Will the seat belt locks engage on a 2007 Lexus ES 350 if the vehicle is off and then struck by another vehicle? The driver says she was seat-belted in the driver's seat of the vehicle but did not turn the engine on. The vehicle sustained damage to the front passenger quarter panel near the front right light assembly.

 

Seat-belt works mechanically, not electronically. Physics are what engage the restraints.

 

There are locking devices that lock the seat belts when there is an accident. Don't know what Years this started. If you have ever removed a seatbelt you can see the little device and they also have a plug hooked up to the airbag system. I don't know if they deploy with the key off. There are places on eBay that rebuild them if you don't want to purchase the entire assembly new.