Hi Gang,

I was cleaning the interior of my car yesterday, and I was puzzled when- for the first time ever- my suicide doors wouldn't open properly. After I tried several times unsuccessfully, I then realized that the problem was that front seat belts were not releasing the tension properly for the doors to open. I had to manually tug on the seat belt slowly for it to release and then pull the door in order for it to swing open. Totally bizarre...

Up until now, I've never had a problem opening the rear doors. It's usually just (1) open the front and (2) open the back. Never had to ever give it a 2nd thought.

Now, I suddenly find that I have to check the tension on the seat belt first, which is totally bizarre, and annoying to say the least.

Does anyone have some experience or insight into this problem? I appreciate the feedback/ help, before I decide to schedule an appointment to have it looked at by the <cough> dealer...

Thanks,
Detrich

 

the pretensioner has been tripped. it happens sometimes. usually allowing the belt to fully retract will "un-lock" it and return it to normal operation

 

thanks zoom... yah, it was weird cuz it happened on both doors- ie both driver side & passenger side. i'll give it another try this week and report back. thanks again.

 

I've actually noticed that mine "trip" a lot more often these days.
In the first couple of years I had the car, they never grabbed the back doors.
Now it is a regular occurance.

 

hmm... i wonder what the exact cause for it to trip is and whether it's necessary to take in for inspection?

 

if you open the rear suicide door too quickly it causes the belt tensioner to lock in

 

Mine does it if I open it slowly - even exceptionally slowly.
Once again:

 

when i noticed it saturday, i tried opening the suicide door both fast & slow... didn't make a difference.

 

i think mine trips when the belt "sticks" on its rail instead of sliding. whether something is in the way on the floor or the rail is dirty or whatever the cause. the pulling of the door when the end doesnt slide on the rail creates the right pressure to cause the tensioner to act. the only way to "un lock " it is to close the door and make sure the belt retracts all the way before opening the door again.

 

Yup happened to me once, but the belt was stuck on the rail.

 

Any other electrical problems? If the room fuse is popped it can cause this problem. Or, if your door switch circuit has a problem. There is a solenoid which allows the seat belts in the rear door to extend so the rear doors can open fully, but only when a front door is open. With the front doors closed, the seat belt in the rear door should not extend as far.

You either have a blown fuse or maybe aftermarket stuff wired into your door switch circuit????

 

my car is bone stock... will there be any warning lights on the dash if a fuse is blown?

 

Depends on which fuse might be blown. Does your door ajar light turn on / off when the door is opened / closed?