Fixing the seat belt retractor

[Grant-53]

Most of us who have an older vehicle have three point seat belts that no longer retract. The get stuck in the door. Does anyone had a success in fixing them by cleaning and lubricating the reel?

[H-Man]

I just opened up the B pillar and blew out the dust on the seat belt mechanism. Now it retracts properly, no lube required.

[some_other_dave]

Some have also had some success pulling the belt all the way out, using a big binder clip to hold it out, and using a mild soap and water solution (think: Woolite or similar) on the belt itself. That can help some, but if there is gunk in the ratcheting mechanism you'll need to address that more directly.

-soD

[TomO]

If it's on a Honda, bring it to the dealer (lifetime of the vehicle warranty of seatbelts) they will attempt to clean the parts first but will ultimately replace them under warranty.

Not sure what the warranty is on other makes, but make sure to clean the holder on the b-pillar very well. The oils from our fingers and dirt accumulate on the belt and rub off on the holder on the B-pillar and gunk it up which increases the drag on the belt and the older retractor can't compensate for this extra drag, letting the belt hang low.

You can also do what H-Man said and take off the pillar trims and blow out the dust and inspect the retractor mechanism.

My VX had the super slow retracting belts...I cleaned the holder extremely well and it helped to improve the retracting of the belt. I eventually took off the B-pillar trim and blew out the dust off the mechanism and used a dry-film lubricant on just he mechanism (so the belt would not get any on it) and that helped as well.