seat belt won't release

siume99 · November 24, 2001

My dad found out that the passenger side front seat belt sometimes doesn't release the tension after it locks up. This makes leaning forward impossible. Even if you release all tension, it just gets tighter. Only way to fix it, is to unbuckle yourself and rebuckle back in. It is as if the ratcheting mechanism just locks up or gets jammed. I know there is a TSB for some restraint system on my 2001 Tahoe, but I don't know the particulars. Can anyone help me? I'm going to try and see the dealer tomorrow, if they're open. ???

siume99 · November 24, 2001

I thought I found something........but its in my front passenger seat not my 2nd or 3rd row seat. But incase someone else is curious, here is the URL http://www.womanmotorist.com/ftrs/gm-recall-seat-belt-retractor-2001.shtml

THE BIGPUNN · November 24, 2001

same problem with my pass front too. the dealer replaced it once, dang thing still does the same thing. they seemed to brush me off when i complained.

siume99 · November 24, 2001

They won't brush me off. If something else would go wrong with the seatbelt, I"M the one that is in the world of hurt, not the dealership. This could be a symptom of something else wrong with belt. What if the seat belt gets so tight after an accident, and trap someone in the vehicle? NOT COOL. I'm going to call around tomorrow and find out. If not, then Monday.

siume99 · November 24, 2001

I made a few calls, and I have an additional theory. One dealership said it could be for the child safety seat. If for some reason the safety would unratchet, the the safety seat could get out of position. It seems like a reasonable answer. But, I'm still not totally satisfied. It isn't recommended to put the child safety seat in the front seat because of the passenger side air bag. That's what the 2nd row of seats is for. Then I was thinking what do nonextended pickups do? Don't they have a passenger air bag override switch on the consel? My 2001 Tahoe doesn't. Is that an option. If it is, has anyone attempted it, or is that a dealership service?

GMNewProductInfoCenter · November 24, 2001

THE OWNERS MANUAL SAYS YOU CAN PUT A CHILD SAFETY SEAT IN THE FRONT AS LONG AS IT IT FORWARD FACING....I KNOW..MAKES NO DARN SENSE TO ME EITHER. AN AIR BAC ON/OFF SWITCH CAN BE PUT IN YOUR VEHICLE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A REASON TO HAVE IT DONE, AND ALSO A LETTER FROM NHTSA. HOWEVER MOST SHOPS WON'T PERFORM THE ALTERATION DUE TO LIABILITY REASONS. FOR A LIST OF SHOPS THAT WILL GO TO THE NHTSA WEBSITE AT:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/

HOPE THIS HELPS.

siume99 · November 24, 2001

Thanks GMNewProductInfoCenter, I think you are right. My dad was the one who found it. I don't think most people would find it, except for the fact that my dad is a big guy. The only way I could activate this "safety feature" is by pulling the whole seatbelt out. That is a lot of belt. I tried it on the 2nd row seats and they do the same thing. I never read in detail the little warning/info sticker on them. I just assumed that they said safety things about wornout belt replacement and "don't remove me from this vehicle." :0

Z71Adrenaline · November 25, 2001

I think all of the Reg. and Ext. cab pickups have the Air Bag Override switch because my 2000 Silverado Z71 Ext cab has it and so does a couple of friends'.

JAFO · November 25, 2001

I don't think I'm buying the child safety seat line. Why you may ask... BOTH front seats in my 01 have the problem. Sometimes I can't put on my seatbelt because it's locked in the fully retracted position. There seems to be no real reason behind the locking. While driving down the road it may decide to lock in position and as mentioned before by siume99 it makes it impossible to lean forward. As in checking at an intersection if there is any oncoming traffic! Guess I found the first thing to take back to the dealer.

Anyone else that has had a problem please post here so I, and others, can show our dealers that it isn't only in our minds.

Greg · November 25, 2001

Yep, the racheting front passenger and rear seatbelts are a "feature" for securing child seats. And yes, it doesn't seem to make any sense to have one in front of an airbag. I took my Sierra in a couple years ago with the same complaint about the locking, and got a demo of the feature. BTW, I was told somewhere that it is one of the features that the salesperson is supposed to demonstrate when you take delivery of the vehicle.

As for the driver's side locking up unexpectedly, I also noticed that occasionally on my Sierra. Not yet on my Av.

siume99 · November 25, 2001

JAFO, I think there is a latch that gets triggered when the seat belt comes out on the faster side (like when you suddenly lean forward). It thinks the truck is suddenly decelerating (truck slows down but the occupant neads something to slow it down). Now if you straighten back up after trying to lean forward does the seat belt release? Mine do. I can get this to happen just by pulling the seatbelt quickly. The ratcheting mechanism kicks in on any seat other than the DRIVER'S seat. (I hope you don't expect the child to drive. ) To activate this feature just pull the seat belt out ALL the way out, and listen to it ratchet itself back in.