I was installing my custom seat covers on my 2014 Legacy. I pulled the middle seat belt for the back seat around the seat to get it out of my way and then the darn thing locked tight and I can't get it to budge. I have no play in it at all. I can't push my back seats back into place for the seat belt. Headrests were already removed. Before I take it to a garage and probably have the seats removed, any suggestions???

Is this a Legacy sedan or outback? Where does the seat belt attach? Is it on the rear deck?

There should be a way of accessing the mechanism and freeing up the lock to release it so it can be retracted.

This may sound odd, but have you tried (providing it's not hung up somewhere) closing the door for a few minutes then opening it?  The belt should start retracting on its own.

How far around the seat is it wrapped?

Those child seat ratchet locks are always a pain. I've had to remove a seat to get to the lower seat belt mount bolt because of one of those before and it was not easy.

Maybe the 14 legacy is easier to pull the seat bottom out of.

Lifetime seat-belt warranty in the US:

Lifetime seat-belt warranty means that any issue that effects the proper operation of the seat belt or a latch or sensor is covered free of charge.

I suggest you don't say too much about how your subie got to its current condition. Say only that you have tried everything to get it to retract and  "gosh, the darn thing just isn't working properly" and let them disassemble your car to fix it under warranty.

Edited June 10, 201510 yr by brus brother

It's a sedan and we've tried driving it around, closing/opening the door, tugging gently, etc. Right now I have a guy who is trying to remove the smaller back seat to see if he can release it. It's the seat belt that fits the middle person so it's halfway through the larger seat but I had it wrapped all the way around the smaller seat to get it out of my way and it got stuck tight. But if he can get the seat off and it still doesn't retract I'll contact them over the lifetime seatbelt thing. I'm hoping all he has to do is remove 2 bolts and get the seat out... Fingers crossed!

The housing for the seat belt hangs off the top of the thing going into the trunk but it's plastic housing that I can't tell how to get into without messing it up.

on the 2014, do any of the airbags exit from a seat back? Seat covers might interfere with that.

 

just wondering.

I do not think there are any air bags in the seats on the back. We finally got the seats unbolted and were able to release the seat belt, praise God. SO lesson learned for sure and thank all of you for your help.