Model S - Seat Belt gets locked.

[johnking]

7 days old. Dec 26th Delivery. The seat belt on the passenger side wouldn't come all the way down to the buckle. It has got stuck and I can hear the sound of something blocking the belt when I pull it. Had to move my wife to the rear seats along with the kids for the rest of the trip. Called roadside assistance and they said they will pass on the information to the local service station (Bellevue, WA). Since the service station is closed, until I can take it back in, no passenger seat occupancy :-(.

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LockedSeatBelt

• johnking
• Jan 1, 2018

Model S Locked Seat Belt.

Doesn't come beyond the distance shown in the picture. Anyone else faced this ?

 

[Akikiki]

No.

 

[Akikiki]

7 days old. Dec 26th Delivery. The seat belt on the passenger side wouldn't come all the way down to the buckle. It has got stuck and I can hear the sound of something blocking the belt when I pull it. Had to move my wife to the rear seats along with the kids for the rest of the trip. Called roadside assistance and they said they will pass on the information to the local service station (Bellevue, WA). Since the service station is closed, until I can take it back in, no passenger seat occupancy :-(.

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LockedSeatBelt

• johnking
• Jan 1, 2018

Model S Locked Seat Belt.

Doesn't come beyond the distance shown in the picture. Anyone else faced this ?

It has got stuck... sounds like a partial explanation that it initially worked and sometime after the first week it stopped coming all the way down to the buckle. Stuff happens. Sounds like your's was not tested until it failed the first time and stuck. I suspect you have no doubts that they will fix it. Just let them fix it and be done - move on. Not every hiccup on every car is a nation-wise pattern of a serious problem. Happy New Year - welcome to the family. You are going to love the car.

 

[johnking]

That's right @Akikiki. It worked good for 5 days and all of a sudden didn't work when we made a quick stop during a trip and were ready to leave.

Update: Took it to the Service Center and they are looking at it. They stated that they haven't seen this in any other car either. The car will be at the service center as they have to change the entire seat belt kit and are waiting for parts from CA.​

 

[MurrayJimW]

You're lucky. At least you're near the West Coast. I had a belt problem requiring replacement and it took 9 days to get the belt from CA due to the belt having some sort of explosive charge built in. It can only be shipped by ground.

 

[Drewflux]

I wonder if the belt webing is twisted internally, causing the belt to lock

 

[johnking]

I hear you @MurrayJimW, If I had to wait 4 days, the wait for you must've been painful.

@Drewflux - They took out the seat belt unit and said that it has to be replaced. Guessing it is more than a twist. They haven't told what is the real problem yet.

The SC confirmed the vehicle will be done tomorrow. Will hopefully have more details when I get the car back tomorrow.

 

[mongo]

I wonder if the belt webing is twisted internally, causing the belt to lock

@johnking

I think Drewflux is right. From the picture, it looks like the over the shoulder part is missing a half twist between the buckle and the B pillar. The webbing facing the camera should be facing the seat so that it comes off the buckle, lays flat on the torso and then turns slightly into the pillar.

 

[johnking]

Thanks @mongo . Perhaps that is it.

Update : The service center installed the new seat belt and I am happy to get the car back. Here is what they wrote-up.

Concern: Customer: customer states passenger side seatbelt is not extending out.
Pay Type: Warranty
Corrections: 1st Row Seat Belts General Diagnosis
Technician inspected seat belt and assembly and found it to not be operating as designed. Recommend replacement.
Corrections: Seat Belt Assembly - 1st Row - RH
Removed and replaced seat belt assembly. Tested and verified proper operation at this time.

 

[mongo]

Thanks @mongo . Perhaps that is it.

Update : The service center installed the new seat belt and I am happy to get the car back. Here is what they wrote-up.

Concern: Customer: customer states passenger side seatbelt is not extending out.
Pay Type: Warranty
Corrections: 1st Row Seat Belts General Diagnosis
Technician inspected seat belt and assembly and found it to not be operating as designed. Recommend replacement.
Corrections: Seat Belt Assembly - 1st Row - RH
Removed and replaced seat belt assembly. Tested and verified proper operation at this time.

Great that it is fixed.

 

[Drewflux]

Great results on the fast turn a round. Thinking about this after seeing the pings.
Could have been 2 things.
1) internal twist of the belt, jaming the hub inside the seat belt base.
2) broken/stretched tension spring within the belt base.

 

[Ferry]

I own a 2013 model S and the front passenger seat belt was locked and unable to pull.

I did a hard reboot and it worked

 

[maximizese]

I've had issues with the rear seat belts locking with passengers in them for the last 30K miles. I've had Tesla Service Center take a look at it and they were unable to replicate it under their 3 mile test drive, but the problem persists. They told me to take a video if the issue when it occurs next.

The issue is that the rear seat belt tensioners tighten and lock, and will not release until the seat belt buckle is released from the fastener and retracted to its original position before the tensioner will relax and allow for slack in the belt again. The driver can be going a constant speed on the highway without decelerating and the rear seat belts will lock as if someone were slamming on the brakes or taking a tight turn. The front seat belts do not exhibit this problem. I uploaded the video to my local Service Center agent and they tried to tell me that "every car does this...this is a safety feature...the fronts seat belts don't lock up like this because children don't sit in the front..."

I told then that this is ridiculous that the only legal remedy to this issue is the pull over ever time this occurs so that my passenger can safely and legal release the seat belt, fully retract it, and refasten their seat belt...and that they cannot legally remove their seat belt while the car is in motion.

They said they will look into the issue, but I was surprised by the lines they were using...I'm not buying it and while I'm trying to be understanding I cannot help but be disappointed in Tesla by proxy of their Service Center rep.

 

[Rollinthunda]

I've had issues with the rear seat belts locking with passengers in them for the last 30K miles. I've had Tesla Service Center take a look at it and they were unable to replicate it under their 3 mile test drive, but the problem persists. They told me to take a video if the issue when it occurs next.

The issue is that the rear seat belt tensioners tighten and lock, and will not release until the seat belt buckle is released from the fastener and retracted to its original position before the tensioner will relax and allow for slack in the belt again. The driver can be going a constant speed on the highway without decelerating and the rear seat belts will lock as if someone were slamming on the brakes or taking a tight turn. The front seat belts do not exhibit this problem. I uploaded the video to my local Service Center agent and they tried to tell me that "every car does this...this is a safety feature...the fronts seat belts don't lock up like this because children don't sit in the front..."

I told then that this is ridiculous that the only legal remedy to this issue is the pull over ever time this occurs so that my passenger can safely and legal release the seat belt, fully retract it, and refasten their seat belt...and that they cannot legally remove their seat belt while the car is in motion.

They said they will look into the issue, but I was surprised by the lines they were using...I'm not buying it and while I'm trying to be understanding I cannot help but be disappointed in Tesla by proxy of their Service Center rep.

Our model s is doing exactly the same on both rear and front passenger side. Tesla says lack of use causes this and not a warranty item! In the 2 months of owning ours we have spent £1500 getting the rumble on the front fixed and the clicking steering. (Not warranty) and of course being a P85+ The rear subframe has snapped where it connects to the motor at 65000 miles and surprise surprise NOT WARRANTY Tesla want 3k to fix ! This car is bleeding us dry.

 

[AC-DC]

I've had issues with the rear seat belts locking with passengers in them for the last 30K miles. I've had Tesla Service Center take a look at it and they were unable to replicate it under their 3 mile test drive, but the problem persists. They told me to take a video if the issue when it occurs next.

The issue is that the rear seat belt tensioners tighten and lock, and will not release until the seat belt buckle is released from the fastener and retracted to its original position before the tensioner will relax and allow for slack in the belt again. The driver can be going a constant speed on the highway without decelerating and the rear seat belts will lock as if someone were slamming on the brakes or taking a tight turn. The front seat belts do not exhibit this problem. I uploaded the video to my local Service Center agent and they tried to tell me that "every car does this...this is a safety feature...the fronts seat belts don't lock up like this because children don't sit in the front..."

I told then that this is ridiculous that the only legal remedy to this issue is the pull over ever time this occurs so that my passenger can safely and legal release the seat belt, fully retract it, and refasten their seat belt...and that they cannot legally remove their seat belt while the car is in motion.

They said they will look into the issue, but I was surprised by the lines they were using...I'm not buying it and while I'm trying to be understanding I cannot help but be disappointed in Tesla by proxy of their Service Center rep.

Max,

Did you ever get a good answer from Tesla about the seat belt tensioner locking and not releasing?

The front passenger seat of my 2015 is having that same issue.

 

[maximizese]

Max,

Did you ever get a good answer from Tesla about the seat belt tensioner locking and not releasing?

The front passenger seat of my 2015 is having that same issue.

Nope. After the 2nd time I brought it up with the Service Technician, the issue seemed to have gone away. I'm not sure if they replaced or adjusted anything but they didn't record that they did anything beyond a road test. It was only the rear passenger side that was locking and not releasing. The rear driver side and the front seats did not have this issue.