Seat belt retraction fix

[jj big shoe]

If you've already cleaned the "D" ring on your front seat belts and purchased the kit from Nissan and you're seat belts still won't retract worth beans when you take it off, try this:

 

Take the side panel off and remove the seat belt housing.

 

Extend the belt as far as it goes until you can access the plastic spool's core. It's much easier to do this if you hold the housing in the same position as it was when mounted in the truck otherwise the lock mechanism will fight you every quarter inch or so.

 

Give yourself some slack to work with and remove the belt from the spool by pulling it through the core and removing the plastic dowel from the loop.

 

Once you've pulled the belt free of the spool, you can start winding it until it stops (mine was about eight turns). Be careful not to let go of the spool or else you'll have to wind it completely. This will tighten the spring and make your seat belt retract better.

Now slide the loop back through the spool and reinstall the dowel (the dowel only fits flush in one side, BTW) and you're done.

You can also lubricate the spring by popping off the small black circular cap on the spring cover that says "Do Not Remove" and shoot some spray silicone in there. Don't remove the entire black plastic housing, just the small cap in the center.

 

DISCLAIMER:

I do not condone or recommend anyone but a qualified mechanic or possibly Ralph Nader adjusting or reconditioning any automotive safety equipment. The information expressed above is strictly for novelty purposes only and should not in any way be regarded as gospel. The author was simply goofing around in his garage and thought he would share. He is in no way an expert and also did a lot of drugs in high school.

Edited June 11, 2006 by jj big shoe

[MaritimeMan]

HAHA nice disclaimer, not too shabby on the write up too, might have to give that a whirl.

[RedPath88]

I have been considering a look at it to see what could be done... you just saved me the trouble of figuring it out

[Electrifyliak]

A friend of mine that used to work at a nissan stealership told me that they are required by law to fix any problems with your seatbelts, i.e. not retracting properly, for free (?) wether you have a warranty or not. Is this not true?

[SC88Pathy]

That's the truth Electrify! I'm thinking about taking mine in since the passenger belt doesn't retract all the way, the steel cord that attaches the passenger buckler to the floor is visible (all of the plastic surrounding cracked and fell away long ago) and it looks a little frayed, and the driver belt is fraying...

[jj big shoe]

A friend of mine that used to work at a nissan stealership told me that they are required by law to fix any problems with your seatbelts, i.e. not retracting properly, for free (?) wether you have a warranty or not. Is this not true?

I think that applies more to a seat belt with a safety issue like not latching properly than it does to a convenience issue like slow retraction. It's not frayed and the brake and buckle still function properly, it just doesn't fully retract without a little help. I wish they would, but I don't think Nissan would give me new ones since that's the only problem. Edited June 14, 2006 by jj big shoe

[Pezzy]

lol@the disclaimer