On my 2005 Prius, I have a problem with the left rear seatbelt. My wife complains that the seatbelt will get tighter and tighter until she has to release it and re-attach the belt. Then it will do the same thing again. I think I remember people complaining about the right rear seatbelt too. Does anyone know if there is a tensioner I can adjust? Have instructions? I would take it to the dealer that normally services the car but they don't do warranty work on the weekends so I would have to take time off of work to get it in there. Thanks for any help you can give.
That would be the automatic locking... something (ALR). That is a feature on all seatbelts except the driver's one. What you do to repeat what your wife did is just pull any seatbelt to the maximum. When you let go, you'll hear this.. umm "clicking" sound as the seatbelt retracts. Let it retract a bit and then pull. You'll realise it is "locked" and it can only be retracted. That's the ALR system. Good for baby seats and the like.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 29 2006, 09:20 AM) [snapback]340306[/snapback]</div> Thanks, but I'm saying it keeps on tightening as we ride in the car. Is there an adjustment to lessen the tightening feature beside unlatching and redoing it?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 29 2006, 10:11 PM) [snapback]340531[/snapback]</div> OK, maybe there is someone else out there who has some real informative help they can give. <_<
If you trigger the one-way retractor, then as a body bounces around and moves in the seat and pulls against the belt a little less, even just for a moment, the retractor will take up one or two clicks. This may well give the long-term effect of "it's trying to choke me to death!" ... but if the belt is getting into this state in the first place, the occupant is probably pulling it *way* too far out in the first place. Is your wife large? Would it help if she rides shotgun, instead of in the back seat? This all sounds an awful lot like user error, not a retractor problem, unless you really happened to get a misadjusted one somehow. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(waprius @ Oct 30 2006, 12:27 PM) [snapback]340813[/snapback]</div> well, sor-ry
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(waprius @ Oct 30 2006, 03:27 PM) [snapback]340813[/snapback]</div> reeeeeerrrrrrr! Five posts, and already dissatisfied with the service here at PriusChat?!? My, my; I'd suggest lowering your standards. [smile]
Hobbit said: [Would it help if she rides shotgun, instead of in the back seat? This all sounds an awful lot like user error, not a retractor problem, unless you really happened to get a misadjusted one somehow.] My daughter has to ride shotgun as she has quadraplegia and cannot sit up for very long. She most often has to recline in the seat while I drive. So my wife has to sit in back. I don't know how "User error" would come into play, it's only a seatbelt. Now you mentioned a misadjusted retractor. That sounds like the problem. Guess I will have to find an adjustment procedure somewhere. You think ALLDATAdiy.com would have it?
My daughter sometimes pulls the belt all the way out with one hand and then buckles it with her other hand. Then when she lets go the same thing happens. Could be your wife is doing something similar. Have you sat in the same seat and had the same problem? That would be a quick test. I'd be very surprised if thre is an adjustment on a safety item like this. If it is broken the dealer will probably have to replace it.
I suspect "they're all like that." Prob'ly not what you wanted to hear, though. Reminds me of the belts in my '73 Pinto, actually. Nice to know that the best things in life stay that way.
The same thing happens in older Dodge models. I cant help with fixing the problem, but it is common in other types of cars. I dont think it is a malfunctioning seatbelt, just the way its designed.
