Y33 Seat Belt tensioner stuck

[Ludeaem]

Driver front is locked. Not the normal 'pull on it more and it will release' locked. Looking at the FSM, there isn't a release anywhere. Can anyone familiar with the 2nd gen tell me if thats correct? The cars have a lifetime belt warranty that I'll be using soon at the Infiniti dealer but there is a$169 diagnosis fee incase I'm a fool. Thus why I'm on an old forum asking the elders.

Thanks in advance

[3Q Jay]

Could the pre-tensioner have fired? If it did, then I would imagine nissan would put that in the 'driver accident damage' category and give you TD1 (you voided the warranty by your actions). I think (VStar may know for sure) that the lifetime was against defects in the webbing and maybe the usual release latch.
Check RS-24 in the FSM for the seatbelt self test.

[VStar650CL]

Could the pre-tensioner have fired? If it did, then I would imagine nissan would put that in the 'driver accident damage' category and give you TD1 (you voided the warranty by your actions). I think (VStar may know for sure) that the lifetime was against defects in the webbing and maybe the usual release latch.

Most of the ones with lifetime warranty are lifetime-everything, including the retractors. However, the rules have evolved over the years. If the OP wants to PM me his VIN, I can run it through Service Com and see if the warranty is wall-to-wall or partial. Even a pretensioner firing would be covered if the firing was accidental, and the brain will have information about whether it popped the unit because of sudden deceleration or it went off without prompting. There would be an airbag light for that in either case, so if there isn't one, the pretensioner isn't responsible.

[Ludeaem]

I'll PM you Vstar. But no airbag light, I never heard the pre tensioner fire. Its a tad dusty in that panel area but looking in the retractor area its still pretty decent so don't think dirt is the culprit.

[VStar650CL]

Got your PM. Sadly, your ride is too old and doesn't show up in Service Com. ASIST has the history, but that's all the system shows. So you're stuck with an Infiniti dealer to tell you about the warranty. Sorry, I tried.

[Ludeaem]

I appreciate it. They looked it up and said it has the warranty and I also have the warranty card from the manual that states the same. Now, if they honor this. We shall see. Worst case, if I bought the seatbelt myself does it have to be coded to the car because of the pre tensioner system?

[VStar650CL]

No, it should be plug-and-play. The pretensioner is just an airbag in a can with a squib circuit like any other. There's no FSM available before '94, but I don't think your SRS system will be much different and I don't see anything in there about squib calibration.

[3Q Jay]

I've not replaced a seatbelt on the FGY33, but from the FSM, I agree it's plug and play. You might need to run the seat belt self-test after replacement (FSM reccos this). Another thought: could it be the "g-sensor" latchup, but not re-releasing? if you take the belt assembly out , I'd try that.

[Ludeaem]

^^ I'll have to take a look at that this week. Its partially out as it sits right now

[Ludeaem]

Dumb luck I was doing other work on the car and decided to check the seat belt and its unstuck now! Not sure what the hell happened but I took wd40 to the belt and parts of the reel and so far so good. This happened one day before my dealer appointment so I would have been pissed getting a diagnosis fee for nothing. I'll continue to monitor

[Q451990]

Very cool! Are you able to test it to be sure it works properly? Failing unlatched could be a real problem too.

[Ludeaem]

It works fine. I'll continue to monitor though and update with any changes