Killer Seat Belts....

[Jimlad]

Ok.... Me and JappyBeast met up at the weekend ( had a big headache today.. lol ).

He got into my MR2 and yanked on the seatbelt... I was wondering what he was doing until he said they're the same as his.

Basically they don't lock up if you pull them hard. His car failed the MOT for this and he got new ones... but they still don't lock up !!

Not a good feeling knowing I've been driving around at crazy speeds with seatbelts that don't actually even work !! No air bag, no side impact bars... now useless seat belts !!

Is this normal ? Do they possibly only lock up when moving ?? Anyone know ??

Check your seatbelts !!! Curious if others are the same.

[Dom]

has it got something to do with the angle they are yanked at perhaps?

a bit of enthusiastic braking (but not too enthusiastic) should get them to lock?

[Jimlad]

I tried throwing myself forward a few times... ( not by braking, when car was stationary ).. still nothing.

[John R]

It needs to be a short sharp pull, you won't be able to do youself, with your own motion.

It's a little gear catch thing in the seatbelt mech, irrevalevnt of whether you are driving or not.

trying standing outside of the car, getting a handful of belt... then yanking it like you would to start a lawnmower engine.

[Jimlad]

tried... also on Jappybeasts new belts.... nothing.

someone with a MR2 go try their own belts... let me know.

[Dom]

hmm... pray?

[pizza boy]

mines are ok. You best wear a crash helmet I reckon :D

[Jimlad]

yip, me and Jappy both.... lol.

Scary when you think about it actually, especially when you take into consideration there's no air bag either !! LOL... ARGH !

Defo called a rev1 killer now !!

I'm gonna get the belts looked at. For the mean time if I do crash I'm gonna have to do a handbrake turn and make sure they hit the back of the car somewhere.

Scary stuff !!

[Dame]

Mine are fine too. TBH you don't need to yank them too hard to get them to lock....

[Kelvyn]

Isn't it something to do with that little black lever thingy near the door catch and iterior light switch in the door opening?. I read somewhere that the belts dont grab like normal but do work under braking etc and that you needed to tell the MoT tester otherwise you could get a fail. Maybe its only an import thing?

[Titto]

Mines the same Jimlad - I think it's just down to it being an older model and newer cars seem to react differently. I did the same thing by throwing myself forward and nothing! It is wierd, but i've seen a few smashed up MR2's in accidents and the occupants were always ok cos of the belts...

So either dont worry or keep praying!

[Jimlad]

Isn't it something to do with that little black lever thingy near the door catch and iterior light switch in the door opening?. I read somewhere that the belts dont grab like normal but do work under braking etc and that you needed to tell the MoT tester otherwise you could get a fail. Maybe its only an import thing?

erm.. dunno.... gonna find what you're on about and see if it does anything.

[Jimlad]

Mines the same Jimlad - I think it's just down to it being an older model and newer cars seem to react differently. I did the same thing by throwing myself forward and nothing! It is wierd, but i've seen a few smashed up MR2's in accidents and the occupants were always ok cos of the belts...

So either dont worry or keep praying!

mmmm......... tempted to hoof it along and slam the brakes on to see if it works now.

pitty it's icy outside tho.... strange one this.

You could be right tho, that it does work... just differently ( ie... pulling it won't do anything ). My car passed it's MOT in July, so unless they have just stopped working it must be ok the way it is.

Someone slam their brakes on and see if it works !! I can't cos it's all icy up here.... :(

[jimbo_mr2]

hey everybody, been away for a while so havent posted any stupid questions lately. Yeah ive had exactly the same prob with my seat belts, only it was my mate that pointed it out he's a nervous passenger anyways and when he noticed the seatbelts didnt work he freaked, at which point i threatened to boot his ***** outta the car as we were moving and that seemed to shut him up. but i just thought it was just a problem i had and that id have to buy new belts. maybe it was just a fault that they had with imports that we dont hear about. hope everyones cool, and had a good xmas, and if i dont post before, have a good new year. jimbo

[WOODY]

Have found the same with my import but when under driving condicions I have found my belts do work just like a normal car

[Yarisboy]

with so many mr2's having the 'same belts' i'm sure it's nothing to worry about

i'ts probably some clever jap importy kind of thing, u know those boys like a bit of electronic gadgetery!

perhaps something to do with... being able to reach for stuff/not being restricted by the belts when the car is stationary?

you must have had to do some harsh braking in the time u've owned that car jimlad... and surely u'd have known about not having a seat belt that works cos u'd have found ur head connecting with the windscreen!

I reckon it's nowt to worry about lads.

[Jimlad]

curious as to how you tested it out mate... just slammed the brakes on ??

[Jimlad]

with so many mr2's having the 'same belts' i'm sure it's nothing to worry about

i'ts probably some clever jap importy kind of thing, u know those boys like a bit of electronic gadgetery!

perhaps something to do with... being able to reach for stuff/not being restricted by the belts when the car is stationary?

you must have had to do some harsh braking in the time u've owned that car jimlad... and surely u'd have known about not having a seat belt that works cos u'd have found ur head connecting with the windscreen!

I reckon it's nowt to worry about lads.

true..... lol :D

I've never noticed my face against the windscreen while braking at any point... so they must work. Will pay more attention while driving about to see if I notice.

I actually sat in the car for a few mins this evening seriously yanking on the belt and throwing myslef about. A neighbour was watching and probably thought I was a complete loon.... lol.

[+Steve]

yes.. these work when you brake hard fellas.. same as on my soarer.

drive down the road and slap the brakes on and feel it snap then!

Also have you ever noticed that when you turn the car off the belts motors make a little noise?

[Jimlad]

nah... never noticed that one... mmm... will have a listen out tomorrow. Do you take the belt off first then switch the car off ?? or does it not matter.

One thing I like about the MR2 belts is when you open the door... the belt sucks back in so you can't trip over it/catch it in the door... very nice.

As someone once said.... " that's the best thing about this car... well impressed ". lol... obviously easily impressed.

[ZeroBlade]

My rev1 uk n/a's seatbelt does hold on even if ya tug it, not bad i spose, only annoying when i gotta reach over to unlock passenger door, (not not bothered to get central locking yet, far 2 lazy!)

Cept the "sucker" on my belt doesnt work properly, i gotta feed it back in b4 i get outa the car, othewise it just hangs in place and looks cack which annoys me BIG TIME!

lol, picky rn't i?

Does ne1 know of a solution to the sucking mechanism?

Cheers,

-Z

[Jimlad]

maybe it's just the jap models which have these funny seatbelts. Good tho, as you can lean about the car without getting grabbed by the belt.

As for the sucking in of the belts... dunno mate... but I would think it's a pretty simple mech

[System~G]

I had to remove my seatbelts to check something else out and noticed there is a little ballbearing inside the mechanism. If this bearing is sent forward (due to braking possibly), the seatbelt locks. I found this out when I had to refit the seatbelts and couldn't get enough slack on the belt to re-bolt the bottom to the floor.

Make sure there is no greasy deposits in the mechanism preventing the bearing to roll

[kash]

ermm... I think the jap mr2 might have one of those tension belt type mechanisms in it.... they only lock up when the key is in the ignition... If you listen carefully to the noise of the belt clicking into/out of place, if u hear a faint switch sound than that will be the tension belt mechanism swithing on/off. Its in my Supe, but might also be in the Jap mr2s. If the sounds there that'll explain why the belt doesn't lock.

[MattMR2Turbo]

My import MR2 belts seem to work just like any other car? I tried tugging them when stationary and they locked fine? Seems a weird thing really