I've got a 1996 LS400 and the seat belt tensioners seem to be worn out. they almost won't retract when you stop, undo your belt and try to get it to retract into the door pillar.

anyone got a fix for this?

thank you in advance.

 

Had the same problem on a '95 that i picked up. No success with anything other than replacing.

The good news is that it's a fairly easy DIY that someone had posted a while back. Dealer cost on the part was around $125 for each side & included the entire belt mechanism plus the unit that fits in the pillar. Gently pry up the front & rear running boards in the doorways, pop loose the b pillar trim. A couple of bolts and a wire plug in connector and back to as good as new. Have seen some folks talk about explosive charge in the unit that assists with deployment of pretensioner. I dropped the old ones to check it out, a small pop when the unit hit the concrete, sounded like a cap for those old enough to remember cap guns.

 

what kind of socket to remove the nut that holds the seat belt in place inside the wall at the TOP !? .. it looks like a torx or star socket !??