Blank Slate: Remove the Seats and Trim from a 2013 Ford Transit Connect XLT Passenger Van

If you have a 2013 Ford Transit Connect XLT passenger van instead of a cargo van you will need to remove the seats, seat belts, and some trim. Our rear seats are split into a single passenger side seat and a double driver side seat. We won’t use the single rear passenger seat at all going forward, but in 5-10 minutes we can reinstall the double driver side seat if we need to seat four.

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Summary

Basically, you just need a couple of specialty TORX drive bit sockets and a socket wrench set to remove the seats. You’ll need some prying tools to get the trim off. We just used small pry bars that we had on hand, but you can buy a special automotive trim removal set.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Remove the Seats

Tip the second row seats forward and remove the bolts securing them to the floor using a TORX T50 hex socket wrench. It only takes 5 minutes.
Lift the seats straight up, off their short locating posts on the floor and remove them.

Remove the Trim

Remove the cargo side trim by carefully pulling the trim out to disengage the snaps securing it to the metal van shell. Look on YouTube to get a feel for how hard to pull and where. It only takes 5 minutes.
TIP: We left the flexible plastic trim over the wheel wells on since it didn’t take up extra space and we weren’t insulating behind it. We also left the side access panel to the jack.

Remove the Seat Belts

Remove rear seat belt mechanisms on the drive and passenger sides using TORX T40 and T50 hex socket wrenches. Removing this mechanism gave us a few more inches for the side bench seat backs.
Cover and store all these parts.