Hi

I wonder if anyone can advise please.

 

I have spent a lot of money on my old VRS and I really don't want to get rid of it but so much has been going wrong recently.

 

I have 2 problems making it not safely drivable at the moment

 

1) My driver's seatbelt became completely loose and useless i.e. not retracting.

 

I didn't worry too much, assuming it would be an easy fix, took it to a mechanic acquaintance who had a look for me and said it looked like it would need a full replacement.

 

Just got off the phone to my local Skoda garage who have quoted me £337 for a replacement fitted

 

They even told me there weren't any in the country - surely a VAG factory car must have compatible parts??

 

2) My hazard switch and indicators have stopped working - As I understand it this should be a simple enough fix but how much should this cost?

 

 

Can anyone please suggest a cheap(er) fix? I'm in the London area.

 

Thank you!!!

 

 

2 minutes ago, themoor said:

1) My driver's seatbelt became completely loose and useless i.e. not retracting.

Well, in this case they probably have to supply and fit both front belts, not just one (this is a legal requirement if I'm correct). Changing seatbelts requires removing and replacing trim panels. What is their labour rate? In London, that could easily be over £100/hour.

As for "A VAG factory car must have compatible parts", the Skoda factory is still in Czeckia, and an Octy 1 is now possibly 20 years old. There may be no examples at the factory, and it's still over 1_000 miles away.

 

2) That might (not is, just might) be the relay behind the hazard switch in the fascia centre.

£5 for a good working example from a breakers yard already removed.

 

An hours labour to remove old and refit second hand unit.

 

Pointless asking a main dealer to supply and fit parts no longer made & stocked for a 20 year old car.

I would tend to take the seat belt mechanism off and take it apart to see if it can be fixed,or have a search on Ebay for second hand unit.

My hazard switch pack up a few years ago and yeah my indicators stopped working,bought a new replacement on good old Ebay  for a tenner,problem solved.

£337?! Does that include the lubricant?!

 

As above - second hand parts are the way to go for this sort of thing.

Seat belt webbings also pick up contaminents over time which when extreme can cause the reel to bind and not retract.

 

Pulling the belt all the way out then placing a couple of reasonable clothes pegs by the top belt guide on the belt to stop it retracting allows you to clean the belt.

 

I tend to use a 5% apc solution on a clloth to wipe down the belt then use a hairdrier to get most of the moisture out of the belt. i then leave the pegs in place overnight to allow it to finally air dry.

 

The following day I just remove the pegs and let it retract. Most times this sorts lazy belts out - i think it may even be in the owners manual somewhere. All Purpose Cleaner (APC) can be had for under a pound in places like Wilkos, so is very cost effective in the small amounts you will actually use.

 

Of course, all the above assumes the belt actually locks when given the pull test to see if it is worth cleaning. If not, then as mentioned above, good working item from a breaker is probably the way to go.

 

Hope it helps

20 hours ago, KenONeill said:

That might (not is, just might) be the relay behind the hazard switch in the fascia centre.

Thanks, I hope as much.

 

19 hours ago, J.R. said:

Pointless asking a main dealer to supply and fit parts no longer made & stocked for a 20 year old car.

I really thought it would be an in-and-out cheap job!

 

15 hours ago, macatac said:

I would tend to take the seat belt mechanism off and take it apart to see if it can be fixed,or have a search on Ebay for second hand unit.

Sounds like a good idea

 

14 hours ago, petrolbloke said:

£337?! Does that include the lubricant?!

😂 It would only be polite!

 

13 hours ago, kentphil1 said:

I tend to use a 5% apc solution on a clloth to wipe down the belt then use a hairdrier to get most of the moisture out of the belt. i then leave the pegs in place overnight to allow it to finally air dry.

 

Cheers, I will try this first! 

 

 

Thanks for all the prompt replies, your help is much appreciated.  👍

get a used seatbelt. It takes about 15min to replaced with minimal tools and experience. If you cant find skoda tutorials on YT look for MK4 golf how to videos.

12 hours ago, Adamskii said:

get a used seatbelt. It takes about 15min to replaced with minimal tools and experience. If you cant find skoda tutorials on YT look for MK4 golf how to videos.

If you do go down the car breaker route, it is very important to gauge the damage to the donor vehicle - a serious head-on or side impact is very likely to damage the belt and mechanism beyond safe use. 

On 27/01/2020 at 15:22, themoor said:

1) My driver's seatbelt became completely loose and useless i.e. not retracting.

 

2) My hazard switch and indicators have stopped working - As I understand it this should be a simple enough fix but how much should this cost?

1) As alot have said above, this is easy enough to change and sort out. Any breakers that has an Oct in there will do, but ideally a VRS so it's like for like. Do-able in a couple of hours too.

2) These can still be ordered but wont be in stock, theses are about £45. Again, I would grab a load from breakers (I personally do and keep stock as they always go wrong) and they'll be around £5 each.

I imagine the OP fixed this stuff a while back; thread started in January?

Have you @themoor?

8 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

If you do go down the car breaker route, it is very important to gauge the damage to the donor vehicle - a serious head-on or side impact is very likely to damage the belt and mechanism beyond safe use. 

Im sure he isn't stupid that he would buy a seatbelt that doesnt work

15 hours ago, Adamskii said:

Im sure he isn't stupid that he would buy a seatbelt that doesnt work

 

its not about it not working... it may operate fine until you need it do its real job and then it fails due to previous strain damage...