[tosh2]

My driver's seatbelt retractor has become lazy. Many times the belt doesn't retract and I end up closing the door with the belt dangling in the breeze (or worse, in the slush) I've tried pulling it out to the limit and letting it go back, but it doesen't help.
Any better suggestions?

 

[FozzieBalou]

Year?

I've actually had this problem with my 2014 Limited since very early on. I don't think it's a laser retractor so much as it's that the belt gets twisted as you're removing it from your shoulder and therefore kind of gets held up in the slot in the pillar that leads down to the retractor.

It's kind of like my adjustable dog leash. Sometimes the webbing gets a little twisted and it doesn't retract as quickly as if the webbing is perfectly flat. Best suggestion would be to check with the dealer and see if it's an issue - if you're still under warranty. Or just check your belt each time you get out of the car to make sure that it's retracted and not dangling. This last one is what I've done.

 

[skirbykat]

Recently watched this on YouTube regarding slow and sticky seat belts. One possibility for solution, anyway.

https://youtu.be/NH3EVut9GXQ

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[aggie113]

A good cleaning with simple green and hot water helped the seatbelts on my older Subaru.

 

[mr_donald]

Drivers seat belt on my SH retracts poorly as well. When I did some research into this about a year ago, I found quite a few YouTube videos which are less mechanical than that ^ one - lots of people say that just by washing the belt it will begin retracting much better. I meant to do wash mine this past summer when I would have a chance of it actually drying out reasonably quickly, but forgot all about it and will have to wait until next summer. But I would suggest perusing additional videos and see if any of the various cleaning approaches seem convincing to you...looked worth a try to me before going to more drastic measures. Personally I'm a little wary of tearing into the restraint system myself but I'm admittedly not nearly as mechanically inclined as many others here. :laugh:

 

[mr_donald]

A good cleaning with simple green and hot water helped the seatbelts on my older Subaru.

Oh, there you go! The short answer came through while I was blathering on...I'm glad to hear that worked!

 

[ForesterBill]

According to this:

https://www.subaru.com/owners/vehicle-warranty/warranties-2011.html

"Seat Belt Lifetime Limited Warranty
SEAT BELT COVERAGE lasts for the useful life of the vehicle and includes seat belts and related components which fail to function properly during normal use.
This warranty does not apply to cosmetic appearance, such as color fading, when the seat belts function properly. Coverage also excludes any electrical related components or body anchor points."

So have your Subaru dealer fix it for free.

 

[tosh2]

Lazy retractor

Thanks guys for your responses. I'll start with the easy fixes first, like cleaning and progress towards the ultimate like taking it to the dealer if all else fails. Keep in mind this vehicle has not crossed the dealerships doorstep since it's first birthday!

 

[theophilus48israel]

A slow retracting seat belt could mean that the srs system was activated on it and thus it should be changed with a new unit... if you had a minor accident it could be that the seatbelt restraint system activated even if no airbags were activated. The system that I’m talking about is the one that retracts the seat belt when a crash is detected so that the person is pulled into the seat...I’m just saying it could be so that there’s one more thing to check if nothing else happens. I guess you would also have an airbag light on. Some say that the seatbelts are consumables and they should be changed on older cars, I wouldn’t really go this far, but it’s some information I got


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[ForesterBill]

@tash2, I didn't notice you were in Canada when I made my initial reply. Canadian warranty may be different from US warranty which I quoted above.

 

[Zzzzaap]

Fyi: subaru provides unlimited lifetime warranty on seat belts, regardless of original ownership. My seat belts had the same issue, local dealer took one week to order the correct part and installed it in an hour. No cost.

 

[drel]

Fyi: subaru provides unlimited lifetime warranty on seat belts, regardless of original ownership. My seat belts had the same issue, local dealer took one week to order the correct part and installed it in an hour. No cost.

Like ForesterBill posted up there, it's a *limited* lifetime warranty. The limit is to what they cover, not how long they cover it (for the lifetime of the vehicle).

 

[maxthehax]

I just purchased a 2010 XT, and strangely both (Driver & Pass) seat belts are poorly retracting but also the whole material they are made from seems very stiff. My 2011 Seat belts are retracting flawlessly and the tissue they are made from is smooth... Since I have the car for only 2 days I did not repair the problem yet but I was really thinking about replacing the complete seat belt on both sides if it is not absurd price.