Since new 07/07 I have had a problem with the seat belts retracting wirhout assistance, now
the left hand belt has caught up in the door when closed,and caused a 1 inch tear in the set
belt webbing,
My supplying dealer has told me that this is not judged a warranty item due to my neglect,I
contacted Mazda customer service,and they have thrown this problem back to the dealer,
Any experiences with this problem,out there please.
I’ve got a MK2.5 so cannot comment on the specific problem, but…
I would be pushing very hard to get the dealer to fix this.
The approach that I would take is that the ‘seatbelt mechanism is faulty’, and work from there - you have got to work on the basis that if the seatbelt does not retract properly, then there is significant doubt over the manufacture of the unit, and therefore may not ‘lock’ when involved in an accident, which could case serious (fatal?) injuries with a passenger striking the airbag (or dashboard).
I can to some extent appreciate them not fixing the belt itself (if it was seperate) (although they should), but they have got to replace the mechanism (which will include the belt anyway) (If you understand what I mean)(Quite a lot of brackets here…)
My seat belt also does not retract properly - I have to sort of feed my belt in towards the slot to get the slack out before I exit the car. I would say in legal terms this is a fault in design and the onus lies on Mazda not the owner if the subsequent slack gets caught and damaged in the door, especially given the age of the car. This has reminded me to get my unit checked also.
Not isolated:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=309253
Wow, sort of reassuring but gutting at the same time - my warranty ended in December - I may try and coax them to cover the change anyway since I always have my services there, otherwise I may try the ‘Dremmel’ trick to remove the hump in the seat guide, since it is certainly that which causes or exacerbates the problem - my belt often gets twisted and stuck in it.
The OP should print that thread and take it with them to the dealer.
We had this problem on the way to Spain last summer. Passenger belt would not retract. Couple of days later it went back OK. Several weeks later the drivers side started playing up. Mentioned it to our dealer, no problem, he said they change seat belts under warranty without question as they have a definate safety issue. Two new belts fitted straight away.
since posting my e-mail on 01-01-09 i have visited my local dealer to complain again about non-retracting seat belts (now dealer has thrown the problem back to mazda) whilst there i looked at a 08 spec and they have modified the plastic runners on the seats does this mean anything (more ammunition for my argument ??? ) i wonder what the new facelift will come up with
just wait till your cars are a few more years older,from what i have seen of my mk3 and others i have worked on is very poor build quality.
your problems are just starting.
Hi All, I now have this problem on my 5. Does anyone know how long the warranty lasts on the seatbelt retractors, and is it longer than the car warranty, as suggested in the forum link?
Gill
+1…me too, drivers side only.
I had the same problem with our MK3 and had them replaced TWICE under warranty.
Car now nearly 4 years and, after being replaced just before warranty expired, are starting to be sluggish again.
Hope they still are OK for MOT as I believe thay are around £250 per side.
Regards
Jim