Every once in a while my seat belt will get caught and folded up in the buckle. It's a PITA to straighten it out some times... i know it's not just a Prius thing. Anybody else notice this? It's a bit of a safety issue since it would defeat the pre-tensioner in case of an accident.
I've never had this happen, as far as I know. I also can't quite picture what you mean, "folded up in the buckle".
Imagine a piece of duct tape folded over so it's no longer 2 inches wide. That's what happens with shoulder belts. Eventually (unless you fix it first), the side that's folding over will fold over completely so that the belt is reversed and somewhere along the length of the belt there will be a twist in the belt so it no longer lies flat throughout the length of the belt. Once the belt has folded over completely, it's hard (but not impossible) to reverse because the shoulder belt clip/guide's opening is so narrow. You're always better off trying to fix the fold before the belt has folded over and reversed itself completely.
Yup. Happens to me all the time. It's even worse with child safety seats. No clue how to fix or prevent it, but I'm hoping someone else will post with a solution. -->Adam
Must be user and/or car specific. Mine doesn't do this. Instead it sometimes binds as I extend it the first time. The belts in my GF's old Corolla did the same thing. It must be me, but I haven't been able to discover what evil magic I'm using to make it bind.
Mine was flipped over when I bought the car used. For a long time I figured that it was a manufacturing defect and that it would be impossible to reverse, because the opening is so narrow. But yesterday I decided to give it a try, and after a couple of minutes I got it turned around to the correct side. So it is fixable.
It occasionally happens to me. As Boo suggests, it's much easier to undo the fold while it's still stuck in the clip, before it pull through and causes the reversal. Since my seat is all the way aft, I often find the lap belt hooked behind the recline-lever.
Yes, basically it requires first folding the belt just a little toward its correct side, and then simultaneously pulling the fold toward its correct side while you're sliding the belt through the clip/guide until the belt has completely flipped sides. But oftentimes, it's easier said than done.
I can't count the times I've been a passenger in other people's cars where the seat belt has done that. I usually fold it back around while riding, for something to do, which usually makes the owner happy. But I don't think it's happened on my own seatbelts. I'm guessing it must have to do with the way a person pulls the belt out to fasten it, and I guess I don't do it that way. (I haven't tried to figure out how.) -Chap
Hello Tom: Thanks! Good interpretation there. Now I understand. What confused me was the OP's reference to the seat belt getting caught and "folded up in the buckle". The "buckle" is actually the lower part that has the "button" on it, and is attached to the short section of belt that attaches to the car floor. The "latch plate" is the part that slides on the shoulder harness. That's what caused my confusion trying to visualize the problem. Now that I know what is being described, I can say that I've seen this problem many times on rental cars. It is actually a pet peeve of mine. I usually won't drive away with the rental car when picking it up until I fix this (along with adjusting the seat, the mirrors, familiarizing myself with the controls, etc). As far as my own cars (and the Prius): I never have it happen. Maybe that's because I know how to put the belt on and take it off without causing the problem. I'm careful when I pull the shoulder harness out to hold the latch plate correctly so that the belt doesn't flip over inside of it.
This has happened with every car since the invention of the shoulder restraint seat belt. It is not Prius-specific.
