According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it’s an undisputed fact that seat belts save lives.
Knowing how important it is to buckle up for safety and protection, it’s a serious issue when there are problems with your seat belts.
Here are some of the common reasons why seat belts fail.
Missing or Broken Buckle
The buckle is the main attachment point for the entire seat belt mechanism. If the buckle was removed for repair or cleaning and not replaced, you don’t have a seat belt to use for protection.
This is primarily an issue for seat belts found in the back seat. Sometimes the seat belt can be hidden well under the seat so it’s a matter of hunting it down. However, if buckles are missing from any of the belts, they need to be replaced immediately.
A broken buckle is just as dangerous as a missing buckle, maybe more so. Your seat belt cannot protect you in an accident if the buckle doesn’t secure you properly because it’s broken.
Stuck Buckle
A buckle that either gets stuck once fastened or won’t allow you to fasten it at all is typically caused by an obstruction.
Dirt, crumbs, or sticky residue tend to end up in the female end of the buckle, causing it to stick or not latch at all.
The strong seat belt material, also known as webbing, may also become jammed inside the buckle, making the wadded-up webbing difficult to remove.
False Latching / Inertial Unlatching
False latching is a truly dangerous issue because while you think you’re safely buckled up; the buckle isn’t securely fastened when you thought it was.
Inertial unlatching typically happens in a collision as the buckle latch fails and the seat belt unfastens.
Pretensioner
The pretensioner is part of a 3-point seat belt mechanism that tightens any slack in the seat belt during a collision.
If it fails, there may be too much seat belt slack, allowing vehicle occupants to collide with the steering wheel, windshield or other areas of dashboard/instrument panel or windshield during a collision.
Missing or Broken Mounting Point
The mounting point is another crucial piece of the entire seat belt mechanism.
The mounting point is what connects the seat belt to the car seat. If the mounting point is missing or broken, it will cause your seat belt to fail more than likely at the moment you need it most.
Generally found in unmaintained or older vehicles, if the seat belt doesn’t fit right or there is visible damage to the mounting point, it needs to be repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Seat belts are a key safety feature in all vehicles meant to secure and protect you in case of an accident. If you have been experiencing difficulties with any parts of the seat belt mechanism, it’s important to replace or repair those parts to avoid serious injury or worse in case of a collision.
For all your collision repair needs, call the professional technicians at Downtown Autobody in Rohnert Park.