BobbyT

The driver's seat belt on my 2000 Rx300 is slow to retract, so much that it sometimes interferes with closing the door. I have removed the interior access panels to inspect the retracting mechanism, and it all appears clean, nothing defective.

Is there a fix for this problem?

salimshah

Have you cleaned the slot at the top anchor point? Take a strip of velcro and use that to floss both sides.

Salim

BobbyT

Hello Salim,

If anyone else had suggested this remedy, I would have thought they were pulling my leg, but you have always been very helpful. I tried the Velcro, and it did remove some black accumulation from the plastic hanger loop, and the retraction did improve slightly. However, it is still quite slow.

Is there any way to adjust the retractor spring tension?

Might it help to clean the retractor with shop air? I'm reluctant to use any cleaners or lubricants on the mechanism.

Thanks again,
Bob

BobbyT

Hi Salim,

One other idea. I'm considering swapping the driver's and front seat passenger's seat belt. The passenger side retracts a bit quicker, as it has seen much less use. It appears that these two parts are interchangeable. Any reasons not to do this, or any tips?

Thanks again,
Bob

LA4Mead

I believe this to be common to most RX300's (and many other models) as they age; correct me if I'm wrong. We've been keeping our cars longer so we find these little things that don't last as long as the rest of the car. I have been "helping" my front belts for both front seats back into their retractors for many years to avoid slamming them in the door or rattling. When the door is open, the spring has slightly more tension as it's supposed to reel in the belt, but has nowhere near enough to do it's job without help. It's an annoyance of driving an older car. As Bobby asked, I've often wondered if there was a way to tighten the spring tension back up to newness, or blow dust/dirt out with compressed air (but don't want to risk making it worse!). Any suggestions, short of replacing with new?

Mine are to the point they don't really keep tight on the driver or passenger while driving, which I feel is a safety issue. They lock when inertia is high, fair enough, but with a bit of extra slack that I think was not part of their design. That slack is supposed to be taken up to avoid injury. I move about a lot in my seat... So I've made a habit to pull the belt to wiggle it so it fits properly as I move in my seat while driving. I think this is something NHTSA covers, that there is a longer assumed warrantee on an item like seat belt retractors. I wonder if I should address this some other way than paying retail to replace both front belts and retractors. It sounds expensive at retail level, especially if dirt can be blown out or the spring tension can be tightened back up.

Suggestions?!

salimshah

I dont want to take the credit for the velcro-floss ,,, it is a TSB from Lexus.

Oh make sure you use the nylon teeth end and not the fuzz.

Also see if the belts are swollen or lint has gathered on it. Wipe down with mild soap (squeezed cloth) might provide enough cleaning.

Lexus seat belts, have a slow pull from the very beginning. My experience with other vehicles has been that they pull a bit harder and on longer drive, you have to tug on the belt to get more slack.

I posted a check for the seat belts a while back.

After my goof on stitching the belt advice, I play it safe and would suggest that you replace the mechanism, instead of lubing it.

Salim

BobbyT

Thanks for all the input on this. Yes, I think part of the problem is that we do keep cars longer. I've kept two for fifteen years, this Lexus is now thirteen, my Porsche is seventeen (I've owned it for nine). That said, this Lexus has been an outstanding car, totally reliable, just a few small repairs, but then I'm a very picky owner.

I just finished swapping the front seat belts side-to-side. The modules are identical, and the passenger belt retracts quicker as it has seen much less use, therefore it is a "newer" unit. This essentially solved my perceived problem.

I don't think there is much point in cleaning the retractor unit. It is quite well protected from dust and dirt, plus it has covers on the mechanical parts.

As for the slack in the belts, I find them more comfortable than some others, which fit tighter (notably my 1995 Porsche). The Lexus does have an explosive mechanism to tighten the belts in a crash, so no safety problem with the slackness.

PRM

That sounds crazy but I tried it with my GX470 and it worked! Using the hook side of the velcro on the top anchor made a huge difference.

Australian

I have seen aftermarket ones rather cheap with approval tags suited USA.

ricco750

Have you tried "washing" the whole belt. I saw this in another post several years ago. You just pull out all the belt you can, put clamps on it so it can't retract, and soak it overnight in a bucket of strong laundry detergent solution. I did it to my 99RX several years ago, and you would not believe how dirty the water was the next day. I gave it a thorough rinse, let it dry, and it worked much better after this treatment.

PRM

Thanks for that advice, I just gave the belt a wash this morning so I'm waiting for it to dry, I may need to try the full soak later.

99RX300PDX

I used silicon lubricant pray, and it worked like magic.

Link Amazon:

99RX300PDX

Pulling the seat belts all the way out, I sprayed silicon lubricant on both sides of them, the more silicon applied, the better.

Now 10 months has passed, sticky seat belts has not come back yet.


Editing: Only spray the silicon on the inner side of the seat belts.

PRM

Thanks 99RX, if the belt retraction gets slow again I will probably swap the passenger belt over.

99RX300PDX

You 're welcome, PRM. It was not my idea. I just followed YouTube video " DIY How to Fix a Slow Retracting Seatbell".

Link: