Q: My seatbelt seems to be wearing out. The buckle doesn’t always work right and the belt has some frayed spots on it. Are there any rules about replacing it? Can I just go buy one a used one from a wrecking yard?
A: I’d like to begin by acknowledging your regular seatbelt use. You didn’t come right out and say it, but a seatbelt doesn’t get worn out if no one ever pulls it out from its retractor. So after years of doing the right thing, your seatbelt is showing some wear.
There are plenty of rules for manufacturers when installing seatbelts in new cars, but as a vehicle owner, it’s up to you to make sure they continue to function as intended. It sounds like that’s your intention, so this next part is for the seatbelt skeptics. And by the way, the skeptics make up only a small portion of drivers. In Washington, 93 percent of us wear our seatbelts, and we’ve been at or above that rate for nearly 20 years. Sure, some of that is because we have a law that requires seatbelt use, but it also just makes sense. Despite only seven percent of people not wearing a seatbelt, about 20 percent of traffic fatalities involve a non-belted vehicle occupant. Lack of seatbelt use ranks in the top five factors in fatal crashes in Washington.
Getting back to your question, before you spend any money, you should know that you may not even need to buy new seatbelts. Yes, you need to replace them but, depending on your vehicle, the manufacturer might replace them for you. Some makes and models have a lifetime seatbelt warranty, so I’d recommend checking the warranty information in your owner’s manual.
If you can’t get your seatbelt replaced under warranty and you’re trying to save some cash, let’s talk about the used option. I couldn’t find any laws that prevent the sale of used seatbelts, so I contacted an auto wrecking yard to check on availability. The person I spoke with said they sell plenty of used seatbelts.
But there is a catch – and it’s a big one. If I were considering going the used route, I’d want to see the car they came from. Seatbelts are a single-use item. Or more correctly, they should be used every time you’re in the car, but replaced after a single crash. Modern seatbelts have a device, often powered by a small explosive charge, that anticipates a crash and pulls your seatbelt extra-snug in the moment just before impact. The belt itself may also have a load limiter woven into it. This feature allows a little extra slack in the belt if the impact forces exceed a certain limit. With both of these features, you only get one use, so if a vehicle has been in a crash, the seatbelt assembly shouldn’t be used.
As far as the actual installation goes, if you buy a new seatbelt, the manufacturer is required to include “an instruction sheet providing sufficient information for installing the assembly in a motor vehicle.” You should be able to take a look at the instructions and decide if you have the tools and skills to take on the project. With used seatbelts you’re kind of on your own. If you’re a handy person that fixes most of your own stuff, you can probably handle it. If you call a contractor to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors, you should call a pro for this too. On most cars installation isn’t too complicated, but it’s critical that it’s done right.