Seat belt retractor OOPS
 

I'm gutting my interior in preparation for putting in sound insulation. In the process, I let one seat belt retract up close to the rear door frame with about a foot still sticking out. Now I can't pull the belt more than an inch or so without it locking. What do I do to recover from this?

FRONT SEAT BELT REMOVAL/INSTALLATION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BHE081157630W02

Warning
• Handling the front seat belt (pre-tensioner seat belt) improperly can accidentally deploy the pre-tensioner, which may seriously injure you. Read the service warnings and cautions before handling the front seat belt. (See SERVICE WARNINGS.) (SeeSERVICE CAUTIONS.)
Warning
• The side air bag sensor is attached below the seat belt rail. When working around the seat belt rail, disconnect the negative battery cable or work carefully, avoiding excessive impact to the area below the seat belt rail.
Caution
• The ELR (emergency locking retractor) has a spring that will unwind if the retractor cover is removed. The spring cannot be rewound by hand. If this occurs, the ELR will not work properly. Therefore, do not disassemble the retractor.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the LOCK position.

2. Disconnect the negative battery cable and wait for 1 min or more.

3. Remove the rear door lower trim. (See REAR DOOR LOWER TRIM REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)

4. Remove the rear door upper trim. (See REAR DOOR UPPER TRIM REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)

5. Remove the rear seat cushion. (See REAR SEAT REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)

6. Remove in the order indicated in the table.


7. Install in the reverse order of removal.

8. Verify that the air bag system warning light illuminates for approx. 6 s and then goes out when the ignition switch is turned to the ON position.

• If the air bag system warning light does not operate, refer to the on-board diagnostic system and perform inspection of the system.

Thanks, but I knew how to access the retractor. What I don't understand is why I can no longer pull the belt out (no matter how slowly) without the inertial reel latch engaging. Is there any way to get the belt to come out again? (Or am I stuck buying a whole new unit since it can't be disassembled?)

i am having the same problem. ever get it working again?

It's been parked over winter, but I tried it again a couple weeks ago and it came out somewhat farther than before. In another couple weeks I should have everything back together, including the electricals (don't know if that plays a role) and will be able to see if it's working. Weird.

Ok, the car is back on the road, and the problem automatically fixed itself. :dunno: The only thing I can think of is that it's electrically connected to the SRS system and that has to be operational for the real to work properly. With the interior apart of course, this wasn't the case. Perhaps it's a feature where, if the electrical system gets knocked out in a wreck, the belt defaults to the locked position. :dunno:

Thanks yea thats what i finally realized. I finally got it, yea I think the reel is electronically controlled. I removed the neg on the battery and let it sit for a few mins while finished up running some wires. Reconnected the neg and drove the next day to work and it was finally fixed.

I realize this is bringing this thread back from the dead but, I didn't see the correct answer in any of the posts about this issue and this is the first post that comes up when searching.

You have to close the rear door to get the reel to release the seat belt. I don't know why or how, but it won't give any slack while the door is open. Putting my interior back together after installing sound deadening and swapping interior panels, I figured this out after scratching my head for a few minutes...