Rear seat belt buckle flopping and hard to engage

My elderly father in law struggles mightily with finding and clicking the rear seat belt into the buckle. I decided to solve the "which one" problem by pre-engaging the middle seat belt into it's buckle before he gets into the truck.

Even after that he will still struggle with clicking the limp buckle in. Has anyone been able to stiffen the buckle up so it is easier to to engage ? I looked at the stuff on Amazon and it looks cheap and the reviews are not good. It seems like just adding a plastic piece or pieces to stiffen the limp strap would work.

Anyone solve this already ?

 

He's trying to tell you he wants to be up front

 

Yeah well that's not happening as I drive and my wife gets carsick in the back.

I will just make something up to hold it. Would have been nice for Toyota to do it so we don't have to fish them out every time the seat bottom is lifted and they fall in.

 

There are car seat buckle holders you can find online that fit around the buckle to hold it up and make it easier to buckle:

MyBuckleMate Black Pair

https://www.amazon.com/MyBuckleMate-Seat-Belt-Buckle-Holders/dp/B00OZ82M4K

$15 Wididi 2-Pack Car Seat Belt Buckle Holder Buckle Up - Car Seatbelt Guard - Seat Belt Holder - Durable Silicone Material - Car Accessories - Suitable for Kids

https://www.amazon.com/2-Pack-Seat-Buckle-Holder-Wididi/dp/B06X1DZTKS?th=1

Also you can get seat belt buckle extenders. I use one of these for a large disabled relative and it works well for that.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWJXJPG...&pd_rd_r=f1fbd3d6-e927-4307-9351-5433772b9397

I think the dealerships are required to supply seat belt extenders on request at no cost.

 

Yes I looked at both products on Amazon and the reviews are not good.

To me even if extended the whole thing will flop around. Needs to be supported.

 

Here is what I did and is working very well. I bought an 8" x 10" piece of clear lexan at the home improvement store. I had a plastic cutting knife so I cut two strips the width of the seat belt (about 2 inches wide) - one 8 inches long and the other six inches long.

I then made a "sandwich" with one piece of lexan on each side of the rear seat belt with the longer piece on the non engaging side of the buckle. I then used zip ties to hold it all together and put a piece of double sided tape to hold the buckle to the lexan.

After a couple uses the zip ties slid down so I removed the lexan and notched the sides in two places to hold the zip ties in place. The buckle is now standing proud of the rear seat and easy to find and buckle into.

I would like to find black lexan for the final solution as it would look better and hide the double sided tape (gray in the photo).

 

There’s pockets in the seat back designed to hold them when not in use. I can see them in the picture of your lexan stiffener. You stuff them up into those pockets when the seat bottom is lifted and it holds them in place as you close it.
I guess I don’t understand the issue he’s having. Can’t he hold the buckle with one hand while clicking the seatbelt in with the other?

 

The main problem as you age is that you become less flexible and your vision deteriorates. People become more proud and stubborn and refuse assistance. See if your wife can gently but firmly say something like I know you can do it but I'm going to help you with that. The extra time and effort is worth it from my experience.

 

I have looked all over the internet and Tacoma World to try and solve the problem with the rear seat belts. It would be really great if Toyota had solved the problem with molded stiffeners like they have in the front seat. Anyway here is my solution to the problem. I cut a piece of 1/8 inch hardboard and sanded the edges as shown in the first picture. Sanding the edges did two things: It helped "lock" one end into the seat belt receptacle and made it easier to slide the other end in between the sewn parts of the seat belt receptacle straps. Once in place the hardboard piece will not move and holds the receptacle up in between the seats. Now when inserting the seat belt into the seat belt receptacle it will move down slightly but stops when the hardboard piece contacts the bottom of the seat support. The end result is that you can now engage the rear seat belts with one hand. I may remove the pieces later and paint them a similar shade of grey just for aesthetics. Long story short - they work!!

 

Excellent idea.

 

This one worked perfectly for my boys when they were younger.

I personally wouldn't use the home made methods as they look like they can become dangerous objects into your thigh in a bad car accident.

 

I agree
This is why old people have funky toenails.
Can't reach em,can't see em, don't care.

 

Pool noodles are your friend here. Cut a piece to the length you need and fit it over the strap. You may have to cut a bit of a slot for the strap to fit. I would hesitate using anything real stiff like wood or plastic because those pieces could cause injury in the case of a crash. Pool noodles are soft and compliant.

How old is your dad?

 

Well, a year older than when he started the thread. And OP hasn’t logged in since April.

That said, the red ones linked above and below worked just fine for my kids:

$15 Wididi 2-Pack Car Seat Belt Buckle Holder Buckle Up - Car Seatbelt Guard - Seat Belt Holder - Durable Silicone Material - Car Accessories - Suitable for Kids

https://www.amazon.com/2-Pack-Seat-Buckle-Holder-Wididi/dp/B06X1DZTKS?th=1