Passenger Seat Belt

Does anyone else have a Tacoma with the passenger seat belt assembled backwards? On mine it looks as if Toyota used a drivers seat belt assembly on my passenger side. On the passenger side the catch latch for the seat belt faces the plastic interior trim instead of facing out like the drivers side. This has cause all kinds of nicks in the plastic on the passenger side. I bought my Tacoma as a certified used with 41,000 miles in Nov. 2016 and my wife started to complain about the seat belt and I just took it as she was short and the truck didn't fit her well. That is until I sat in the passenger side and went to use the seat belt and stared to fumble with the catch latch. Since I bought this used I didn't bother taking it back to the Toyota dealer I purchased it from because I didn't believe they would do anything for me on a 6 plus year old truck at the time. I just issued a complaint with NHTSA as a safety issue. I did get a response from them for more information and pictures, but so far I'm just waiting.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

 

Are you sure it's not just twisted / flipped in the roller assembly?

 

At this point no, but there's enough nicks and scratches in the plastic that it's been like that for quite a while. The thought did cross my mind, but I also wondered how it could flip over since the whole mechanism is designed to prevent it. Please try and flip yours. I'm waiting to see if I here back from the NHTSA, before I take it apart and see what I can do to straighten it out. My feeling is that if Toyota did use the wrong seat belt in the assembly then to make it right I would have to purchase a passenger seat belt assembly.

 

Fold the edge of the belt over, then start pulling the metal/plastic part over the fold. Angle the fold towards the other side of the belt and keep pulling. When you get past the fold, it will be flipped.

 

You can fold the webbing and slide down over that fold, flipping it back around. It's a bugger to do but it should be able to be done.

 

I'll try and add some photos. The photos will show it more than just flipping one end. The whole assembly is reversed. Not only the top of the slide/pivot mechanism, but the securing point at the bottom is backwards.

 

You're not getting the concept of what I posted. Take that piece in the middle. The part that latches into the buckle. Fold about 1/2" of the EDGE of the belt over. PULL HARD on that piece to pull the slot over the fold. Once it's started, angle the fold towards the other edge of the belt and keep pulling. When the fold and the slot get to the other edge, it will be flipped around.

 

Pull the seat belt all the way out of the door to see if it is twisted. If it IS twisted, hold the belt out to keep the twist exposed, then rotate the bottom bracket around it's mounting post 360 degrees to take out the twist. I had to do this on my Taco to remove a twist.

 

I agree with the others here, all you need to do is flip the clip around.
Like this:

Before:
Start like this:
Keep pulling:
Done:

 

What the guys above said^ Looks like it just got twisted and turned around. It happens from time to time with use

 

Thanks for the pictorial @fathomblue. Exactly what I was trying to suggest above.

I've had this happen in a couple of different marquees.

Is that a '67 in your avatar? Original driveline?

 

Yes, a 1967. When I bought it (in 1984) the original engine and tranny were already gone. Its now powered by a '69 400 bored and stroked to 462ci. and backed by a muncie 4speed.

 

Nice.

I owned a '64, #104, for 11 years.

I got to crew on a '69 Judge that set the NHRA E/S ET record at a points meet in Gainesville in the spring of '70. The record only lasted a week or so, but hey, it was fun.

Looks like you have a nice cruiser there. Enjoy.

 

Yes, I understand the concept and it works. I would like to know how this could happen as it's not easy to flip. How and why would something like this could even happen to the point of flipping. How it would it even start? In my view it either was assembled incorrectly or purposely flipped which I can't somebody taken the time to do.

 

Do you prefer to write unanswered letters, have uncomfortable passengers and fret over how it got that way, or see if you can fix it?

If it flips back after you fix it, then you'll have to open it up and see what's up.

But it may stay correct for the rest of its life.

 

It has happened in my wife's 2016 Subaru Forester on the driver's belt. It was oriented correctly when she bought it. About a year later when I was driving I noticed it was reversed. The only thing I can think is that it got partway folded over and stuck, and someone forced through the wrong way when trying to get the buckle to slide normally. I can see it happening if someone didn;t realize which way the belt was twisted when they tried to straighten it out.

 

Just a thought but maybe it was flipped for a child seat or some other "belt in" carrier.

 

In my experience it gets flipped because someone, who is not as careful as you or I or OP, hops in the seat, grabs the belt and yanks it down to buckle it. Then when getting out, unbuckles and blindly flings it over their shoulder. Pretty soon the belt gets twisted around and when yanking it down it gets folded over and further yanking flips it around. To prevent this you can ban said careless passenger from riding with you if she refuses to be more careful or, in my case, divorce her.

Ha, I know what you're thinking and no, there were far more important reasons for the split.

 

did this a week after owning it
not sure how the ex managed to do it but its happened many times over the years