Came out of the grocery tonight to discover that my seat belt was jammed -- it wouldn't pull out of its housing to buckle, nor did it want to retract. Anyone encounter this one?

If it ain't one thing, it's another.

Thanks in advance.

smm
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Raleigh, NC

I have always hated the design of the inertia reel, using a vertical roller rather than horizontal.

If the belt is not tightly retracted, it might just be twisted. Using minimal force, try to work the belt in and out a 1/4 inch at a time. You might want to carefully pry the small cover off the belt where it goes into the B pillar to give you more room and let you look at the belt. The plastic tabs tend to break if forced too hard.

Inside of the tensioner are 2 small pins, if either one break or fall out of position, the belt will lock in place. If that is the case, you need to get a new belt and tensioner.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

how is your SRS light?

Also, mine does it when I'm on the brake (though that could be accelerometer related, do you still have the scrape guard/air dam on the car?), how has your shifting been lately, have to use the override?
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If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?

Everything else is normal. It's a manual, so no override necessary.

It feels as though the mechanism has seized up -- the belt is partly out and refuses to come out further or retract.

I miss my 145.

smm
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Raleigh, NC

sweet, not any of the hard stuff. Here's a pdf on how to do the job, but its a simple job, just unscrew the old and replace with one from the junkyard.

Now, I'm not sure if you know but the seatbelts are tied into the SRS. You need to unplug the battery when you work with it for a good 10 minutes before you start messing with the connectors. My brother decided he wanted to listen to the radio when he replaced his reel (it would retract about 1/2 way and come out in 1" segments..). His SRS light is on, and the dealer wants a hefty sum to turn it off..
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If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?