First time problem with this. Unsure whether it is electrical (switch, motor, etc.) or mechanical.

Seat is motorized and will move forward but not backwards. Not an issue prior to this past weekend. Other controls (seat back, etc.) work fine.

Short of unbolting seat from floor of car to inspect, any other suggestions what might be causing this problem? No obstructions found during initial inspection yesterday to prevent seat from moving back. No motor running sounds heard when switch is in 'move back' position which I would expect to hear even if something was preventing it from moving backwards.

You may have to pull the seat to check it: I'm not sure. Since the seat moves forward, it sounds more like a bad switch than a bad seat motor. To check it, you need to pull the switch and jump the connectors to see if the seat will move. Some switches you could actually reverse, which would allow the seat to move back and not forward. If the switch is bad, just buy a new one. Good luck. Hy

By the way, unbolting the seat is easy. Pry out any plastic covers covering the mounting bolts and remove the bolts. There are four bolts. Then tilt the seat forward and disconnect the electrical connectors.Hy

I did manage to unbolt the seat only to eventually find that it was the switch causing the problem. I ordered a switch and once installed everything was fine. My only problem then was getting the seat back into proper position. It seems that the bolts tend to get stripped rather easily so I had to buy a couple new ones which further delayed getting my set back the way it was supposed to be.

Glad you got it fixed. Putting those seat tracks back in can be a PITA, I know. Glad I could help and thanks for the update. Drive safely. Hy.

I ended up getting a bit creative before I finally got it bolted back down. After I removed the seat I unscrewed those "star" bolts that held the tracks to the part that moves the tracks back and forth thanks to the threated rods. I hammered the tracks back so I could get to those threaded blocks and then turned them by hand to get them in a position further back. I put the star headed bolts back on and I was at least able to drive the car while I fussed with getting all 4 bolts back down.

If the seat hadn't been stuck in a "moving forward" mode I would have just waited for the replacement switch. Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen. I think those engineers should have designed a way to manually crank those threaded blocks one way or the other for a temporary fix, but if that were possible then why would we need to buy replacement parts or take the car to a Toyota service location?!

I have the same problem with my 1999 solara. where did you order the switch? was it fairly easy to unbolt the seat for the replacement?

I ordered mine through a dealership, but I cannot recall who offhand. I could try to search back and see. I will have to say that I don't think replacing the switch resolved the whole issue though. I am thinking it might also have something to do with the motor as well but I have not bothered to look for a replacement of it yet.

As for removal, etc. if I recall correctly I did remove the seat from the car which was a pain. Frankly I don't know whether I really needed to remove the seat once I decided it was the switch. There are some plastic pieces screwed in to the front and side of the seat that you will definitely need to remove.

Sorry I can't be of any more specific help.