Seatbelts Slow To Retract

The driver and passenger seatbelts in my 2000 AC are very slow to retract. I'm looking for a recommendation on where to send them to be rebuilt/repaired. Are there any tricks in removing the old belts? Thank you for your help.

 

They probably just need a good cleaning. There are videos that show you how. You basically just have to pull them all the way out and soak them in hot water and detergent to clean the built-up grime in them. Once dry, hit them with a silicone spray and they'll probably function like new.

 

Just an example:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=su9SC9znVO8

 

Company called Safety Restore inc in MA redoes seatbelts and airbags.

 

Good cleaning and a spray down of silicone lube spray on the slides.

 

easiest thing to do is pull the belts as far as you can outside the truck and then close the door on them. Then pressure wash them

my before and after, now they work like new:






You can also take years of abuse off your carpet by removing and pressure washing. In this case I did scrub with diluted Simple Green before pressure washing

 

I did the very exact thing with my tundra as well!

 

Do you only do the slides? I did the entire belt.

Yes, it is rare that the actual belt or ratcheting mechanism need replaced. It's possible, but more often than not, cleaning is all that's needed to make them function safely and properly again.

 

2000 grit sandpaper in the guides to get rid of the excess skin/dirt that collect in there as well.

 

I probably cut corners somewhere or other, but didn't have much luck cleaning then lubricating the belts. Still stuck. I don't love the idea of sanding the guides, but that's what got mine moving again. They could use a little more, but with light sanding, mine retract kinda slow, but they retract.

 

I cleaned and siliconed the belts, no real improvement. If the belt does not have to pass through the upper loop it retracts fine. Passing through the loop seems to create more resistance than the retractor can overcome.

If I need to send them in to be rebuilt do I only need to remove the three bolts shown in the attached photo to remove the entire belt assembly? Is there anything else to it that I’m missing?

Thank you

 

Seriously doubt they need to be rebuilt. Many people have luck with the cleaning and silicone spray so I'd suggesting searching that method. Otherwise, there are also videos online showing how/where to sand. You're correct, it's that upper guide that's the "sticking" point. Which is why sanding that opening a little larger is one fix.

 

The 1st gens had weak retractor springs. Cleaning is only going to help a small amount.

I send my seat belts for rebuilding to:

Myairbags.com

They have a fast turn around.

I can't remember if the 2000 trucks had the explosive charges in the retractors, but that takes a little bit longer because they have to be ground shipped a specific route.

 

I silicone-sprayed the slides, and it markedly improved my slow-retraction issues. Posted about it on here somewhere. PHM and others have their own methodology on resolving the issue. I don't think any one person has a silver bullet fix.

 

My 2001 since new have always been lazy to retract, and as I drive they tighten up and try to strangle me. A clothes-pin on the belt right before the upper guide solves the strangulation issue, but I live with the lazy retracting and help it back in manually.

 

Put some light sand paper between the belt and the guide right where I'm pointing and go back a fourth. Wipe clean. It took me all of 1-2mins of sanding and my belt fully retracts without any help "guiding" it back into place.

 

If you take rubbing alcohol (IPA) to that plastic, it'll clean up all that dead-skin-funk on there, and it'll also run smoother after. In a pinch, lens cleaning wipes that come in a wet-nap style packet contain a fair amount of IPA and will do the job nicely. This is what I'd have our guys use at work to get all the dead skin from hardware people returned cleaned up again. As much as I wanted to burn it with fire.

 

Yup. Just unbolt those three points and "Bobs your uncle". Who is Bob anyway?

 

Your uncle, dude.

 

Sure. I wasn't trying to imply there's only one right way. Should have phrased it differently

 

Add this to my list, this has been a nuisance since I got the truck.

 

Gotcha, totally. Only saying, I've seen a few fixes posted. Mine worked, at least temporarily, to speed it up (just siliconing the slide plastics) but it didn't totally fix and get it zipping up like new. Some people silicone the shit outta the belt and slide. Some add pressure washing the belt to the list. Some sand the slide. Any of these things probably provide some level of improvement. I'd like to know the end-all be-all fix that cures it totally.

 

I’m looking for the end all be all fix as well. Has anyone sent the belts in to be remanufactured and if so did it completely solve the problem?

 

Sorry to hear cleaning them didn't resolve the issue. There are a couple of members above who posted their experiences and the vendors.

 

This is the place...

https://www.safetyrestore.com/seat-belt-repair-service/9-seat-belt-repair.html

 

I cleaned and silicone sprayed mine with only slight improvement as well

but pressure washing? Now they act like new again. Just my humble opinion, but if you don't pressure wash them, you aren't doing a deep clean on them which is what they need at this age

 

This was my experience, as well, but, as @shifty` pointed out, rightfully, there can be other factors and methodologies required. Failure of these, replacement is a real possibility. It's not common, but it is possible

 

If it’s remanufactured to Toyota spec, you’ll be disappointed since it’s a poor design and any replacement just delays the issue from reappearing.

I should know, I’ve had the belts and retractor replaced at least twice under both manufacturer’s and toyota extended warranty since new.

 

Pressure wash it, lightly sand the top guide, call it "good enough". If you decide it bugs you enough and you find that holy grail fix, great! Let us know. But like Jack says, I don't think they functioned the way you're hoping it will function even when brand new.

 

I've had my 2001 since new, they have always been a limp dick retracting, I had the dealer under warranty, after the first few months fiddle with it. No joy. It is as good as it gets. Help it back manually, that's the fix. My 2012 Honda's seat belts worked great, retracted easily and didn't choke me. Small niggle and I live with it. 24ish y/o design. The rest of the truck has been very reliable. My biggest issue is the dash squeaks, but it's paid for and I live with that too, I just crank up the tunes. When the cab warms up the noises go away mostly.