I just wanted to see if anyone else had this issue... Both the driver and passenger seatbelts in my 4Runner have weak retracters (or springs, whatever...) They take forever to retract! Most of the time I have to help my seatbelt along when I take it off. Anyone else noticed this? Is there an easy fix to the problem? Oh, and just to vent, it seems like they always end up twisted or stuck between the seat and the pillar when they do retract! Just a little quirk of mine

 

Its common, But more so on the older trucks cause theyre uhh..older. I do believe a few people have taken apart and lubed up the asembly? I could be wrong but that could fix it. My dads 99 runner has the same issue every now an again

 

I am about to do a fix on these I have done before on my taco before the whole ass broke...was thinking about doing a write up...anyways.

take apart the assembly very carefully, not breaking any plastic pieces, and not forcing anything. They are a little weird to figure out at first but if you pay attention have some engineering smarts and fiddle with it you can actually take the belt off (while hold the coil spring in place). once this is done you can coil up the springs to have more load, and then replace the belt without letting the springs go. its kinda tricky, and you dont want to loose that spring coil...like when replacing and winding a new pull string on a chainsaw or mower.

to get the plastic housings off, there are little platsic dowels which mount the plastic hardware, be careful when pushing these out if you need to, and do it somewhere that you can find them on the floor if you drop them.

good luck

 

ohh, and dont overload the springs or their center mounts will fail and you are effed. just give em a little wind and test it, repeat if necessary.

 

My springs were already as tight as they'll go.... Mine still won't retract right. About to just buy a new one for the drivers side at least

 

I recommend you do NOT disassemble your seatbelt retractor.

Instead, try pulling the belt out all the way and CLEANING it. Wash with soap and water, and dry them. Use clothespins or whatever to keep the belt extended.

Clean the upper anchor thoroughly as well. Toyota/Lexus actually has a kit to put some tape over the anchor to improve the sliding action.

 

x2 on cleaning the belt and upper anchor, but I disagree about disassembling to tighten the retractor. I did that on mine and it made a big difference. Springs get weaker over time. A little tightening doesn't hurt, if you know what you're doing.

 

Ya, it seems that anyone that owns a Toyota for like 10 years has this problem. Try this website, seems like it will work, I haven't tried it yet. Since it hasn't gotten above 30's lately here, but I should be able to try it out within the next couple of weeks.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/minutemods/seatbelt/

 

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I'll definitely be doing this when it gets warmer

 

I've done this too. Didn't help.

Seriously though, disassembling the seat belt isn't rocket science.

 

WHY ISNT THIS A STICKY?

seriously this should be in the back of the owners manual.

it took me longer to get the belts out than to wind up the spring.

finding my belt out the door is a thing of the past.


SUPER EASY,EFFECTIVE.

great post
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