TojoDan
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2018
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- Location
- SA
- Members Ride
- VY Sedan, VY Berlina Wagon & VE S2 SSV Sportwagon
Sportwagon Owners, I thought I'd share this info on how to unlock a jammed seatbelt.
This has occurred twice in my wagon (Once at the airport in the no parking zone and I needed to get 5 people in the car - with only 3 seats available it was not cool!).
The issue: While the rear seat is down the centre rear belt retracts to a point of no return, any manoeuvring/yanking of the seat to try to return it to the upright position only results in the seatbelt pulling tighter and eventually this pulls the seatbelt guide from is housing and starts to stretch on the leather/upholstery on the top of the seat. The Seat effectively becomes locked down - pulling the seat upward will exacerbate the issue.
I couldn't find any threads on the net to assist me, and both the Holden dealership and roadside assistance suggested the belt needs to be cut and the car returned to the dealer for a new belt to be installed.
However I found a way to unlock the belt, it's tedious but will get your seat up within about 10 to 15 minutes, you will require a heavy metal pole such as a truck tyre brace/heavy duty strongarm or timber batten 500mm long, ideally another person to assist and a lot of patience.
1.Ensure the car is parked on a level surface or with front wheels more elevated than rear (Not nose down).
2.Reach between the seats and very gently attempt to extend the belt whilst the heavy object is belted on the rear of the seat (lay the bar on the flat and with the entire edge, not the point, or you will wreck your seat back, use light to moderate force)
#Don't let the belt lock off, just slowly jiggle it - every time it locks you'll need to let a lot retract back in to get it to unlock again.
3. You will feel that occasionally the belt will extend 1-5mm when the seatback is hit. You are effectively shocking the retracting mechanism allowing it to release for a nanosecond.
4. Once you have retrieved about 200mm of belt (50+ hits later!) you can gradually begin to lift the rear seat while repeating the hitting process, you will find that the belt releases in large sections up to 10-20mm at a time.
Good luck, I hope this helps you get back on the road quicker and saves you a few $.
This has occurred twice in my wagon (Once at the airport in the no parking zone and I needed to get 5 people in the car - with only 3 seats available it was not cool!).
The issue: While the rear seat is down the centre rear belt retracts to a point of no return, any manoeuvring/yanking of the seat to try to return it to the upright position only results in the seatbelt pulling tighter and eventually this pulls the seatbelt guide from is housing and starts to stretch on the leather/upholstery on the top of the seat. The Seat effectively becomes locked down - pulling the seat upward will exacerbate the issue.
I couldn't find any threads on the net to assist me, and both the Holden dealership and roadside assistance suggested the belt needs to be cut and the car returned to the dealer for a new belt to be installed.
However I found a way to unlock the belt, it's tedious but will get your seat up within about 10 to 15 minutes, you will require a heavy metal pole such as a truck tyre brace/heavy duty strongarm or timber batten 500mm long, ideally another person to assist and a lot of patience.
1.Ensure the car is parked on a level surface or with front wheels more elevated than rear (Not nose down).
2.Reach between the seats and very gently attempt to extend the belt whilst the heavy object is belted on the rear of the seat (lay the bar on the flat and with the entire edge, not the point, or you will wreck your seat back, use light to moderate force)
#Don't let the belt lock off, just slowly jiggle it - every time it locks you'll need to let a lot retract back in to get it to unlock again.
3. You will feel that occasionally the belt will extend 1-5mm when the seatback is hit. You are effectively shocking the retracting mechanism allowing it to release for a nanosecond.
4. Once you have retrieved about 200mm of belt (50+ hits later!) you can gradually begin to lift the rear seat while repeating the hitting process, you will find that the belt releases in large sections up to 10-20mm at a time.
Good luck, I hope this helps you get back on the road quicker and saves you a few $.