Explosive in seat belt '98 pretensioner?

Is there any kind of explosive, detonator, or igniter in the seat belt pretensioner of a '98 base model 2WD? There aint no wires or nothin' coming to the pretensioner, but the rebuild shop on the US mainland won't send my belt back to me in Hawaii, cause they say it's "dangerous." Isn't this belt made before they put detonators in them? Isn't it purely mechanical? Thanks gents!

 

Welcome to TW

 

First nothing explosive that I am aware of.

It must have gotten there in some fashion?

Just what kind of repair shop?? Botched the job so bad it is no longer usable??

Excuse to not return??

Not sure about just what the law is but if a spring under tension may be considered dangerous.

Now the rest of the story would be nice.

 

Thanks Wyoming09! The rest of the story is:

MyAirbags.com told me over the phone they would rebuild my seat belt pretensioners and ship back to Hawaii since there is no explosive in the pretensioners - so I got an invoice from them and sent the belts for repair (via USPS - please don't come after me USPS cops - I plead the 5th). Now after they did the repair and charged my credit card ($200+) and it's time to ship them back to me, they say "no can do" because it's illegal to ship them because they are "dangerous" - considered "hazardous material." Most modern pretensioners are indeed "hazardous" because they have "charge" in them that detonates in an accident to lock the belt in place. This is triggered electronically via the airbags. But as you have confirmed, my old belts don't have it. I just need MyAirbags.com to realize this and ship me my dang belts back before I have a crash without no belt on and splatter my face on my nice restored dashboard!

 

Could be the person you communicated with is going by a blanket policy.

Be calm and Civil I think it should work out as you work through the layers of Bull Shit.

At best get a full refund .

Someone had to have seen your incoming paper work and if it was a problem stopped right there but reading is a lost skill it seems.

Worst case any family or friends in that part of the world pick them up in person get them to you??

Best of Luck!!

 

Thanks Wyoming09. I really need those belts because buying in Hawaii costs $300+ per belt. They are only available at the dealer. No junk yards or after-market dealers have them out here, and Taco parts are at a premium out here. Getting a refund only gets me back to -20$ for postage, plus my time.

 

Newer Toyotas have something related to the airbag system built into the tensioner. I'm not sure if it's an explosive. Online parts dealers will say it's a hazardous material and requires an extra shipping charge when you add it to the cart (like toyotapartsdeal.com). If you don't have a wire connected to it, then I don't think you have the hazardous kind. I know the 2007 FJ Cruiser, for example, has seat belts like this because I looked it up for a friend.

Surely the rebuild shop looked at them and someone should know the kind of belt it is. If not, ask them to clarify which years had the detonators and which did not. It sounds like they are usually dealing with newer belts and they assume all of them are like this.

And even if it were hazardous you can still pay extra to have it shipped. How else would they ever ship any seat belts back? How would they do any business?

 

Well... I just looked at toyotapartsdeal.com for 1996 belts and it says:

This part contains hazardous material. "Hazardous Material Fee" is required by shipping carriers. Only ship to lower 48 States.

So, now I'm not sure. Maybe Toyota has it wrong?

How would a Toyota dealer get a hazardous part delivered to Hawaii?

 

not sure that i can help

Ur belts may actually fall under purview ................

safety equiptment such as air bags (. seats ......dash .......door )

seat belts are not to be adjusted............swapped out

remanufactured

repaired

not sure why U sent them in to start with

what little i know ( NO Philly lawyer ) ALL tose associated parts

are certified

must be NEW & installed straight IN

not sure the shop can legally repair even if U lived not door

in the event of an accident...................................................are they certified ???????

after all U would be putting them back in............... Right ??

Insurance companies are Xing out vehicles that have bumps to major sheet metal damage altho repairable

selling them to third world across borders

because the airbag/ inertial seatbelt thingy actually COSTS MORE than the sheet metal repair

good luck

 

Road Dog - thanks, but there are multiple companies that rebuild seat belts. Such as MyAirbags.com, SafetyRestore.com, etc. It's all perfectly legal. The issue is shipping them. Ground shipping is only allowed for "hazardous materials," I need shipping by air to get my belts to Hawaii. Thanks again!

 

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Thanks Dr Z (and Wyoming09 and Road Dog) - sorry I didn't explain my issue very well.

My issue is shipping by air (oxymoron?) Seat belt rebuild vendors (myAirbags, etc.) ship hazardous materials (air bags, later model belt pretensioners with detonators, etc.) via ground shipping to continental US addresses (which is legal with permits). And I guess Toyota parts dealers put them on the slow boat for places like Hawaii.

But I really don't think my '98 seat belts have any explosives in them, so they should not be "hazardous," so it should be OK to send my belts on the dang airplane. I will continue my negotiation with MyAirbags.com (I will be civil, Wyoming09 - good suggestion) and report back. Thanks again! This is a cool forum and Tacomas are the best!

PS - If anyone else can confirm that '98 seat belt pretensioners have no explosives or hazardous materials in them, I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

 

When I saw the post, I remembered Nissan/Infiniti did not introduce the explosive retractor until 1999. The same goes for Toyota Tacoma in 1999.

Here's a picture of a 1998 model belt and retractor from McGeorge Online Parts. NO EXPLOSIVE CHARGE IN 1998.




Here's a picture of a 1999 model Tacoma retractor. Different part numbers. Notice the UNABLE TO SHIP designation.

 

Yep. The explosive tensioner did not show up until late 99. (8 does not have them. I know for a fact since that is the year of my truck belts as well.

Any chance you could get MAB's to send the the belts to someone in the area then have them ship the to you?

People ship air bags by air all the time. If there is no electrical supply present, there is no way to activate the charge.

 

Where is MAB located? I’m sure if you post on the TW local page someone would be willing to pick it up and ship it to you.

 

This first belt you posted is for the rear seat!

 

Who knew I am driving around with explosives Will this keep me out all those places that say no weapons allowed ?

 

Ask them to tell you what the "Hazard Class' is. If they say 1.4 C,D,E or S, it can be shipped via air pretty easily. Some other 1.4 class explosives can be shipped but under a different set of laws/preparation. ONLY drawback is that its USPS.... They don't have the capability of moving hazmats that some other shipping companies do.

 

Right front 98 no explosive.

 

1998 trucks do not have the explosive pretensioners. Are you sure you have a 1998?

I know this for a fact because I just changed my driver's side with a new one from Toyota. The explosive pretensioners did not come standard until 1999.