'02 325Ci Seat Belt Issues

[toshweir27]

Does anybody else have a problem with the coupe's driver's side seat belt retracting? it simply will not retract and the dealer keeps telling me it's not broken. i've already scratched the inner well of my door sill to all hell.

[mozaic]

Does anybody else have a problem with the coupe's driver's side seat belt retracting? it simply will not retract and the dealer keeps telling me it's not broken. i've already scratched the inner well of my door sill to all hell.

...and I thought it was only me. Yep, same problem, retreacts only when you help it a little...and furthermore the design forces you to bend your arm in strange angles just to reach back and grab the damn belt!

[bren]

...and furthermore the design forces you to bend your arm in strange angles just to reach back and grab the damn belt!
Why not use the catch that is built into the tilt mechanism on the side of the seat :dunno:

[Salvator]

My dealer (BMW of Sterling) replaced my seatbelt once already because it was doing this... It has started to do it again... I'll be going in soon for an oil change, and will add it to my list of things to look at... see if they will replace it again... of course, once my warranty is up, I guess I'll have to live with it...

[AG]

My dealer (BMW of Sterling) replaced my seatbelt once already because it was doing this... It has started to do it again... I'll be going in soon for an oil change, and will add it to my list of things to look at... see if they will replace it again... of course, once my warranty is up, I guess I'll have to live with it...

The seatbelt itself isn't the problem. Part of the problem is the upper trim and the remaining part is the drag caused by the reversal joint. I had the TSB for the b-pillar rattle performed and afterwards, the driver's side belt was retracting very very slowly, compared to the passenger side. I took the trim off and reinstalled it and it works much better now, but it is still slower than it was before the TSB. I don't think I can get it to retract any faster, but at least both sides operate at the same rate now. The angle between the b-pillar and seatbelt affects how fast it retracts. If you pull the seatbelt towards the front of the car, it is going to retract a lot slower than if you pull it straight down towards the floor. If you get a chance to take the bottom b-pillar cover off, you'll see how fast the seatbelt can really retract.

[detour54]

Does anybody else have a problem with the coupe's driver's side seat belt retracting? it simply will not retract and the dealer keeps telling me it's not broken. i've already scratched the inner well of my door sill to all hell.

I've got the same problem. The first time it happened, it scared the crap out of me, because I had no clue what would make a thud like it did when I closed the door. Sure enough it was the seatbelt. Now, I just make sure everytime I get out of the car it retracts. The angle at which it retracts is horrible, too much drag. It doesn't bother me anymore becuase it has become second nature to me.