This is my only pet peeve i have had, i think subaru seat belts hate me. The drivers side seat belt does not fully retract, i have a 97OBW, but my legacy, even my 88 and 84 Gl did it. This is annoying, especially when its rainng and you get a nice wet seatbelt in your lap. ( i only wegh 200 lbs and built like a linebacker so lets not blame over extension )

How do i fix this before i dig into the car.

 

 

nipper

When we bought our Legacy it had one of the rear seatbelts fully wound out and locked. It simply will not retract no matter what words I use on it. Luckily I have a replacement from a same-interiored car... now I need an afternoon to pull the damned seats and everything else out to replace it.

 

Maybe subaru makes crappy seatbelts or something?

well i wouldnt say crappy, it saved my life\ Odd feeling when it gihtens up on you, but the mechanisim doesnt age well.

 

 

nipper

i dunno how the new gen belts work... but the ones on my 79 don't retract to well either...

 

there is a coiled up spring in the belt that gives it the ol' retracting ability...

 

i tried this on one of my belts... i took off the cover and what not, then wound up that coil a few more times, then locked it back in place... it retracts now, although its kinda stiff...

 

you might want to try doing that...?

I used to work for Lexus and people would complain about this all the time too. Lexus sent us a kit that contained a half a velcro strip and a clear plastic film adhesive. The problem is the seatbelt gets gummed up near the top. We took the velcro strip and basically "sanded" the grime off the holder. Then you install the plastic film so the grime doesn't stick anymore. Long story short, get some 400 grit sandpaper, place it on the bottom side of the seatbelt, and allow the seatbelt to pull the sandpaper into the "holder" as it retracts. Then using two hands, run the sandpaper back and forth a few times to clean the plastic on the holder. This should help considerably and there really was no need for the plastic film.

it retracts now, although its kinda stiff...

 

That looks really bad out of context, but that is the part germaine to my reply, so i'll leave it as is. . .

 

Perhaps this is the problem? Subaru had to make a trade off between comfort ("light touch" on the seat belt) and reliability (it will retract), and opted just a smidge too far to the comfort side? The gunk in the casing should not be a problem if the seatbelt has proper tension. . .

hrmmm

 

Seat belt gunk. It does seem to be a problem on the top guide thingy. il try cleaning that. You think that they can engineer around this after 20 billion seat belt retracitons.

 

heheh

 

nipper

I wonder if this would be covered under the "lifetime" warranty that applies to seatbelts and their mechanisms??

My rear passenger side belt has been locked and unmoveable for 7 of the 8 yrs I've owned it. The front seat belts never retract when we get out of the car. Or it retracts just enough to hang out the door and jam it up when I close it. Haven't found a good way to fix any of the problems yet. The front belts do retract if I guide them, but what a pain. And that rear one, well we just put the person we like the least in that seat.

I wonder if this would be covered under the "lifetime" warranty that applies to seatbelts and their mechanisms??

 

is there such a thing?

This is my only pet peeve i have had, i think subaru seat belts hate me. The drivers side seat belt does not fully retract, i have a 97OBW, but my legacy, even my 88 and 84 Gl did it. This is annoying, especially when its rainng and you get a nice wet seatbelt in your lap. ( i only wegh 200 lbs and built like a linebacker so lets not blame over extension )

How do i fix this before i dig into the car.

 

 

nipper

You're lucky. The seatbelt clip on my '98 wagon hung up in the door jam and busted the interior-light button clean off. It was a constent problem with the seatbelt not retracting.

 

My '05 is still kind of weak when retracting but I'll keep an eye on the grime at the top of the inlet. Thanks.

 

Juan

I had a friend w/an old Integra and his automatic seat belts malfuntioned.

 

Took it to the deal and they said that all seat belts mechanisms are covered b/c they are a safety feature.

 

Call your nearest soob dealer and ask.

 

BW

Those may be differnt cause they are motorized, but i will share that with others, i've seen alof of people have these things die on them and not know how to fix them or what to do

 

 

nipper

The suggestion about the "Lexus fix" should correct the problem. I didn't see the need for the plastic application or the sandpaper when I corrected the problem on my wife's car. I simply lifted up the seatbelt where it goes through the plastic/metal loop on the B Pillar, and using a small, flat-bladed screwdriver, I scraped off all of the dirt and grim that had attached itself to the loop. The grunge puts enough drag on the belt when it goes through the loop to prevent the retractor from overcoming it. After doing so to both sides, the seat belt retractor worked as well as it did the day it left the factory.