Technical Front passenger seatbelt very sensitive to locking when pulled out

[t0neloc]

Hi.
This might be a more general question than just for the panda but here goes;

Front passenger seatbelt has recently started to be very sensitive to being pulled out. You can go maybe a few inches at a very slow pace before it locks and you have to slightly retract it again and again until it gets to the length you want.
It can be fully extended and the easiest way appears to be to pull it up directly out of the pillar panel rather than by pulling through the bolted loop on the pillar. Doing it like this is less sensitive to locking, it still does it but just not as frequently.
There's not been any impact or emergency stops. The belt does work but it's a time consuming pain to get it to where it's needed.

Is this sensitivity something that can be adjusted or is it a replacement part needed?

Thanks for any guidance.

 

[bugsymike]

Firstly never try and repair seat belt mechanism, they are not to be dismantled!!!
However sometimes if seat belt reel is not mounted vertically due to being refitted badly at some time , that can cause them to lock early or jam. If you look at the mounting bolt hole usually to one side is a spigot of the mechanism jammed into a corresponding hole in the car frame to ensure correct fitting position, unlikely to be a problem unless seat belt has been refitted for some reason.
In the past it was possible to buy universal seat belts in motoring accessory shops that had an adjuster for vertical and inclination positioning, but factory ones only fit correctly in one position.
The other thing you could try is pulling the webbing slowly out nearly all the way then squirting WD40 inside the mechanism as sometimes that is all that is needed. The reason to pulling the webbing out is so your clothes don't smell of WD40.
If neither method works, then safest to fit new mechanism.

 

[t0neloc]

Firstly never try and repair seat belt mechanism, they are not to be dismantled!!!
However sometimes if seat belt reel is not mounted vertically due to being refitted badly at some time , that can cause them to lock early or jam. If you look at the mounting bolt hole usually to one side is a spigot of the mechanism jammed into a corresponding hole in the car frame to ensure correct fitting position, unlikely to be a problem unless seat belt has been refitted for some reason.
In the past it was possible to buy universal seat belts in motoring accessory shops that had an adjuster for vertical and inclination positioning, but factory ones only fit correctly in one position.
The other thing you could try is pulling the webbing slowly out nearly all the way then squirting WD40 inside the mechanism as sometimes that is all that is needed. The reason to pulling the webbing out is so your clothes don't smell of WD40.
If neither method works, then safest to fit new mechanism.

Thanks for the info. I'd certainly not try bodging it, I just wondered if the tension/sensitivity was a feature that was designed to be adjustable. It's the sort of thing that you can imagine as being necessary.
Anyway, I guess that I'll download the elearn manual and work out how to expose the mechanism for lubricating (I'm thinking graphite spray rather than WD40 as it tends to attract dust).
Ta.

 

[bugsymike]

Thanks for the info. I'd certainly not try bodging it, I just wondered if the tension/sensitivity was a feature that was designed to be adjustable. It's the sort of thing that you can imagine as being necessary.
Anyway, I guess that I'll download the elearn manual and work out how to expose the mechanism for lubricating (I'm thinking graphite spray rather than WD40 as it tends to attract dust).
Ta.

There is nothing to adjust on a factory fitted seat belt mechanism and it is not advised to remove any covers etc.

 

[irc]

Assuming the belt is similar to the 500 and Ka ones, it is likely that the ball bearing which operates the locking mechanism has picked up some dust, which stops it operating correctly.
I have come across this on a couple of cars which had been left unused for a number of months. Adding lubrication made no difference at all.
In order to understand what the problem was (and it was a slow day), I removed one of the units and investigated. Sure enough, removing the ball bearing, giving it a wipe with a lint-free cloth, and putting it back together resulted in a fully working belt which could be pulled out normally. (That particular car was to be broken for parts, so was not returned to the road)
So, assuming you have the same issue, it is possible to correct the problem, but whether it is advisable for safety reasons is another question.

 

[bugsymike]

Assuming the belt is similar to the 500 and Ka ones, it is likely that the ball bearing which operates the locking mechanism has picked up some dust, which stops it operating correctly.
I have come across this on a couple of cars which had been left unused for a number of months. Adding lubrication made no difference at all.
In order to understand what the problem was (and it was a slow day), I removed one of the units and investigated. Sure enough, removing the ball bearing, giving it a wipe with a lint-free cloth, and putting it back together resulted in a fully working belt which could be pulled out normally. (That particular car was to be broken for parts, so was not returned to the road)
So, assuming you have the same issue, it is possible to correct the problem, but whether it is advisable for safety reasons is another question.

Many years ago as an MOT tester, any signs of tampering with a seat belt was considered an instant failure.
I agree it may be able to be freed off as described, but any tester who passed a vehicle like that and it subsequently was involved in a serious accident would have been in a lot of trouble.

Defect	Category
(a) A statutory seat belt missing	Major
(b) A seat belt: (i) or flexible stalk damaged (ii) webbing or flexible stalk significantly stretched or weakened	Major Dangerous
(c) Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type	Major
(d) Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended	Major
(e) Seat belt retractor not functioning as intended	Major

 

[irc]

I agree completely. As I said, it was for interest only, and the car was a junker.
I was interested because I'd not seen the problem on a 169 Panda, but had come across a few on 500s and one Ka. I had assumed the seatbelt modules were significantly different, but actually they are quite similar.
I initially tried using compressed air and a "Q-tip" to try and remove the grit, which would have been acceptable, but it didn't make a difference.
If it had been something "external" like a piece of trim out of place, or similar (or the compressed air had worked) I would be fine with fixing the problem on a "live" car, but as it ended up involving dismantling part of the actual unit, it became an academic exercise rather than a repair for me.

 

[bugsymike]

I agree completely. As I said, it was for interest only, and the car was a junker.
I was interested because I'd not seen the problem on a 169 Panda, but had come across a few on 500s and one Ka. I had assumed the seatbelt modules were significantly different, but actually they are quite similar.
I initially tried using compressed air and a "Q-tip" to try and remove the grit, which would have been acceptable, but it didn't make a difference.
If it had been something "external" like a piece of trim out of place, or similar (or the compressed air had worked) I would be fine with fixing the problem on a "live" car, but as it ended up involving dismantling part of the actual unit, it became an academic exercise rather than a repair for me.

Like you I have looked inside them in the past purely to see how the mechanism worked.
Many cars have this problem , but normally lack of use until Mot time.
As I mentioned apart from one that has been disturbed , so not in it's correct "operating plane", lack of use and muck build up causing them to stick being the main cause.