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Rear Seat Belts LOCKED - Help!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by noussano, Jun 22, 2009.

  1. noussano

    noussano New Member

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    Ok. So we bought a used 2007 Prius about a week ago. The seat belts in the back worked fine until a couple of days ago. All of the sudden all three seat belts in the rear of the vehicle will not loosen. They retract further into the molding with each of our attempts to pull them out.

    We have not been in an accident. The only thing I can think that might be related is that my husband and a friend took the kids on a trip together which meant installing a second car seat. They weren't using the LATCH hooks. Maybe they pulled one of the belts out too far and activated something?

    I've looked through the manual, through forums, and searched endlessly but no one seems to share this issue. Ideas??
     
    #1 noussano, Jun 22, 2009
  2. RickFlashman

    RickFlashman New Member

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    I've had this happen to an older car of mine, a quick trip to the dealer and they knew where to reach behind the seat to put a screwdriver in to "release" the belts. NO IDEA if the Prius works the same way, but work checking.
     
    #2 RickFlashman, Jun 22, 2009
  3. Jabber

    Jabber Chicagoland Prius Guy

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    Yeah, it sounds like the ALR is engaged. It can go back into the roller, but not come out right? Dealer trip.
     
    #3 Jabber, Jun 22, 2009
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    ALR or ELR? ELR is a dealer trip. ALR isn't.


    Did you let the belts retract all the way back to their standing position? ALR is engaged when you pull the belts all the way out. Then they only retract and you can't pull them out any further. In this case, let them retract all the way back, then they'll function properly.


    if that doesn't work, then yes i'd take it to the dealer.
     
    #4 Tideland Prius, Jun 22, 2009
  5. noussano

    noussano New Member

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    The seat belts can't roll in any further. The two side seat belts are so tight that, in order to keep the seat locked upright I have to slip the seat belts into the crevice between the seats and the interior panel (while avoiding the locking hinges).

    The dealer charges tons of money. Is there a DIY method for resetting the ALR? Also, from everything I've seen, the whole seat belt system is looped together so shouldn't the front seat belts be misbehaving as well? Or am I wrong that it is all one system?
     
    #5 noussano, Jun 23, 2009
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    You are wrong. Each belt is its own device.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Jun 23, 2009
  7. noussano

    noussano New Member

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    So then why would all three rear seat belts do the same thing???
     
    #7 noussano, Jun 23, 2009
  8. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Presumably all three were handled by the same person.

    Tom
     
    #8 qbee42, Jun 23, 2009
  9. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Isn't your 2007 still covered by the manufacturer's 3 years/36,000 basic warranty?

    Or the 30 day warranty that frequently comes with used cars purchased from a dealer?
     
    #9 Boo, Jun 23, 2009
  10. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Why is this posted in a 2010 subforum?
     
    #10 HTMLSpinnr, Jun 23, 2009
  11. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    You know the answer ;)

    The same reason Danny posted a political thread in Fred's House of Pancakes yesterday.

    Stuff happens :)
     
    #11 Boo, Jun 23, 2009
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