Rear seatbelt locked

[Aitch]

First things first, yes I know how to unlock inertia seatbelts that have been extended all the way.

I took out one of the rear belts yesterday to clean crap off it that my dog left there. It was fine and not locked when I took it out of the car and cleaned it. Somewhere after drying and before I got back to the car, it is now locked in the fully "in" position, i.e. fully retracted. In fact it is more than fully retracted, if I bolt in the top, the end doesn't reach to the bottom bolt.

Anyone know how to unlock this baby? I've read something about an angle lock in some models. I saw a little lever on the inside that I tried to jimmy around with a screwdriver, but no luck.

Suggestions welcomed.

[peterm15]

May sound dumb but have you tried moving the car? Worked for me when my jeep belt locked. Dont know if it had anything to do with it or I just got lucky.

Anyway to retract it slightly farther? Take off the button or the housing? Im not near my car so I can't take a look. And I don't have a gen 2

[Aitch]

I had it completely out of the car and in my hand so it rotated all over the place. It won't retract any more, the roll is completely full with seatbelt wrapped around it. I can pull it in and out about an inch. And I'd rather not disassemble it, considering the side says Do Not Take Apart haha

[S.F.W.]

Nickzgrl any advice ?

[sarujo]

Aitch Seatbelts look to have more warranty coverage as per link below and are part of "safety restraint"

http://www.mazda.ca/MciWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=partsWarrantyFact oryWarranty

I would go back to the dealer if you are still within what looks to be 60 month 100,000km on the URL

[Aitch]

Would that apply if I've removed the seatbelt? It was necessary for cleaning but I can't reattach it to make it look like it hasn't been removed.

[TheMAN]

the seat belt needs to be more or less level before it is unlocked

[Aitch]

Alright. Round two today.

[Jackal]

Any updates? I was going to suggest what TheMAN posted but I would think you've tried that.

[Aitch]

Kid is super clingy today. Doesn't matter, that seat is still out getting cleaned haha.

[Nickzgrl]

the belt has a steel ball in a pocket/ramp that locks the belt. it has to retract to set its self back yo unlock. you will probably have to open it. be careful. there is a spring inside. yu may get lucky wiggling it around. also if I remember correctly...the ball will only reset if its not level as it does not sit 100% level in the car wen mounted

[Lux]

Drill a hole in the case and fish out the ball detent from where it's stuck.
Otherwise, talk to the dealer about a warranty replacement.

[Noisy Crow]

You might try try smacking it against a hard surface to knock it loose.... probably won't work but if nothing else does....

[Aitch]

Update:

Drove around for a week with the seatbelt bolted in at the top. With no further work, it has now unlocked itself. It was probably a combination of being essentially level and bounced around during regular driving that convinced the ball to come loose again (as I said, the belt wasn't really able to retract much further to unlock itself).

Thanks all for your advice.

[Default User]

Somebody at work mentioned you should "slam on your brakes" to unlock the mechanism - don't know if he was f*ckin wit me tho