Rear Seatbelt Issue

[scxtasy]

I needed to move some tires and rims today and so for the first time ever I lifted up the base of the seat, removed the headrests and folded the rear of the seats down. This yielded an impressive amount of space but now I have a dilemma. When I went to lift the seat-backs back into place, the retraction unit on the center seatbelt decided it did not want to un-spool more than an inch or two and so I can't rotate the seat-back back into place. Anyone have any idea how I might fix this without going to a dealer or tearing the seats apart? Thanks.

Andrew

[scxtasy]

Still trying to work out how to fix this issue, but in the interim, anyone know what the torx-head-like bolts used to attach the seatbelt to the body are called? Any idea where I have buy the appropriate tool to unscrew them? Thanks.

Andrew

[odix]

What a drag. The same thing happened to me with a child car seat in the center back seat. The center belt was in the ratchet mode and i could not pull the belt back or access the release button because the child seat blocked it. So, I cut and destroyed the car seat to free the belt. I figured a new car seat was cheaper than a new belt.

In you case you have no car seat to sacrifice. A call to the dealer may help. They'll tell you the bolt specifics -- size, type and torque settings. Your idea is sound -- loosen the belt by pulling the anchors. Just be sure you hold the belt down (or up) as you loosen the bolts or the belt may just pull back more repeating your problem.

Good luck!

Edited June 25, 2010 by odix

[Harness]

Same thing happened to me. You want a 12 Point Metric Internal Wrench Set, it can be purchased from any good auto parts store. After you unscrew the bolt, you can put the seat back normally. At that point, throw the belt over the back seat into the cargo area, and then pull it forward again to bolt it back in. For some reason, this frees up the mechanism and the belt will work normally (until you decide to put the seat down again).

Just make sure you screw the belt in tighltly again if the belt will be in use. Mine is almost never used so I left it as is.

I was told by an import mechanic that the only way to repair permanantly is to replace the belt unit which requires disassembling the rear seat. So, in leiu of that, I keep a ratchet and that metric set in the storage compartment under the passenger seat in case I ever need them.

[scxtasy]

Thanks for the advice guys. I managed to lift the seat high enough to unbolt the center seatbelt and so everything is now back to normal. That same seatbelt has jambed a couple of times already (usually when I'm in a hurry to belt my daughter in in the mornings), I so I guess I should look at replacing it... Sigh.

Andrew

[mrseattle]

Thanks for the advice guys. I managed to lift the seat high enough to unbolt the center seatbelt and so everything is now back to normal. That same seatbelt has jambed a couple of times already (usually when I'm in a hurry to belt my daughter in in the mornings), I so I guess I should look at replacing it... Sigh.

Andrew

I had this happen on my 2006 CTTS, and ended taking it to the dealer. I still had it under warranty, and they replaced the whole assembly free of charge.