# Seatbelts



## cmotek24 (Jun 15, 2002)

(I don't know if this is considered cosmetics)

The tension on my seatbelts are buggin me. Every time my friends close the door when they get out, they forget to help roll-up the seatbelt back into place. (A lot of you must understand what I'm going through.) They slam the door while the belt clip is in between the body and the door. Can't tell you how much I cringe. I got gashes on my panels. I recently got tint on the windows, so I'm getting even more worried. I'm also working on a new design for the door panels with fiberglass, and I don't want the seatbealts to be on the door. I'm trying to see if I can drill it onto the pillar. Has anyone else done that? Is this legal? Or just remove it and use a seat harness instead. I took it off while fixinf my window, and the door looks much better without the seatbelts attached to it. IMO.

BTW, as stupid as this might sound, this is serious. It drives me nuts!


Ppeace
CMo


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## Centurion (Sep 5, 2002)

If your seatbelts are defective the can be repaired by Nissan for free, no time limits. It is a federal law. As far as relocating the mounting points of the belts, don't even consider it.


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## Zexel (May 15, 2002)

cmotek - Dude! This happens to me also, and it too makes my stomach quiver. Doesn't really make me mad, just it hangs there and it's no ones fault! I hate how it doesn't retract. I think when I do my interior, I'm either going to get R1 racing seats or S2K black leather seats, and I'm going to run some 3 or 4 point harnesses in it. Then it won't be that bad!

centurion - Why not consider it? Is it hard to do? Because when I first got my car I hate it when I open the door with my seatbelt on. But now I don't really mind. Whenever I do power windows I may see what I can do to fix it or something. Is it hard or pointless?


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## Centurion (Sep 5, 2002)

Zexel said:


> *centurion - Why not consider it? *


Well it's that the manfactures spend millions on seatbelt design and you can bet where they are now mounted is the best, so if you alter the locaction, who knows how/if they will perform in a crash.


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## Zexel (May 15, 2002)

That's a good point. But they really should've thought about how owners feel about that!! Oh well, I guess I'll just have to get myself some...4-pts!!


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## Centurion (Sep 5, 2002)

Well they attached it to the door because it met the requirements (at that time) that seat belts must be passive. Same deal with the motorized system on the 4 door models, passive. GM had them mounted on the door too. And then law suits followed because the doors would open in a crash, so the design was dropped. I like that design, never having to touch the belt buckle.


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## Felonious Cat Stalker (May 1, 2002)

Zexel said:


> *Oh well, I guess I'll just have to get myself some...4-pts!! *


There was some recent discussion recently in my local Club's forums about belts and which work best. Basically, with most four point belts, when the belts are loaded (in a collision), the lap portion of the belt is pulled away from your pelvis by the shoulder belts, making the soft tissues of your stomach and your spine take the force of the impact. As you can imagine, this is not a good situation. It is actually much safer in this situation to have your stock three point belt as the point where the lap and shoulder portion meet is to the side and bleow your hips. The only improvement over stock is to use a six point belt, with properly tightened anti submarining straps.


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## SergioCR (Sep 18, 2002)

Centurion said:


> *If your seatbelts are defective the can be repaired by Nissan for free, no time limits. It is a federal law. As far as relocating the mounting points of the belts, don't even consider it. *



Jmm, i have the same problem with mines... i wonder if the local Nissan would fix them for free here in Costa Rica... i guess not... is there something to do inside the seatbelt tensioner to make it work? or is just the normal lack_of_oil problem ?


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## WaLdo98 (Apr 30, 2002)

Centurion said:


> *If your seatbelts are defective the can be repaired by Nissan for free, no time limits. It is a federal law. As far as relocating the mounting points of the belts, don't even consider it. *


Hmm...interesting point you are making there. I think every other person with a 2 door B13 has this problem with their seatbelts, including me.


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## cmotek24 (Jun 15, 2002)

OK, so a racing harness can be used instead of a seatbelt?
Is it illegal to move the seatbelt, Centurion, or illegal to remove it (even though I'd have the harness). I still want to move the belt on the pillar and make a fiberglass cover over the joints. I don't think NY inspection workers will be able to tell if it is an illegal installation, or a cop when I'm pulled over, for that matter  My friend had a 1990 2dr riviera and the belt was on the pillar, so I don't think 2dr models back then were strictly designed with belts on the door. I don't know, man. I just noticed that my driver side panels are busted where the seatbelts hit. I can't blame those on my friends.  Thanks boys (and any girls).

Ppeace
CMo


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

I agree, I wouldn't fuck with the seatbelts. Canadian made B13's had the belts mounted on the B pillars though. So you might be able to get parts from a Cannuck to swap the belts onto the B pillars, provided the Canadian mounting holes/threads are in place in USDM B13's. You could do this and it should be safe, but again, be wary of messing with seatbelts. I'd like to know how to fix this rollup problem myself simply because I don't like other jackasses touching my car. So if anyone finds out how to do it, drop me a pm or e-mail. Nissan just told me to stop by their service department any time and they'd take a look at it. I'll keep you posted.

-Rob


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## phil_minchoff (Oct 29, 2002)

I'm going with Centurion on this one. I hate my seat belts getting caught in my doors. No one understands the concept of rolling them up. Usually its a girl, and you can't even bitch. But, as much this bugs me (I even had body work done to the door seam to fix dents from this problem), you can't do much about it. If you move/modify your safety belts in any way, you're violating inspection laws in any state. Granted, depending on who you know, you can get around this sometimes. But even guys I know with the sport seats in their cars, they still left the stock belts in it. I know there are a lot of mods we can do that mechanics and inspectors will turn their heads for, but I know this is one they won't budge on. Some things are best left untouched.


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## Guest (Nov 19, 2002)

*Do they REALLY have to replace them for free?*



Centurion said:


> *If your seatbelts are defective the can be repaired by Nissan for free, no time limits. It is a federal law. As far as relocating the mounting points of the belts, don't even consider it. *



Can anyone confirm that the dealer must fix this problem? I've had this issue on my b13 SE-R for a couple of years. Drives me NUTS!

I'd just like to know if someone actually got their dealer to do the fix for 'em. What law requires them to fix it (just in case they give me a bad time).

THANKS!

- Ronnie


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

I called my dealership and asked and they said yeah they'll fix them if it's a problem of the seatbelt mechanism itself. So you have to take it in and have them look at it.


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## sunnysentra (Jul 24, 2002)

If you mess with them and they fail, you could be held liable if your passenger dies or is injured seriuosly or if you sell the car and they get hurt as a result. They are designed a certain way, the pillar may buckle under a crash for whatever reason and the point could break off. You just don't know, Just pull the panel off and replace the mechanism in the door if it doesn't retract right.


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## PatScottAKA99XE (Apr 30, 2002)

I cant help with the problem here, but I am going to tell you guys NOT to run harnesses in your cars without rollover protection. I highly doubt any of you have cages. You should NEVER run harness without rollover protection. Unless you want to be breathing out your butt.


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## bahearn (Jul 15, 2002)

Seat belts have a lifetime warranty as required by DOT. If they are not operating correctly AND the car has never been in an accident, the manufacturer is required to service or replace them for free. Ask me how I know...


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## TOOQIK (May 2, 2002)

so...how do you know??

and the US model does have the mounting holes in the pillars..I know this cause my car's interior is gutted....

I too have this seat betl problem...so if some one has written proof or first hand experience on getting the problem fixed please share with use...


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## Centurion (Sep 5, 2002)

We had this issue with a company vehicle (Chrysler). They said only the webbing, not the mechanisim, is covered by the federal warranty. In our case the retractor was jammed, but that isn't covered. I would definitely still call the dealer though.


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

Don't bother with the dealer, they will NOT help you out with the seatbelts one B13's. I have been to 4 dealers trying to get my seatbelts fixed, and I keep getting the same response.

Here is the scoop:

1)The seatbealts in B13's are designed to be latched AT ALL TIMES. The release at the seat it "FOR EMERGENCY RELEASE ONLY." Just look at the red buttom on the release. It says "Emergency Release". So, when you go to the dealer, they will latch you seatbelts and open and close the door repeatedly to see if the belts retract correctly or not. Which of course they will as there is more tension on the belt as it is stretched across the seat and latched. They will tell you that they see no problem and they work correctly as designed. As all of you know, it is a PITA to get in and out of the car if you use the belts as they are designed. I tried it for a while and got tired of hanging myself.

So, here is what I did. All B13's in Canada have the belts on the pillar, so do all US B13 NX's. So, get the belts and hardware out of an NX. Or, get belts out of a B14 which you all know have them on the door.

Problem fixed. And IMO, the belts are safer as they are not on the door, so in a crash if the door opens, you will be much safer. Plus, taking the belts off the door makes the door much lighter and will eliminate the sagging hinge problem of the B13's, which IMO is caused by the VERY heavy sealt belt mechanism in the door.

Oh, and just want to reinforce what PatScottAKA99XE said. DO NOT RUN A HARNESS W/O ROLLOVER PROTECTION!!!!


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## cranium (Oct 8, 2002)

i would run a harness on the street and i DO have rollover protection.


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## Centurion (Sep 5, 2002)

I really like the door mounted seatbelts on my 2 door. I never have to unbuckle them or touch them at all, and once you get used to it they are the next best thing since sliced bread...just hope the door dosen't open in a crash. But yeah, everybody else hates it.


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## cmotek24 (Jun 15, 2002)

so ""johnand", no holes need to be drilled? ehh? this is good. another visit to the junkyards this weekend.

good stuff...

CMo


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## johnand (Apr 30, 2002)

Yes, you need to drill holes through the plastic trim, but the pillar is already threaded for the hardware.


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## cmotek24 (Jun 15, 2002)

good stuff... knwoing my friends, though, they'll prolly still smash the seatlbelt in the door... 

thanks

CMo


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

toolapcfan said:


> Canadian made B13's had the belts mounted on the B pillars though.





> _Originally posted by johnand_And IMO, the belts are safer as they are not on the door, so in a crash if the door opens, you will be much safer. Plus, taking the belts off the door makes the door much lighter and will eliminate the sagging hinge problem of the B13's, which IMO is caused by the VERY heavy seat belt mechanism in the door.


Good points guys and you are right. My seat belt is located in the B pillar but I still suffer from the failing retraction mechanism. It's a common problem it appears in all models through out the world. It's more annoying than life threatening. The door seat belt design is a different matter all together. Our '93 GLX Quest had them as well but a slightly different design I think. It's been 10 years, I can't remember. I am in Canada and this seat belt design was ruled illegal in 1994 or 1995 due to what a few of you touched on, the possibility of the door opening. Because of this, the SE-R Sentra wasn't sold in Canada because of safety issues  

I'd just do the swap if interested. I wouldn't mind selling you guys a few kits but there's no B13 graveyard here.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

I'm going to see if the dealer will fix them, if not, I'm going to pull mine out and see why they don't retract all the way. My guess, is that the retracting spring just needs to be wound tighter. (they're typically similar to how a tape measure retracts, similar spring.) So I might just wind them tighter and see if that fixes it.


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## ldempsey (Nov 30, 2005)

*My experience with seatbetls*

CMO

This is one of the few seatbelt discussions found and I just wanted to post my 2 cents to the list of responses. 

I don't have the specified car, but at one time I did drive a pickup. . In all I drove it all over the southwest. It was very old (~250,000 miles) when the seat belts started giving me problems. Actually the belt itself was starting to get frayed, not to mention the seatbelt clip receptacle thing was not receiving as well as it use to. I was going to replace with junkyard parts until a friend at Folsom Nissan informed me the belts were under warranty. I asked if that included pickups well past the warranty mileage . . . he said, 'yup'. Thus I got replacement receiving latches, new belts, and the works. They worked find for another 50,000 miles, then I sold the truck. 

I sold the little boogger at 316,000 miles and from time to time regret having had done such. In all that is my story with respect to Nissan belts.

Currently it appears as though Nissan will also replace the belts in my Nissan Maxima for free. 

Enjoy. . .


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## i3ulldog (Oct 29, 2006)

way for me to wake a old thread up. 

FYI, there is a bulletin for this seatbelt retracting problem. Surprised not a single person mentioned it. Its the D ring on the top of your door that does not let the belt glide through it smoothly. You can simply see this by pulling the belt out between where it goes in the door panel and the D- ring and see it retracts fine. 
The bulletin states to take some emery cloth and clean up the surface in the D rings then use the supplied dealer tape in the kit for fixing this problem.


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

Funny you mention this because I did just that two weeks ago. I was sick of the seat belts in my 200SX not going back, always having to toss them in the back seat. I took off the side panel, vacuumed out all the dust and primarily cleaned up the corrosion on the D rings. I didn't know about the tape idea, I just used dash cleaner to make the guide a little more slippery. Works a little better if the belt doesn't turn over on itself while retracting.


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