Seat belt issues need immediate attention. Among these issues are premature turning off the seat to the forward-facing position, fraying of the webbing, and failure of the buckle to lock into place. If you see any of these problems in your vehicle, consult your owner’s manual or dealer. If you haven’t already, make an appointment for a seat belt inspection today.

Premature turning off the seat to the forward-facing position

For the longest time, one example of a seat belt issue is that a child should ride in the rear-facing car safety seat until they reach the appropriate weight and height for the car seat. Until then, you should buckle the seat belt around the child’s shoulders and the headrest extended if necessary. When a child grows, you should adjust the vehicle seat belt to fit snugly around the child’s shoulders and upper thighs.

While it is never a good idea to turn a child around prematurely when wearing a seat belt, it’s hazardous for the little one’s spine. It can result in a severe injury or death. Therefore, rear-facing seats are recommended until the child is at least one year of age and weighs between twenty and thirty pounds. Once a child reaches that weight and height, they should be placed in a booster seat or a larger car seat. While a child’s height isn’t the primary determining factor for a seat’s forward-facing position, incorrect seat belt or harness slot use can be fatal.

Fraying of the webbing

Seat belt webbing can fray just like a ribbon. It is a woven material usually made of artificial fibers and is used in many products, including seat belts, harnessing gear, and pet collars. You can fuse tightly woven webbing with heat to prevent fraying. You can also cut webbing with sharp scissors to reduce fraying. However, check the webbing for signs of wear before attempting to repair it.

Seat belt webbing can become damaged over time and affect the function of the seat belt. For example, it may become stiff and not fully retract when the occupant sits in the car. A worn seat belt clock spring can also cause the seat belt to fail to reject. According to the Australian Design Rules, clock springs should perform up to 55,000 cycles before dying. Fraying of the webbing in seat belts can also be caused by the buckle.

Lack of a crash tensioner or force limiter

Pretensioners are devices that tighten seat belts before an accident. They prevent forward motion in frontal crashes and minimize airbag impact. Pretensioners also help prevent injuries to the chest and ribs during a collision by controlling how much webbing is pulled into the occupant’s seat. These devices are not mandatory, but they significantly improve safety. Pretensioners are available on many vehicles.

Combined load limiters and pretensioners improved seat belt effectiveness in minivans, CUVs, and passenger cars. For right-front passengers, vehicles with dual airbags, pretensioners, and load limiters improved seat belt effectiveness by about 12.8 percent. However, the significance of seat belts in trucks decreased only slightly with the addition of load limiters and pretensioners. This was attributed to the fact that truck-based LTV was lower than passenger cars with these devices.

Failure to lock the buckle into place

The failure of a seat belt to secure into place can have catastrophic and even deadly consequences. An occupant can suffer severe injuries to the neck, chest, arm, and leg if it is not correctly connected. They may even sustain spinal cord injuries and even death. This article will examine the most common seat belt issues and what you should do if you experience one of these problems.

The reason why the seat belt buckle does not latch into place is due to the design of the mechanism. Although it is not intended, the buckle could “false-latch” itself into the buckle. A false-latching buckle can be unlatched with minimal force, leaving the occupant unrestrained and at risk for injury. In some cases, the buckle may even fail to latch, causing the occupant to be unbelted and potentially ejected from the car.