Seat Belt Cutting Through Plastic Surround

[nutters_uclan]

Hey all

 

Has anyone encountered this before?

 

 

Would it be difficult to replace the surround, with the airbag being there?

 

Cheers

 

 

[J.R.]

That is not the seatbelt that has cut the surround, the belt does not rub against it there, look carefully and you will see that someone has cut through it with an angle grinder in order to remove it without dismantling the seatbelt mechanism that contains an explosive charge.

 

You would be faced with the same problem to fit a new one unless you cut it making a neater job.

 

The real question is why did they do it?

 

I replaced the seatbelts in my Yeti (the pyrotechnics had deployed) but I didn't have to cut anything, I think from memory removing the lower fixing allowed the belt & buckle etc to pass through the surround so you should on reflection be OK.

 

Editted, is the airbag not in the top side face of the seat?

Edited 12 March, 2021 by J.R.

[ords]

 

[nutters_uclan]

Cheers gents. 

 

Yeah, I'm leaning towards this being wear and tear rather than a bizarre mod.

 

A trip to the scrapyard it is!

[MarkyG82]

If it is the seatbelt maybe you should look at how you are pulling it. Looks like you are pulling towards the front of the car too much?

[nutters_uclan]

12 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

If it is the seatbelt maybe you should look at how you are pulling it. Looks like you are pulling towards the front of the car too much?

I've had the car 3 weeks, so I'm pretty sure it's occurred under the previous ownership/s!

[J.R.]

My apologies, looks like I was completely wrong. I am really surprised that it would be such a sh1te design on a safety critical item.

[nutters_uclan]

13 minutes ago, J.R. said:

My apologies, looks like I was completely wrong. I am really surprised that it would be such a sh1te design on a safety critical item.

No need to apologise pal. Like you, I'm baffled by it!

[MarkyG82]

57 minutes ago, nutters_uclan said:

I've had the car 3 weeks, so I'm pretty sure it's occurred under the previous ownership/s!

 

In that go round the previous owners place with a pitch fork and club them over the head with it. That way they might see how using something wrong has bad results.

[nutters_uclan]

Just now, MarkyG82 said:

 

In that go round the previous owners place with a pitch fork and club them over the head with it. That way they might see how using something wrong has bad results.

🤣😂🤣

[J.R.]

You people have a lot to answer for

 

I will be checking my car tomorrow for evidence of a clandestine angle grinder wielding mischief maker

 

And then will spend the rest of my life staring at other peoples B pillars and telling them they need teaching how to use a seatbelt

 

 

[classic]

I’ve noticed the plastic on these cars does wear easily but, I think from your photo, a previous owner has had the height adjuster set too low causing the belt to be pressed hard onto the plastic. It’s  just my guess .

I would pull the belt out to check there isn’t a frayed edge somewhere.

 

Edited 13 March, 2021 by classic

[nutters_uclan]

3 minutes ago, classic said:

I’ve noticed the plastic on these cars does wear easily but, I think from your photo, a previous owner has had the height adjuster set too low causing the belt to be pressed hard onto the plastic. It’s  just my guess .

I would pull the belt out to check there isn’t a frayed edge somewhere.

 

 

Yeah, I'm going to take a look today. Cheers.

[BATVANVRS]

Out of interest but do the actual seatbelts ever need replacing? I only ask as I was cleaning my interior last week & noticed my drivers side seatbelt is frailing a little with slight fibres towards the edge or seam-line of the seatbelt! It's not really that bad to be fair but when comparing it to the passengers side seatbelt (which looks hardly used) Just wondering if the material of the seatbelts do frail at the edges etc over time? 

 

Edit: Think I best check my seatbelt surround in-case it has the same type of problem/issue? Maybe this could be causing the seatbelt to frail slightly if being caught when pulling the seatbelt to put it on...

Edited 13 March, 2021 by BATVANVRS

[J.R.]

Could it be that the drivers exit the vehicle quickly like me? In one single motion I unclip the belt with my left hand, open the door with my right and get out at the same time, the seat belt unwinds over my shoulder as I am getting out, once or twice I have become hung up on it! That is to say the damage is done on rewinding and not extending.

 

Most others it seems remove their seat belt and spend 5 minutes staring at their phones before getting out, when I see a car of guests arrive I walk out to the car park to greet them, there can be a family of 5 in the car and I can be standing right beside the car for 10 minutes before anyone even realises.

Edited 13 March, 2021 by J.R.

[skomaz]

I've seen damage like that once before and I believe it was caused by the driver reaching for the belt with their right hand over their right shoulder and pulling the belt forwards rather than with their left hand over their right shoulder and pulling across.  Seatbelt edges can be very abrasive.

[MarkyG82]

8 hours ago, J.R. said:

Could it be that the drivers exit the vehicle quickly like me? In one single motion I unclip the belt with my left hand, open the door with my right and get out at the same time, the seat belt unwinds over my shoulder as I am getting out, once or twice I have become hung up on it! That is to say the damage is done on rewinding and not extending.

 

I usually open the door with the opposite hand (Dutch reach around?). Originally used to check for bikes or other traffic but I just got used to it. Not entirely sure how I let the belt go. Will try to pay more attention next time.

[Plantman]

I've never seen this wear on any car I've owned nor any I've driven.  Must be a design flaw of some description in my opinion.  Certainly my last two Mk2 Octavia's never had this with 165k and 149k miles on.

 

My current Mk3 with just 22k already had this wear from the first owner. The plastics must be very soft or the angle the seat belt interacts with this plastic causing this sawing action when you put the belt on.

 

I have tried to ensure I do not add to the wear since my gash is already big enough

 

Mk2 pictures attached as example of their design.

Edited 15 March, 2021 by Plantman

[Plantman]

I am going to try a small bit of Sugru as a repair to see if this holds off the wear and also look a bit nicer, providing I can get a matching enough colour.

[nutters_uclan]

2 hours ago, Plantman said:

I am going to try a small bit of Sugru as a repair to see if this holds off the wear and also look a bit nicer, providing I can get a matching enough colour.

 

Let us know how that goes!

[BATVANVRS]

On 13/03/2021 at 11:26, BATVANVRS said:

Out of interest but do the actual seatbelts ever need replacing? I only ask as I was cleaning my interior last week & noticed my drivers side seatbelt is frailing a little with slight fibres towards the edge or seam-line of the seatbelt! It's not really that bad to be fair but when comparing it to the passengers side seatbelt (which looks hardly used) Just wondering if the material of the seatbelts do frail at the edges etc over time? 

 

Edit: Think I best check my seatbelt surround in-case it has the same type of problem/issue? Maybe this could be causing the seatbelt to frail slightly if being caught when pulling the seatbelt to put it on...

 

Checked mine & all is perfectly fine... I must be one of the lucky ones, 7 year old vRS, soon to be 8.

[nutters_uclan]

20 minutes ago, BATVANVRS said:

 

Checked mine & all is perfectly fine... I must be one of the lucky ones, 7 year old vRS, soon to be 8.

 

My seatbelt is also fine. Phew. 

 

Having played with the holder (what's left of it!), I think a previous driver had it set too low for their height.

[JackSkills]

Mine's exactly the same! Appears to have happened in the 4 years I've owned the car.

[lway]

Just checked mine and it's the same . Never noticed it before this.

 

Looking at my belting up routine it seems to be when I put the seatbelt on, I have a habit of pulling the seatbelt forward towards the windscreen first to give slack to go around me, this seems to be when the belt goes into the cut groove.

I've always had the holder up to the highest setting as I'm over 6 foot but can't tell if it's all my doing or the previous owner started it

[gm73]

On 12/03/2021 at 17:55, nutters_uclan said:

Hey all

 

Has anyone encountered this before?

 

 

Would it be difficult to replace the surround, with the airbag being there?

 

Cheers

 

 

Mine's is pretty much the same albeit it hasn't cut into the trim outside the belt area yet. Might be something to do with the amount of times I've put the belt on in 190k miles. Looks ugly but I don't think there's any safety issue.