There are many things I love about my 2000 LTD TRD Access cab. In fact it's really a short list of the things I don't like. But there's one thing I hate about this truck. Lousey,friggin, poorly designed POS seat belt design. The engineer who designed this system should be sent to prison, for life, with no hope of parol, no faint hope, nadda.
My door sill is dented from the many times I get out and close the door only to find the steel buckle laying there on the sill squished by the door.@#$%$#@$
The problem is the guide. I wish there was a mod to fix this.The seatbelt retractor seems to be OK, although I am going to have a dealer replace the whole works as it has caused me considerable amounts of road rage....usually in disgust I fix it and slam the door in anger. The funny thing is they still haven't fixed the problem as I have spoke to others and they compain also.
Anyone have a mod to fix????
mike
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Unichip'd TRD Supercharger & 5.9 Overboost Crank Pulley,TRD Boost guage and Oak color matched pod,TRD LSD,Valvebody Upgrade by IPT in NY, JBA headers,Y pipe, K&N(Evol) SS catback exhaust, Helwig Rear antisway bar, Rear custom Leafpack,TRD Coils,Cornfed Spacers's with Y/B Bilsteins,Westin Outdoorsman Bushbar and Nerf Tubes, TRD Ivan Stewart 16X8 Rims and 285/75/R16 Revo AT tires.Pioneer 5500 MP3 Head unit/Q-Logic sub enclosure with dual crossfire subs/ 700 watts of Crossfire Amps/Bazooka 6.5's and 5.25's in Kickpanels/ CodeAlarm Remote starter/antitheft system.
Many vehicles have this same problem. At work I must drive 3 to 10 different vehicles a day and I am so used to feeding the seatbelt strap back in when I get out that I don't even remember doing it until I read your post.
Tampering with a seat belt is a good way to leave your self open to a lawsuit. Be very careful.
I also have a nice dent in my lower rocker panel because of the stupid a@s belt, it seems like they should incorporate an actual roller in the top hanger in lieu of plain old plastic. I am sure a stronger spring at the bottom would help, but I am convinced that the real problem is with the top hanger / guide. Like was mentioned above, if you tried to open up the guide with a file, then you are likely to weaken the top support - I guess I will take wrestling with the stupid belt everytime I get out of my truck versus eating a windshield!
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2001 TRD 4x4 with a lift kit & a bone stock 2008 TRD 4x4
If your under warranty there's a TSB where you can have the seatbelts replaced. I did. The new seatbelts seem to be of a slightly stiffer material (so they don't twist and get caught in the guide) and the return spring is stronger. If your truck is not under warranty, there's a kit available from Toyota that has a slippery piece of plastic that you apply to the guide. Be sure to follow the instructions as some members have complained that the plastic did not stick very well to the guide but my wife's 81 Corolla came with the plastic and it lasted 22 years.
There is a TSB (at least for the year 2000) where the dealer will install a strip of film (teflon?) into the upper hanger guide. I had this done and it did help for a while but eventually the hang up returned.
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 LTX-AT2's, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner, as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to siphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
If your engine doesn't consume ANY oil it will seize???
Some people should not be allowed access to tools without books!!!
I have this problem with all cars. You just have to feed the seatbelt back into the pillar when you get out. Like 2toytrucks says, I do it without even thinking about it. It stems from the days when my sister and I would share a car and she and her friends would haphazardly get out of the car and just let the seat belt flop around. My mom does it too. The metal buckle part would get twisted around backwards on the belt and Id get soo mad cuz Id have to fix it once a week. Now I always feed it back into the pillar so it doesnt get all twisted up like my goofy sister likes to do.. It hardly takes any effort.
There is a TSB (at least for the year 2000) where the dealer will install a strip of film (teflon?) into the upper hanger guide. I had this done and it did help for a while but eventually the hang up returned.
I've been working on this for months now. I brought it in for the Tape TSB and the repair tech. thought it was junk, left my seatbelts as-is and ordered new belts for me. Got a call that they are in and I should have them installed this week.
It's good to know the tech. was right about the teflon tape.
I had my seat belt replased with the TSB, but it was a waste of time. It is back to where it doen't retract correctly again. I drive with my seat foreward (so I can reach the pedals) and the belt is too tight on long drives. I think the belt retractor is strong enough, but the angle that it has to pull is wrong. If any of you mechanical engineers could look at that, I would like some comment. I do agree that the guide should have a thicker slot in it, but I am afraid I may really screw it up if I start cutting on it.
If your under warranty there's a TSB where you can have the seatbelts replaced. I did. The new seatbelts seem to be of a slightly stiffer material (so they don't twist and get caught in the guide) and the return spring is stronger. If your truck is not under warranty, there's a kit available from Toyota that has a slippery piece of plastic that you apply to the guide. Be sure to follow the instructions as some members have complained that the plastic did not stick very well to the guide but my wife's 81 Corolla came with the plastic and it lasted 22 years.
Note that the only TSB on the seatbelts is the little teflon tape deal, not the retractors or belts themselves. However, Toyota does have an upgraded retractor assemblies that can be replaced under your 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. I had them replaced a few months ago and they pull that seatbelt back as soon as I push the button to release them. It does help to orient the belt in the correct direction when letting them retract themselves (this isnt "feeding them in" but only guiding them at first so the retractors can do their job once it gets started).
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Seat belts...lousey
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