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anyone know a way to fix seatbelts so they retract?


ahardb0dy
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Just got back from the dealer. My 91 is covered and the parts are ordered. There was also a recall on the release button, so that'll probably get replaced also. Free on parts and labor.

 

According to the parts counter, I'll probably be getting the last brown driver's side belt in the country. And since it's almost 20 years old, I doubt they'll be manufacturing any more. So, if you even think your belt isn't working perfectly, take it in and see if you can get your free belt.

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  • 2 months later...

Just had my drivers seat belt replaced and wanted to report back. Mine is a 97 SE and the dealer replaced the whole thing under lifetime warranty without question and didn't cost me anything. Let me just say that the new one is SAA-WEEET. I cannot believe how easily it is to buckle up now and how well it retracts right back afterward. It is all smooth as silk...don't know if it was that nice when new or maybe they've improved them due to issues...but either way it's great now. If you are having any issues at all with your front seat belts...and your model has the warranty I encourage you to get it done. It's the little things in life!!

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If your belts just are slow to retract and you have to "feed" them in, lift up the belt at the "D" ring and look for dirt buildup. Take a small piece of emery cloth, or high grit sandpager(1500-2000), cut it to the same width as the belt. Slide the paper into the D-ring and sand the dirt away. This will smooth out the ring and allow the belt to travel smoothly, and retact all the way. If it doesnt retract at all, you got something else going on.

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Strange, I called my dealer and they said that the farthest back they could go in their system was 2002. I will have to call the nissan 1800 number to get the warranty info.

 

and kind of a funny note, the auto spellchecker deal thinks "nissan" is spelled wrong LOL.

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If your belts just are slow to retract and you have to "feed" them in, lift up the belt at the "D" ring and look for dirt buildup. Take a small piece of emery cloth, or high grit sandpager(1500-2000), cut it to the same width as the belt. Slide the paper into the D-ring and sand the dirt away. This will smooth out the ring and allow the belt to travel smoothly, and retact all the way. If it doesnt retract at all, you got something else going on.

 

That might be a good Plan B...Plan A would be have the dealer put in a brand new one for free.

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Strange, I called my dealer and they said that the farthest back they could go in their system was 2002. I will have to call the nissan 1800 number to get the warranty info.

 

and kind of a funny note, the auto spellchecker deal thinks "nissan" is spelled wrong LOL.

 

I don't know what "the farthest back they could go in their system was 2002" means. Check your owners manual...warranty info is clearly stated there. Should be a very simple deal all around. But seeing you have a 1990...believe that's right about the year the lifetime warranty started..so you may or may not be covered.

Edited by piste
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There is a PDF of a TSB about the procedure Nissan does to alleviate this issue: http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB01-005.pdf

 

I presented a printout of this PDF to my local Nissan dealer and they said it'd cost $90. What a rip-off.

 

If you have a 2001 per your profile ..and the dealer told you that....time to find a different dealer...I drive many miles past my closest local dealer to another for reasons such as this. Check your owners manual ...the warranty is clearly stated there...parts AND labor are covered.

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I don't know what "the farthest back they could go in their system was 2002" means. Check your owners manual...warranty info is clearly stated there. Should be a very simple deal all around. But seeing you have a 1990...believe that's right about the year the lifetime warranty started..so you may or may not be covered.

 

It means that that is what the guy on the other end of the phone said. He could not look up the eligibility or other pertinent information relating to my vehicles because they were manufactured prior to the 2002 model year.

 

I put a call in to 1800NISSAN1 and they even had problems. They stated that my vehicle information for both my 91 and my 90 were "archived" and would have to be put back into the system. I have to give them about 24 hours and by then, they should have had enough time to get my VINs back out of archive. Strangely enough, they had no problem with my 95.

Edited by Indigent
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That might be a good Plan B...Plan A would be have the dealer put in a brand new one for free.

The dealer wont replace the belt due to dirt. Thats not a manufacturing defect. If dirt or buildup is the issue, a quick fix it to clean it.

 

 

As far as the dealer only looking back to 2002, a good service advisor can make a quick call and pull your VIN from the archives. The customer can also do it, but why chase someone away? It only takes a few minutes.

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It means that that is what the guy on the other end of the phone said. He could not look up the eligibility or other pertinent information relating to my vehicles because they were manufactured prior to the 2002 model year.

 

I put a call in to 1800NISSAN1 and they even had problems. They stated that my vehicle information for both my 91 and my 90 were "archived" and would have to be put back into the system. I have to give them about 24 hours and by then, they should have had enough time to get my VINs back out of archive. Strangely enough, they had no problem with my 95.

 

Hmm...I had thought it was much more simple...like all vehicles from a certain model year and later were covered...thought it was 1991. And it should be a fairly simple process to verify model year using the VIN. I dunno. Not sure exactly what they are telling you they need to look up. Your model year is either covered....or not. The seatbelt warranty..or lack thereof... is laid out in the owners manual.

 

In my case I called the dealer...said my seat belt ain't retracting and I want it replaced under lifetime warranty. And they did. '97 SE.

 

Good luck...I hope things work out ok for ya.

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The dealer wont replace the belt due to dirt. Thats not a manufacturing defect. If dirt or buildup is the issue, a quick fix it to clean it.

 

 

As far as the dealer only looking back to 2002, a good service advisor can make a quick call and pull your VIN from the archives. The customer can also do it, but why chase someone away? It only takes a few minutes.

 

Hunh...How much dirt are you shovelling into the cab? A seat belt should not fail to retract simply because of dust particles in the average ambient air. I would argue that IS a defect. I'd have to pull the owners manual to read the warranty..but I recall the warranty is pretty comprehensive...basically says it will ALWAYS work..with few if any exclusions. Though many dealers could very well try to weasel out of doing anything.

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Ok So I went to our Warranty Administrator and got the full details from Nissan.

 

If your local dealer is giving you problems on seat belt replacement under warranty give them this information including the Op Codes, this is straight from Nissan.

 

WARRANTY COVERAGE

PLAN SB

Seat Belts - Useful life of the vehicle for 1989-2002 vehicles, 10 years for 2003 up vehicles.

OpCode VK22AA Replace Front Seat Belt Tounge Assembly - One side

OpCode VK213AA Replace Front Seat Belt Tounge Assembly - Both Sides

 

If you take your vehicle to get seat belts done, and they say it is not covered, tell your Service Advisor to contact their Warranty Administrator and give this information, if they do not cooperate call 1-800-NISSAN1.

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Ok So I went to our Warranty Administrator and got the full details from Nissan.

 

If your local dealer is giving you problems on seat belt replacement under warranty give them this information including the Op Codes, this is straight from Nissan.

 

WARRANTY COVERAGE

PLAN SB

Seat Belts - Useful life of the vehicle for 1989-2002 vehicles, 10 years for 2003 up vehicles.

OpCode VK22AA Replace Front Seat Belt Tounge Assembly - One side

OpCode VK213AA Replace Front Seat Belt Tounge Assembly - Both Sides

 

If you take your vehicle to get seat belts done, and they say it is not covered, tell your Service Advisor to contact their Warranty Administrator and give this information, if they do not cooperate call 1-800-NISSAN1.

 

This post is worthy of a permanent sticky.

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So even if the only problem with my seatbelts is that the two front seatbelts don't automatically retract, that's covered under warranty and will be fixed for free?

 

That is exactly what the warranty is for, failure of the pretensioner in the seat belt.

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This post is worthy of a permanent sticky.

 

 

It is true that this info is good but the last thing we need is another sticky about seatbelts, however I will quote Alkorahil's post into the existing TSB subject in the Garage (the link is in my prior post).

 

Alkorahil, if you will make a new post in there, I will remove the quoted one thumbsup.gif

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does this cover rear belts as well?

 

Post #14 of this thread should answer any questions as to what is and is not covered. But to answer directly...Are your rear belts failing to function in some way? if they are failiing in some way and all other criteria of the warranty are met..then yeah, they are covered.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went down to my local dealership and the service advisor said that my issue of seatbelts not retracting by themselves (i.e. they generally need to be fed in by hand) is not covered under warranty and a cleaning must be done first, which he quoted around $90 to do; I asked if I could buy the necessary tools (IIRC this is the Teflon or whatever material stickers that go in the eye loop, whatever is outlined in this TSB PDF posted earlier) and perform it myself, but he said I could trigger an airbag light if done improperly. He also said that if the seatbelts did not retract at all, that'd be covered under warranty, but since they still retract when fed in manually it's not covered (unless a cleaning job fails, presumably). Is that bullcrap, or is he right?

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Cleaning the D ring and installing the "tape" will not set off the air bag light. That is crap. If you do install it improperly, and cause the belt to drag, they might tell you to go pound sand. Once again, cleaning the ring is very simple. I have done a ton of these and yes, it does help.

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Well, you can purchase the kit from any Nissan/Infiniti dealer. It comes with two peices of "tape" and two pieces of wire to clean the d-ring. I have found taking a small piece of fine sandpaper, about a inch thick, works much better. This will remove the buildup on the ring. Clean off as needed and install the tape. Its a bit tricky, but once its in you should be good. Make sure to not have any folds or anything in the tape. Use the belt to smooth it out. If its still slow, warranty can kick in and put in a new belt assembly.

 

 

Just looked up how much we sell the kit for.......$12 w/o tax.

Edited by 5523Pathfinder
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