Poorly rolling seat belt

If you own a somewhat older car, you may encounter the following issue over the years: Seat belt doesn't roll up properly. In this case, you could opt for replacing the belts, but that entails a lot of work, which most people aren't keen on. Additionally, having it done by a car service center is often not preferable due to the potentially high cost. You're looking at paying for about an hour of labor plus the cost of the belt itself, ranging from tens to hundreds of euros.

Seat belt not rolling up properly: What should you know?

• When your seat belt doesn't roll up properly, it becomes an issue during the MOT inspection, potentially causing your car to fail.
• The cause of the problem "seat belt not rolling up properly" is often not a weakened spring but rather the belt itself becoming too dirty, dusty, and fluffy.
• The parts (often plastic) or openings where the belt passes through may have become less smooth over time.

Seat belt not rolling up properly: How do we fix it?

1. First, clean the belt thoroughly with a bit of soapy water or another natural cleaning product. Pull the entire belt out as far as possible and clean it entirely.
2. Then, dry the belt by using a vacuum cleaner to suck out the moisture (there's only a bit of moisture). This will make the belt completely dust-free. For added assurance, thoroughly clean the areas around the seat belt, such as the openings and guides where the belt passes through.
3. Next, lightly sand the guides and the opening where the belt passes through with very fine sandpaper. Seat belts become slightly fluffy with use, and these fluffs then catch onto the plastic of the opening and the guides where the seat belt passes through. By sanding with very fine sandpaper, the guides and openings become smooth again. Actual sanding isn't necessary, just a few light passes with the finest sandpaper possible will suffice.
4. Then, treat the belt with cockpit spray. This will make the seat belt smoother again and reduce any fluffiness that may have built up over the years.

After this treatment, the belt should function much better and last for a while longer. In just 15 minutes, you can transform a poorly rolling seat belt into one that rolls up smoothly, without incurring high costs. This tip is brought to you by www.seatbeltspecialist.com.

If the above steps don't resolve the issue, the belt may need to be refurbished. For this, please contact us by sending an email to customerservice@seatbeltspecialist.com, or see if one of our universal belts can provide a solution for your situation.
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