Trunk Monkey
Moderator
My (and everyone else’s) driver’s side seat belt is usually hanging halfway out the door since it won’t retract. I finally got sick of it and with Gumby’s recent find of a somewhat hokey Toyota supplied “fix”, I decided to put an end to my belt’s lazy ways. So, step by step, here’s what to do.
1. Pull up trim on the sill of the DS front and rear doors just enough to expose the lip of the trim piece that covers the belt assembly. Gently peel the belt trim from around the B-pillar and remove it.
2. Slide the plastic boot covering the 14mm main anchor bolt up the belt a little, and remove that bolt, along with the 10mm locating bolt on the top of the seat belt assembly.
3. Hold the assembly vertically and pull the belt off the spool. Once you get to the end you’ll see that the belt is fed through the center of the spool and locked in place with a nylon bar. Feed the belt through the spool enough that you can grab the end with the bar and slide the bar out.
4. NOW PAY ATTENTION. Once you remove the belt from the spool, if you let go the spring winding the spool will explosively unwind itself and you’ll likely be getting a whole new assembly from CDan (list price $93). Once you’ve pulled the belt through the center of the spool, jam a screwdriver or something else through it to keep it from spinning. Pull the belt through the loop by your shoulder and it’s out.
5. Throw the belt in the wash. Be careful with detergents, I’m not sure what they could do to the nylon belt. I used our kid safe stuff, Dreft.
6. While the belt is washing, carefully wind the spool up a little more. I turned mine about 5 turns, until it began to really feel like it had some good tension. Jam screwdriver back through spool. Once the belt is done, hang dry. Mine took about an hour to dry.
7. Now’s the time to break out Toyota’s “fix” for the sticky belt. It’s part no. 73205-48011. Gumby found it in a Lexus TSB (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=132142). It’s a piece of loop Velcro and two pieces of thick plastic with adhesive on the back. It’s definitely not worth buying since you can accomplish what the kit does very easily, but it was fun to guinea pig it.
Gunk from flossing:
8. Once you’ve flossed the loop and your belt is dry, it’s time to reassemble. Line everything up so the buckle is in the right direction, belt feeds correctly, etc. Feed the belt through the shoulder loop and down. Carefully feed it into the spool. I had to use a pair of fishing hemostats to grab it and get it through. Slide the nylon bar back in and lock the belt in place. Once you’ve done this, you’re no longer in danger of having the spool unwind.
9. Let the spool wind the belt up, bolt everything back into place, and replace the trim.
10. Now, back into Toyota’s “fix”, it’s time for the fluorocarbon tape. This feeds through the shoulder loop and adheres around it, giving the belt a smooth surface to slide through. This, along with winding the spool, is probably the thing that makes the most difference. If you look closely at the shoulder loop, it’s got a wrinkle finish in the plastic. Look at the nylon of the belt and it’s textured too. So, those together create plenty of friction to slow the belt down. Giving the belt something smooth to slide over solves that problem. I think you would use heavy packing tape and get the same effect as what’s in the Toyota kit.
11. Well – you’re done. Yank the belt out a few times and watch with glee as it pulls itself all the way back in with ease.
This is a one banana job and took me a total of 2 hours, including a wash cycle.
1. Pull up trim on the sill of the DS front and rear doors just enough to expose the lip of the trim piece that covers the belt assembly. Gently peel the belt trim from around the B-pillar and remove it.
2. Slide the plastic boot covering the 14mm main anchor bolt up the belt a little, and remove that bolt, along with the 10mm locating bolt on the top of the seat belt assembly.
3. Hold the assembly vertically and pull the belt off the spool. Once you get to the end you’ll see that the belt is fed through the center of the spool and locked in place with a nylon bar. Feed the belt through the spool enough that you can grab the end with the bar and slide the bar out.
4. NOW PAY ATTENTION. Once you remove the belt from the spool, if you let go the spring winding the spool will explosively unwind itself and you’ll likely be getting a whole new assembly from CDan (list price $93). Once you’ve pulled the belt through the center of the spool, jam a screwdriver or something else through it to keep it from spinning. Pull the belt through the loop by your shoulder and it’s out.
5. Throw the belt in the wash. Be careful with detergents, I’m not sure what they could do to the nylon belt. I used our kid safe stuff, Dreft.
6. While the belt is washing, carefully wind the spool up a little more. I turned mine about 5 turns, until it began to really feel like it had some good tension. Jam screwdriver back through spool. Once the belt is done, hang dry. Mine took about an hour to dry.
7. Now’s the time to break out Toyota’s “fix” for the sticky belt. It’s part no. 73205-48011. Gumby found it in a Lexus TSB (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=132142). It’s a piece of loop Velcro and two pieces of thick plastic with adhesive on the back. It’s definitely not worth buying since you can accomplish what the kit does very easily, but it was fun to guinea pig it.
Gunk from flossing:
8. Once you’ve flossed the loop and your belt is dry, it’s time to reassemble. Line everything up so the buckle is in the right direction, belt feeds correctly, etc. Feed the belt through the shoulder loop and down. Carefully feed it into the spool. I had to use a pair of fishing hemostats to grab it and get it through. Slide the nylon bar back in and lock the belt in place. Once you’ve done this, you’re no longer in danger of having the spool unwind.
9. Let the spool wind the belt up, bolt everything back into place, and replace the trim.
10. Now, back into Toyota’s “fix”, it’s time for the fluorocarbon tape. This feeds through the shoulder loop and adheres around it, giving the belt a smooth surface to slide through. This, along with winding the spool, is probably the thing that makes the most difference. If you look closely at the shoulder loop, it’s got a wrinkle finish in the plastic. Look at the nylon of the belt and it’s textured too. So, those together create plenty of friction to slow the belt down. Giving the belt something smooth to slide over solves that problem. I think you would use heavy packing tape and get the same effect as what’s in the Toyota kit.
11. Well – you’re done. Yank the belt out a few times and watch with glee as it pulls itself all the way back in with ease.
This is a one banana job and took me a total of 2 hours, including a wash cycle.