the problem is;the retractor does not lock at all. The car is with me and in my period tensioner has not been activated.

have u seen and fixed a belt like this?

thnx for the idea by the way

 

I can't remember what the actual problems were on the seat belts that I've repaired. It's been a long time. I just remember cleaning out a bunch of gunk and they worked as good as new afterwards.

But it makes sense that cleaning it out might fix it. The retractor has a "roller pin" sort-of mechanism that has to roll against the belt to get it to lock up. If a bunch of debris gets lodged inside it might not be able to roll into place.

You could remove it, shake it, tip it over and tap out any debris that's in there. If your car has been in a dusty environment, it's possible that a bunch of dust has caked in there.

Keep in mind that if the retractor is tilted to a 40 degree angle it should lock up.

 

Can anybody ask this to a dealer or to a wise guy?

 

I wouldn't expect the dealer to attempt to clean the existing retractor. The service manual specifically says "Do not attempt to disassemble the retractor". Since this is a safety component and the liability would be great, a dealer wouldn't take the chance.

An independent mechanic might be willing to do this but if they don't have experience with fixing seat belt retractors, they may not want to take responsibility as well. If you clean it (rather than replacing it), it will likely stick again in the future if it is exposed to the same conditions. If it decides to malfunction during a crash and the passenger is injured or killed, the mechanic could be sued (if this happened in the US). But if it malfunctioned in the future with a new seat belt retractor and it was installed properly, the installer would not be liable.

 

Aren't all Honda seatbelts covered with a lifetime warranty? I am pretty sure they are.

 

No, I meant a wise guy, who knows the interchangeability of 2001-2003 belts