1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Rear seatbelt prematurely locking

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by cantgoback, Sep 1, 2009.

  1. cantgoback

    cantgoback Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2009
    54
    6
    0
    Location:
    santa rosa, ca
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Has anyone had any issues with the rear seat belts locking up during driving? This has happened to my wife in the rear seat on multiple occasions, and I don't know what causes it. She isn't intentionally locking it (by pulling the belt all the way out).

    By 'locking up' I mean normally you can pull the seat belt in and out smoothly (unless done abruptly), but when locked it only goes in not out, until it goes in far enough to disengage the lock. When locked you'll hear a distinct "ticking" sound while the belt is going in, which otherwise isn't there.

    Anyway, it seems like a defect, but just curious if anyone else has experienced this problem on their Gen3, or have had rear seat passengers complaining about it.
     
    #1 cantgoback, Sep 1, 2009
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,849
    16,083
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    What you've described usually only happens when you pull it all the way out so having that happen midway is out of the ordinary. I also assume you're not talking about the ELR which is locked when pulled abruptly (as you've said) but does not make a ticking noise. It just lets go when you retract slightly.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Sep 1, 2009
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    483
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I think you have a defective seatbelt. I've had this happen on other cars, but usually after some wear. I think you should bring it in to the dealer to get fixed under warranty.
     
    #3 Boo, Sep 1, 2009
  4. cantgoback

    cantgoback Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2009
    54
    6
    0
    Location:
    santa rosa, ca
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    OK that's what I was guessing too. Looks like I'll have to pay my dealer a visit. Thanks for the input.
     
    #4 cantgoback, Sep 2, 2009
  5. psu77

    psu77 New Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    29
    3
    0
    Location:
    Jacksonville FL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Yes it happened to me too. One of my passengers complained in the back that it locked while we were driving. She had to play around with it to get it to unlock.
     
    #5 psu77, Sep 4, 2009
  6. cantgoback

    cantgoback Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2009
    54
    6
    0
    Location:
    santa rosa, ca
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Did she have to pretty much release the seat belt altogether, and then re-insert the buckle to get it back to normal?

    I was paying more attention last night when my wife got in the back seat again. I watched carefully as she pulled the seat belt, and caught her pulling the belt all the way to the end, thereby triggering the locking mechanism. It took her a few tries to avoid doing that. We do have a baby seat in the center, so it gets pretty tight back there. In this situation, maybe buckling the seat belt is difficult enough to cause her to pull more belt than usual. So this suggests that maybe our seat belt wasn't defective after all.

    I also tried measuring the rear seat belt lengths to check if they were particularly short. The length from the dangling buckle to the slot on the seat was ~80-82", 3-4 measurements per side. I also measured a belt on our Sienna, and that was ~83". Not much difference there, so that's ruled out. It's most likely user error. I'll have to keep a closer watch. If so I apologize for the false alarm.
     
    #6 cantgoback, Sep 5, 2009
  7. bac

    bac Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2008
    863
    52
    0
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    The seatbelt is designed to lock under a variety of circumstances. If there was ANY acceleration or braking or turning, the seatbelt may have locked as designed.

    -Brad
     
    #7 bac, Sep 5, 2009
  8. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The seatbelt will make a ratchet noise after you pull it all the way out when putting it on and will retract but not extend. This is to secure child seats better. Make sure you dont pull the belt all the way out when putting it on.
    (someone already said this didn't they?)
     
    #8 patsparks, Sep 5, 2009
  9. MK3.0T

    MK3.0T New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2014
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Throwback... the seat belt is getting stuck, the latch part. Anything else come of this?
     
    #9 MK3.0T, Sep 30, 2014
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)