Killer Seat Belts....

[thepoisondwarf]

The little rotating peg mechanism by the door shut is the seatbelt pretensioner, which only works when the door is closed.

These are mechanical, not electric, and remained the same up until model deletion in late '98. The Supra system is a wee bit more refined.

The belts do need a sharp tug to lock (door shut) but I never had a problem on any of my Turbos, including the last '97 model when being submitted for Type Approval following inport, or on MOTs when they became due.

Hope that this helps.

[sporty]

jimlad, i had the same problem on my turbo, and when i sold it to a bloke

who imports them all the time. As soon as he got in the car he tugged on the

seat belts and they didnt work he said they was a common problem on the imports

i havent a clue what causes this tho. sorry mate.

[timwildman]

Yep My supra has an electric operated solinoid, that holds the belt when the engine is on. If you undo the belt with the engine on, you can hear a loud clunk as the belt un-locks, and recoils it's self. Also if i'm at a blind junction and lean forward to get a better view, I get held back, but if I tug on it 3 times (the belt that is) it releases. yet another elcetronic thing go wrong.

[JappyBeast]

Well as Jimlad said.. my car failed its MOT because he couldnt get them to lock. He fitted a new set, (look very nice) but now only lock once in every 20 times!.. good odds for when you crash!!!

I'm hoping they will work.. dont fancy hitting the wheel.

[jimma]

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.

Sit in the car with the engine running and seatbelt on, leave the belt on and turn off the engine and ignition, if you feel the belt tighten slightly across your chest, you have electronic pre-tensioners which will lock up properly during the correct g-force (ie. an accident, not just slamming on the anchors!!) and should not lock when the car is off. Just like my appyjappy import! and MOT testers should know this of modern cars, it's not your job to tell the tester how to do his job. I think you been ripped off by the tester if they are the same people that fitted you a new set!

[Stef Derner]

The little black lever thingy stops the seat belt mechanism from working when the door is open. The seat belt mechanism is an inertia system operating on a ballbearing between two dished plates. If the ballbearing is forced away from the centre by any force like sudden acceleration or deceleration it forces aprt the dishes and locks the mechanism. It won't lock if you tug on the belt while the car is stationary. If you drive quite slowly in a carpark and slam on the brakes while tugging (the belt) it should lock. Sometimes you'll find it will lock while stationary if you are on a hill or even under hard acceleration, due to the ball bearing rolling away from the centre.

[JappyBeast]

So I slammed my brakes on and pulled the belt and it worked. Gonna tell my MOT guy next time I see him.

[Jimlad]

lol.. cool.

you saved me testing it.

Looks like your MOT fella made you pay £££ you didn't need to dude !

[JappyBeast]

Not bothered really Jimlad because my belts were going like yours... green at the top.. now I have nice new black ones.. I thought the green tops let down the interior a bit and at only £27 a side it was worth buying them.

[pizza boy]

Every1 here has fancy mechanisms an stuff.Even my bros celica tugs a lil bit when you switch it off. Mines does nowt but if I just pull a lil bit ,parked up, keys out ,it locks no probs. I want a belt tensioner ball bearing electric operated solinoid thingy for next xmas it sounds pretty funky :P