Reclining rear seat assembly

A vehicle seat assembly for a vehicle having a vehicle body, the vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a bulkhead mountable to the vehicle body at a first location and including a pair of spaced brackets;
• a seat bottom including a seat pan mountable to the vehicle body at a second location that is different than the first location and including a bottom cushion disposed on the seat pan;
• a seat back including a frame having a pair of spaced apart side members and at least one cross member extending between the side members, wherein a lower end of each of the side members is pivotably attached to a corresponding one of the brackets at a pivot point such that the seat back is pivotable relative to the bulkhead about the pivot point and is supported above the seat bottom by the bulkhead when the vehicle seat assembly is mounted to the vehicle body, and wherein the frame further includes a backside facing the bulkhead and a front side having a back cushion adjacent thereto;
• and
• a recline mechanism including a driving arrangement mounted to one of the bulkhead and the frame and a driven arrangement mounted to the other of the bulkhead and the frame, wherein the recline mechanism is operable to pivot the seat back relative to the bulkhead.

A method of assembling a vehicle seat including a bulkhead, a back frame, and a recline mechanism having a drive member and a driven member, the method comprising:

• attaching the drive member to one of the bulkhead and the back frame;
• attaching the driven member to the other of the bulkhead and the back frame;
• pivotably attaching the back frame to the bulkhead with a backside of the back frame facing the bulkhead;
• with the drive member and the driven member disconnected, installing trim on the back frame while the back frame is in a trim-installation position;
• and
• pivoting the back frame towards the bulkhead and subsequently connecting the driven member to the driver member, wherein the bulkhead is pivotably mountable to a vehicle body, and the recline mechanism is configured to enable the back frame to pivot relative to the bulkhead.