C5 seat belt retraction

[jgra1]

hi all.. my belts (well at least drivers belt) takes a long while to retract.. I have my first mot for the car on Thursday.. and this is bound to fail..
is it a common problem? car has done 110K

I guess a scrapper may be the only option/ ebay breaker..

thanks
john

[Gibbo2286]

I don't think it will fail on that, mine's been that way through its last two tests and not failed. Provided it latches and isn't frayed it should be ok. Mine always winds back but very slowly, avoiding shutting it in the door is the biggest pain.

[jgra1]

yes I get that too Gibbo..
ok , will leave it and see - there isnt much I can do before then anyway really

[myglaren]

Common fault on the C5 John.
As long as it retracts eventually it will pass, mine both have anyway.
Give them a damned good clean, often works and as a last resort a light spray with silicon lubricant on mainly the out of sight bits can work wonders - for a while.

[waynedance]

Mine used to do that until I cleaned the webbing, I got the webbing quite wet and let them retract. Drivers seat belt now works fine so the damp must have cleaned or lubricated something inside the mech.

[jgra1]

hmm

the previous owner was a bin man.. and I think he thought the car was a skip

The belt needs a clean badly.. wont help....

I have changed carpets and seats.. getting the interior sorted

[kentc5]

I was about to suggest that... although my car had only one owner... they did not think of much for cleaning the interior ... and the seat belts are a bit filthy... a good clean up with non damaging soapy water and good rinse will do the job.
I noticed that the C5's plastics when they are dirty do get verryy sticky. It might the same case with the plastics where the seat belt runs on before it goes in the roller.

I am due to do mine over the weekend I will let you know how it goes.

[jgra1]

thanks

will have a go at it later.. mot 445 thursday...

John

[addo]

Coincidence! Mine's tomorrow as well. I'll fail it on front suspension, front tyres, brake light globe, oil leaks.

[JohnD]

I noticed that the C5's plastics when they are dirty do get verryy sticky.

Yes - especially the steering wheel! Also agree about the belt retracting. Mine always has been very slow. MOT never comment though.

[markflip]

The only reason for rejecting (failing) a retractable seatbelt during an MOT is:

b. a retracting mechanism does not retract
the webbing sufficiently to remove all the
slack from the belt with the locking
mechanism fastened and the seat
unoccupied.

It doesn't mention the time taken to achieve this and if it aint in the book you can't (at least shouldn't) reject it.

Official Class I - VII MOT Inspection Manuals available to download free here (if you're having trouble sleeping perhaps?):

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jgra1]

lol thanks Mark..I will put a copy by the bed..

will let everyone know how it goes..
The drivers door is hardly opening from the inside now.. I have no time to deal with that today.. I may remove the plastic lever surround if I can.. could help..
anyway, these are small fish.. It's the usual pre mot jitters about brakes, leaks, bushes etc..

she'll be right

[jgra1]

well no issue from the belt..
failed on exhaust leak, about midway along car where mounting brackets are.. exhaust looks new.. he told me to gum it up..

but,,, NS handbrake doing nothing.. I knew the guides were bad...

[addo]

That's a right mongrel of a job.

Mine passed (unsurprising really, after the problems were all fixed ). Pulled 1.06G's on the calibrated brake test - woohoo!

[jgra1]

well done Addo..

hmm was about to start searching on a how to on C5 handbrake cables/guides..