"Binding" Rear Seatbelt Straps???

[rpr]

My rear seatbelts "catch" or lock way too easy. Any fair size man or woman will be locked in very quickly - they lock after they are pulled out a certain point. They then need to be fully retracted to get them to release. This can't be normal. Are there any adjustments on these things???

 

[JoshC]

Man, i'm with you here, there has to be adjustments or something. I thought it was just my explorer, but my dad's 2001 is the same way. It's really a pain in the butt. I'd like to know the answer to this if anyone knows!!!

Happy trails!!

 

[Robert]

The locking when you pull them out all the way is normal. They do that so you can lock a car-seat in. You will find that the front passenger seat does it also. In fact the only one that doesn't is the driver's seat-belt. The rear belts are a little smaller so when an adult sits in the back and pulls the belt out most of the way, it doesn't take much more to lock it up. Mine are a little more touchy than most cars I've driven in, but not enough to cause a problem. If I hit my brakes hard, my driver's one will lock up on me causing me to lean back into my seat to unlock it.

 

[rpr]

Originally posted by Robert
If I hit my brakes hard, my driver's one will lock up on me causing me to lean back into my seat to unlock it.

Well, maybe that's part of my problem. My rear seat belts do not unlock simply by leaning back to allow the belt to partially retract. My rear belts have to be unlatched from the passenger and completely retracted before it will unlock.

 

[Spectre]

Originally posted by rpr


My rear belts have to be unlatched from the passenger and completely retracted before it will unlock.

That's totally normal. Only the driver's belt unlocks without fully retracting. There is no problem. That's just the way it works.

 

[JoshC]

Man what a rip off. You'd think that they would have a better design because that is kind of dangerous if you ask me. Not sure about yours but on mine they get pretty tight and hard to get out of sometimes. That could lead to a law suit some day. Guess i'll just have to live with them for now!

Happy trails!!

 

[rpr]

I totally agree! The way these things are designed, they are not a safety feature, they are a potential health hazard. Another example of some engineering team failing to correlate real world performance with the theoretical (I can trash engineers because I am one).

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by rpr


Well, maybe that's part of my problem. My rear seat belts do not unlock simply by leaning back to allow the belt to partially retract. My rear belts have to be unlatched from the passenger and completely retracted before it will unlock.

Yeah, my rear seat belts do need to be unlatched and fully retracted to unlock it, but then again I don't drive from the rear seat so it isn't a problem. The only people that ride back there are less than 4 feet tall and weigh less than 60 lbs. so the belts don't usually lock up on them. I like the locking mechanism though since it keeps my daughter's cars seat secure.