Seat removal is certainly NOT necessary. But as I recall, due to the tight fit and need to twist the plastic console tightly, it was almost impossible to remove and reinstall without the sharp edges touching both the seat and the brake handle.
I did it with the seats in place - then called the auto cosmetics guy to touch up the brake handle. I had protected the seat at re-install. Wish I had thought to tape the brake handle. Thought to myself that next time it would give me more room to maneuver the console and less chance to damage something just to pop the seat/s out of the way first. But not actually necessary, just be careful.
10 min is about right, took me a bit longer because was adding a few tricks along the way.
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