Posted 23 May 2015

Help with jammed Vauxhall Zafira rear seatbelt

I have an 05 plate Zafira and we tried to go out yesterday but the rear middle seatbelt had jammed so we ended up taking husbands car. When he tried to fix it today it ended in disaster. The seatbelt is concealed within the rear seat behind the passenger seat, no zips to get at the seatbelt or anything. He pushed the seat forward and the seatbelt then got so tight the chair got stuck in the folded down position and he had to cut the seatbelt!!! We had googled it and discovered its happened to a few other cars. Its looking like we either have to source from a scrapyard the entire top part of that chair or buy a new one from Vauxhall. (don't want to do that, too many pennies!) Has anyone else had similar happen and how did they sort it out?

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24th May 2015
I've seen this before - commonish problem on the middle seat.

There should be a small stud through the seatbelt that stops it from retracting too much. Unfortunately the studs tend to be simple plastic that break and come off so when you fold the seat the belt retracts further than it should.

The seatbelt mechanism is designed so that it can only release when it is vertical - thats a safety thing for when you roll your car.

So what happens is you fold the seat, the belt retracts too far and then locks because it isnt vertical. And you're stuck

The best way to deal with it is to remove the seat from the car. Once the seat is out you can tilt it until the safety lock releases and you can pull the belt back out. Does depend on the car though - some seats are much easier to remove than others. Mine had 4 bolts that were easy to access.

Once you've sorted it then try a sewing shop for a button stud of some sort to put into the belt - you can usually see a small indentation in the belt where the original stud was located.
24th May 2015
aircanman
I agree with buying a new part, anything else fine but a seat belt? It … I agree with buying a new part, anything else fine but a seat belt? It would have been in an accident.

Not necessarily.
They sometimes break up a car for its parts and sell everything off separately. It doesnt mean the car has definitely been in an accident. It could be something like the engine giving up or anything.

Anyway, as long as you get the seat belt fitted properly and get it checked I don't see how it could be an issue.
23rd May 2015
I had a sim prob with mine. When you put the seats back ( I assume you had the seats down. Put them back up and this happened). The button doesn't go back correctly. I had to force mine up. Then it released the seat belt. I am talking about the button you pull down to put the seat down. If this button is not in the correct position it does not release the seat belt
Author
23rd May 2015
Thanks for replying Vikki but the seat was up and when we tried to do that the seat was stuck down and couldn't move it back at all. The belt had got tighter and tighter so we had to cut it.
23rd May 2015
I had all my seats down. It was when I put them up. My seat belts were jammed. I could not shift them. It was because my passager side seat. The button had not gone in the correct position. It jammed them up. My middle seat got stuck half way down. I was getting so stressed. It was only my accident we found out. Ramming the clip part ( mine was pull down button) as i was getting desperate. As I was takeing it for a mot. Which it would of failed on non working seat belts
24th May 2015
This probably sounds ridiculous but why don't you do what I do when anything from my car needs sorting?

Buy the part off eBay. In this case a quick ebay search suggests that a seat belt specifically for the middle rear seat of your Zafira will cost around £7-£11.

Then get it replaced by a garage?
24th May 2015
I have had a few cars that did this, every time i dropped the back of the seat, the only way i found was to lift the bottom of the seat and undo the bolt that holds the seatbelt. You should be able to release the stuck belt now. If i remember correctly, it is a design fault in some cars. You will get a seatbelt from a scrap yard no problem.
24th May 2015
Whatever you do, make sure you buy the part new - do not purchase something so paramount to safety from a scrapyard. The car the part comes from could have been in a serious accident, and the part could be damaged in an unnoticeable way.
Too many injuries occur due to people putting their wallets before their, or their families' safety (Not a personal attack OP). This is especially rife with people reusing baby car-seats after serious accidents.
24th May 2015
I agree with buying a new part, anything else fine but a seat belt? It would have been in an accident.
Author
24th May 2015
Thanks for all your help, we are going to investigate further tomorrow. I've sent an email to Vauxhall too telling them their seat belts are pants and as its a design fault they should meet the cost. Haha, wish me luck, don't think they'll give a monkeys!
25th May 2015
speedy2014
Not necessarily. They sometimes break up a car for its parts and sell … Not necessarily. They sometimes break up a car for its parts and sell everything off separately. It doesnt mean the car has definitely been in an accident. It could be something like the engine giving up or anything.Anyway, as long as you get the seat belt fitted properly and get it checked I don't see how it could be an issue.

I agree that it may be completely fine, but in this situation I think it would be better to be safe than sorry. Never mind that the cost difference will be minimal, so not worth the risk in my mind.

Anyways, good luck OP in getting some money out of Vauxhall. I suspect they may feign ignorance on the issue and say it is probably due to wear and tear with the car being 10 years old.
(edited)
25th May 2015
Deal stealer
I agree that it may be completely fine, but in this situation I think it … I agree that it may be completely fine, but in this situation I think it would be better to be safe than sorry. Never mind that the cost difference will be minimal, so not worth the risk in my mind.Anyways, good luck OP in getting some money out of Vauxhall. I suspect they may feign ignorance on the issue and say it is probably due to wear and tear with the car being 10 years old.

So what are you suggesting op should do?
25th May 2015
speedy2014
So what are you suggesting op should do?

As I already said, buy the part new and not from a scrapyard. Only way to be as sure as possible that the seatbelt is not defective. I would also imagine an insurance company would not pay out on any injuries associated with a second hand seatbelt
25th May 2015
dog biscuits
23rd Apr 2017
Hi Jude. did you get your seat belt fixed? please can you tell me what you had to do? I've got the same problem.
Author
23rd Apr 2017
mo_y81
Hi Jude. did you get your seat belt fixed? please can you tell me what … Hi Jude. did you get your seat belt fixed? please can you tell me what you had to do? I've got the same problem.

Was all a bit of a pain. We bought a new one from an online scrap dealer with good reviews. The old seatbelt had to be cut, that was the only way it could be released. The new seatbelt was fitted, I can't remember now but we did have to cause some damage to the upholstery, but not too much. We fitted a clip to the new seatbelt so it can't go all the way in again, there is always a decent length out, looks untidy but better than that happening again. I think the new seatbelt was around £30, but much cheaper that getting it from Vauxhall. If this happens to so many people Vauxhall really should be sorting this out. I did contact them but they said not enough people had complained about it for it to be a manufacturing fault. Hope you sort yours easily.
24th Apr 2017
Thanks for replying Jude, much appreciated. I'm going to challenge vauxhall first and if that doesn't work then will try what you did so might be in touch again for some pointers
Author
24th Apr 2017
mo_y81
Thanks for replying Jude, much appreciated. I'm going to challenge … Thanks for replying Jude, much appreciated. I'm going to challenge vauxhall first and if that doesn't work then will try what you did so might be in touch again for some pointers

Not having much luck with the car. Drove it into the school gates today! All the mums watched and waved! Heaven knows how I managed that. Luckily not too much damage but feeling a little doomed!! Let me know how you get on, be good to have a better response from Vauxhall but I doubt it!
27th Apr 2017
Hi Jude. did you get your seat belt fixed? please can you tell me what you had to do? I've got the same problem.
28th Apr 2017
Hi guys. I've had the same problem with a Vauxhall Mokka that has only done 5,000 miles. I took the car back to the dealer, but they said it wouldn't be a warrany issue, as I must have damaged the button somehow. I explained that no one has ever sat in the back seats, or played with the seat belts. I made a fuss, complaining that the product wasn't fit for purpose and warned that if they charge me, I'll sue for a refund. They agreed to fix it (this time) at no cost. However, I have discovered that with the Mokka, you can just get a spanner onto the seat belt anchor nut and undo it, then with the seat now upright, the seat belt will pull out and it's quite easy to fix some sort of button onto the belt to stop it happening again. I'm still writing to Vauxhall, to complain that the design is poor and the 'button' poorer still.
Author
30th Apr 2017
Thats so bad on a brand new car. Glad you've managed to get it fixed for free. I think its really bad they won't admit there is a problem!

Justpete
Hi guys. I've had the same problem with a Vauxhall Mokka that has only … Hi guys. I've had the same problem with a Vauxhall Mokka that has only done 5,000 miles. I took the car back to the dealer, but they said it wouldn't be a warrany issue, as I must have damaged the button somehow. I explained that no one has ever sat in the back seats, or played with the seat belts. I made a fuss, complaining that the product wasn't fit for purpose and warned that if they charge me, I'll sue for a refund. They agreed to fix it (this time) at no cost. However, I have discovered that with the Mokka, you can just get a spanner onto the seat belt anchor nut and undo it, then with the seat now upright, the seat belt will pull out and it's quite easy to fix some sort of button onto the belt to stop it happening again. I'm still writing to Vauxhall, to complain that the design is poor and the 'button' poorer still.
5th May 2017
I've got the same problem with my 13 reg Zafira. The nearside passenger seat is down as I was using it as access to the boot when I had my bike rack fixed on the back. The central seat belt has probably been used three times since the car was new. When I went to "close" the boot by raising the seat I found the seat belt had locked & there's not enough slack to raise the seat. I thought I'd be able to create more slack by forcing the seat-back down further but reading the previous posts has taught me better. The point is that there's obviously a problem with the design & Vauxhall need to get it sorted. I'm going to try to find if I can get access to release the bolt in the bottom of the seat to release the belt.
(edited)
30th Jan 2019
deleted169449605/05/2017 17:56
I've got the same problem with my 13 reg Zafira. The nearside passenger …I've got the same problem with my 13 reg Zafira. The nearside passenger seat is down as I was using it as access to the boot when I had my bike rack fixed on the back. The central seat belt has probably been used three times since the car was new. When I went to "close" the boot by raising the seat I found the seat belt had locked & there's not enough slack to raise the seat. I thought I'd be able to create more slack by forcing the seat-back down further but reading the previous posts has taught me better. The point is that there's obviously a problem with the design & Vauxhall need to get it sorted. I'm going to try to find if I can get access to release the bolt in the bottom of the seat to release the belt.

hi did you get the problem sorted it has happened to my 12 plate zafira i have managed to get the seat back up eventually but it is so tight now and wont budge an inch got to get this done before M.O.T in april
Author
30th Jan 2019
I really think Vauxhall’s should be doing something about this. I’ve sold the car now, decided it wasn’t meant for me after crashing into the school gates and wouldn’t have another Try what mas99 suggested above and remove the seat. It was too late for me. Good luck!
2nd Sep 2019
mas9924/05/2015 11:19
I've seen this before - commonish problem on the middle seat. There shou …I've seen this before - commonish problem on the middle seat. There should be a small stud through the seatbelt that stops it from retracting too much. Unfortunately the studs tend to be simple plastic that break and come off so when you fold the seat the belt retracts further than it should. The seatbelt mechanism is designed so that it can only release when it is vertical - thats a safety thing for when you roll your car.So what happens is you fold the seat, the belt retracts too far and then locks because it isnt vertical. And you're stuck :(The best way to deal with it is to remove the seat from the car. Once the seat is out you can tilt it until the safety lock releases and you can pull the belt back out. Does depend on the car though - some seats are much easier to remove than others. Mine had 4 bolts that were easy to access.Once you've sorted it then try a sewing shop for a button stud of some sort to put into the belt - you can usually see a small indentation in the belt where the original stud was located.

This is obviously still helping people - just got a like on it
Just for clarification when the seat is out you need to get it at about the same angle as it would be when its in the normal fixed position in the car. So leant back a bit not straight up.