeze the clip.

Now you can reconnect the passenger seat airbags, so you won’t get a warning light on the dash. Be sure to leave the seatback down in the “desk” position when moving, which prevents the airbags from firing.

The whole process took about an hour and I can put it back (if I need to carry a passenger) in ten minutes, provided I have a rachet with me.

If when you are done, the airbag warning light is on (it probably will be) here is how to reset the light. The light is just warning you that the airbags were disconnected.

Remember, seat down when traveling, to keep the airbag disabled. Fold it up when you park.

I hope you enjoyed this quick and simple camper modification for the Nissan NV200. I can now use the seat while I’m parked and stretch my legs into the back. It’s very handy for getting dressed or putting my hiking boots on and I can still use the seatback table. Van mods don’t get much easirer than this one!

–Darren at Odyssey Camper