Mom claims she nearly strangled!

The passenger and rear seat belts are designed to go into lock mode and for us was very useful when we were carting around two baby carriers in our Prius's a few years ago.

They get activated by pulling the seatbelt all the way forward first, at which point they get tighter and tigher until released, in order to hold car seats. They were also useful when the kids were a slightly older and wouldn't sit still.

Perhaps its generational, my father used to get into the cars, pull the shoulder belt out all the way, then complain that it keeps getting tighter and tighter. I kept telling him to just put the seat belt on, don't pull the shoulder belt all the way out, but he kept doing the same thing and kept complaining.

 

I think the other real possibility is that it's broken/malfunctioning.

It can and does happen with shoulder belt retractors.

 

Hello PD:

Thanks for the honesty. I actually was wondering this very thing when I read your first post.

If someone is very large, then they could indeed pull the seat belt all the way out, which would engage the "ALR" (Automatic Locking Retractor). The Prius, by the way, is not the only modern car that has this feature. I would guess that most probably have it.

As previously stated by another poster, the purpose of the ALR is to allow the seat belt to be able to secure a child or booster seat into the vehicle. When cars had manual lap belts (like the kind that commercial aircraft still have), it was very easy to secure a child seat or booster seat, by simply tightening up on the belt adjustment. But with the advent of integrated lap/shoulder belt systems, you had to tie knots in the lap belt or something to get them to tighten securely on the child seat. The ALR allows for proper installation of such seats in a safe manner

As far as defeating the feature, I don't know if it can be done legally, or if a dealer would even consider doing it. However, I believe that there is a seat belt extender than can be installed by a Toyota dealer. This would probably allow the seat belt to not have to be pulled out as far, thus not engaging the ALR feature.

Best wishes,

Frank

 

Page 88 of the owners manual: "If your seat belts cannot be fastened securely because they are not long enough, a personalized seat belt extender is available from your Toyota dealer free of charge."

 

I think this is a hidden option - when driving Mother-IN-LAWs in the "back seat driving" position.
Perhaps your Prius software needs a refresh.

 

Just put her in the hatch like I do.

Tom