Rear Passenger Seatbelt FULLY Retracted Issue

The rear passenger seatbelt (driver's side bench seat) is FULLY retracted (all 8 feet) and will not retract at all. There is no more spring action and pulling/pushing on it doesn't do anything. I'm guessing something with the retraction mechanism is broken -- I'm not sure how to remove the trim to access the mechanism, the Haynes manual wasn't much help (they tried to fit the Tacoma, 4Runner AND T100 in the same manual).

Would I have to replace the whole mechanism, or is this a simple fix? How would I access the mechanism to inspect it?

It's a '98 Tacoma Prerunner Xtracab. Thanks for your help.

 

You are going to have to send it in to be repaired. I use the company called "myairbags.com". They will have your belts rebuilt in 4 days.

Unfortunately, its not a fun job removing those belts out of an x cab. sorry, not what you wanted to hear.

 

What's the level of difficulty on this one? I can do basic car repair but nothing too complicated. I was planning on going to the junkyard and just salvaging an intact mechanism. Would that website be a better idea?

 

You will need to pull back some carpet in the back to get the trim off the sides. It snaps in pretty hard, but it will come out. Once the trim is off, then access to the bolts that hold the belts to the cab are pretty easy to get to.

I think its harder than changing a battery, but not as hard as changing an alternator.

 

Here is a diagram that might help. This is for a standard cab. I'll see if I can find one for an x cab.

 

This is the one I was looking for first.

 

Hm, doesn't look too daunting. Thanks for your help!

 

The belts have little angle sensors in them. Sometimes they can get stuck and lock the belt in place. I might try hitting a couple speed bumps with some pace to get the angle sensor to trigger before I go ripping apart the interior. If that still doesn't do it, take it out and shake it around a bit and then turn it right side up and see if it retracts. I'd try that before sending them off and paying for a repair. Good luck.