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The rivets on my 98 V70 T5 are plastic. When rear seat passengers disconnect their seat belt and let it fly, it eventually cracks the rivet. Once the rivet is gone, you can expect the dreaded locked-up belt syndrome.
Klaus has described the immediate fix: disconnect the belt from the car frame, which permits the belt to be retrieved from the mechanism. It is tempting to use a pop rivet or small nut and bolt to act as the stopper, but it has to permit the seat belt buckle to pass over it; there is a small ... very small .. notch in the buckle to permit this. The size of that notch is what precludes the home-made repair.
After the umpteenth time disconnecting the belt, I went to the dealer and bought the replacement rivet ("Button", p/n 8665065, $6.00). However, it comes in two pieces. My task was to broaden the ... ahem ... male plastic part in order to hold it together, much like a pop rivet. I located my smallest soldering iron tip and very carefully applied it. Even so, the plastic melted and flowed rather than broadening. The temptation is to continue to apply heat. Bad idea; that merely melts more plastic, until little remains. I stopped before that happened, and the rivet stayed in place. However, it is just as fragile as the original, so I remind my passengers to gently allow the belt to retract rather than letting it fly.
So far, so good.
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Dave in Virginia; 1998 V70 T5(M): IPD MOTRONIC+ ECU Upgrade, Sport Muffler, IPD Strut Tower Brace; VDO Boost Gauge, IPD Anti-Sway Bars, Rocha ABS Control Unit/// 1988 245 DL Wagon// 1967 MGB Roadster
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