I bought this car used, my 3rd Volvo, and have had my share of trouble, much of it documented by others here in this forum. This car had been rear-ended before I bought it, and I didn't check the rear seat belts before I bought it. All 3 of them are locked up. The center belt gives about 2 inches before it locks, but the other two are locked from the start of deploy. I've removed the rear deck to take a better look, and the flat spring is removed on one, but the others are ok. Since the dealer wants about 400.00 each to repair, thought I'd try here first. Anyone have any ideas?

Are you in the USA? The US seatbelt/airbag warranty is 5 years, unlimmited miles. If they are damaged due to accident, they are not covered. But if they are defective, they should be covered parts and labor, provided the car has not reached 5 years since original delivery.

I am in the USA, Southern California, and when I inspected the rear seat belt assembly the cover was off on one of the assemblies for the flat coil spring, so I assume there must have been some previous work done on them. All else appears in order, so I have been wondering if there is some kind of locking mechanism that needs to be relieved.

I'm not sure how long ago you bought the car, but the problem is a safety problem. IF you bought it from a dealer (any dealer), I would suggest taking the car back, and explain to them the car is not safe and that they shoud fix the problem immediately, at no cost to you. It's obvious that whomever sold the car to you was aware that it was in an accident... As part of rebuilding the car, the seat belts should have been inspected, repaired or replaced.

If you bought it from an individual you should check with him/her what body shop did the work and address the issue with the body shop. The repair of the car is incomplete and should be fixed correctly. All insurance companies require the car be restored to 100% of original.

This is a major safety issue and if you have youn children its against the law to not have kid buckeled in. Someone should pay for the repair and I personally don't think it should be you.

Good luck...

I bought the car from a private owner, about 3 months ago. I wondered if there was a web-site that might document what was done to the car by VIN number. I really want to sell the car, as I have put over 2000.00 into it already. It runs great now, but I think I've had enough. Good thing I didn't sell my 92 944!
Thanx for your help!