seat belt - please help D:

[Shifta]

hey all,
i just drove to town and my mate was sitting in the back and the seat belt wouldnt retract... so now i have the rear-right seat belt that is fully extended and has no sign of springing back at all...
could this be an easy pull apart fix, or maybe see the dealer?

[aspir3]

It is always best to take it to the dealer as often they will not cover it under warranty if you have touched it though you could argue that you had to for safety.

Dealers have replaced members rear seat belts before for the same thing.

It is easy to fix. You need to remove the rear parcel shelf and get to the seat belt. Seat belts are designed with springs and weights. If the seat belt is not sitting square it will lock up and not retract. Once you get the seat belt out, you can make it retract by holding it in the correct position. Once it has returned in to the retractor carefully fit it back making sure the bolt is tight and the metal tab is located properly for location.

[Shifta]

awesome, thank you
i might try find some time in the morning to take it in and see what they can do...
the dealership here is pretty stingy with things though so we'll see

[aspir3]

With safety issues you will find all car manufacturers including Mitsubishi will play it safe and replace the item because if they did not and some thing went wrong then they could be liable but as I stated it is most likely just not fitted properly in the location.

[AJjnr86]

I can refuse to fit a baby seat to a car for the same reason, safety. If the parents had an accident and the seat failed, and I fitted it, I could be charged with man slaughter.

Safety issues like that have to be addressed by the correct personal, else if u have an accident an a friend or someone is hurt or killed due to u playing with that belt then u will be liable

Troy, the seat belt will retract in any position, but will only extend in a specific position

[aspir3]

Troy, the seat belt will retract in any position, but will only extend in a specific position

This is true but what often happens is it locks in to a position and it needs to unlock so you can extend it just a little to then return it back in to the retracto.

This happened to me too when I fitted dynamat to my rear parcel shelf. The seat belt locked in the fully extended position. With a little playing it unlocked and returned back. I carefully fitted it in the correct position and I have not had trouble since.

I agree with you that these things should be looked at by people who know what they are doing. I am a mechanical engineer so I am more then qualified.

[AJjnr86]

Yea, but problem is, if Shaun hasn't done anything to his car and the belt has just locked, chances r it's rooted

[El-Diablo]

Always refer safety items to the dealer they will replace it under warranty no problems and you should be able to get a priority booking.

Inertial reel seatbelts can often jam in extended position if the belt is pulled rapidly at an angle usually this can be overcome by holding the belt and pulling it firmly/jiggling it until it releases. this does not necessarily mean the belt is faulty it means the inertial lock has actuated.

If you cant get it to release using this method take it to a dealer they will replace it no dramas.

It is never worth trying to fix safety items yourself, airbags, seatblets etc are best left to the experts.

[coolwave911]

I got the same problem once when I have to fully extended my seatbelt in order to secure a big LCD tv in the back seat. It stucked afterwards, I sat there for a while playing around with it, just use common knowledge about how these things work to reverse the lock. Maybe my case is not as severe as yours since I intentionally did it. Dont use force and pull it out further, that just gonna engage the lock even more. What I did was really quickly pulling it out a few times in one attempt, hold the belt firmly but not too tight, make sure it is slightly streched then give a few quick pulls. That worked for me good luck!

[gspy4u]

Same thing happened to my vrx, first time dealer just buggered the seat side and fixed it. (bent the steel bar for the side of the seat so it stuck out a bit) 2nd time i squeezed my fingers in and slowly fed it in and it unjammed. Then took it back and got the dealer to replace it.

[anzac_77]

Mine had the opposite problem (retracted and wouldnt extend) middle back seatbelt on the first time i took it for a drive to show off to family. Mitsubishi were very quick to have a replacement part for it, its covered under warranty so best to let the pros at it

[Shifta]

sorry about the lateness to respond, easter time, and i've been fairly busy with the bands i'm in and such...
my car is booked in to get looked at wednesday when they open and when i go back to work, and i will be sure to let you's know how it turns out.
thanks guys

[Shifta]

ok so i had mitsubishi take a look at it today, he pulled it apart and fiddled with it and it works now, retracts and still locks if you pull it hard. but as mentioned before they are still going to replace it incase it fails again with them being the last to fiddle with it.
would this be under warranty? or would i be the one paying for it?
its an MY08 but i bought it second hand from the dealer.

[AJjnr86]

It\\\'s still under warranty, u still get the original 5 yr warranty, just don\\\'t get the extra 5 yrs on drive train

They should have given u a price if they were going to charge u, they can\\\'t just tell u they r going to replace it then expect u to fork out a couple hundred $ after they repaired it