(Auto) Seatbelt Extender Question

Re: The seatbelt on my 95 Chevy pickup truck.

The buckle part is right against the crack in the seat, and can not be pulled up further. It's not rigid, so it turns side to side. To buckle it, I have to literally twist my whole body while pulling on it, so I can SEE the slot to put it in. In warmer weather, this is not too bad. In cold weather while I am wearing a thick winter coat, not only does the coat block my view of the buckle but also makes it hard to twist myself, not to mention I have some back problems that can make it painful to twist in that manner.

Anyhow, it sometimes takes me several minutes to get that thing clicked, and our local small town cops, just watch for seat belt violators to hand out costly tickets (they got nothing better to do). So, I am constantly getting annoyed by it. I think it was very poorly designed!

I googled "seat belt" and noticed that there are things called "Seat Belt Extenders". Lots of them on Ebay, and elsewhere. They are basically a short piece of seatbelt (most are about one foot long), with a snap on one end, and buckle on the other end.

This looks like it would solve my problem, since I could get the buckle in FRONT OF ME, (on my lap), not deep down next to me, where it's hard to see and manuver.

I'm posting this to ask if anyone else has used them? My biggest concern is whether the entire belt will be too long with this added???? I'm an average weight. I think these are made more for overweight large people.

Honestly, I really dont care much of the seatbelt fits me real well. I personally find them to be more of a pain than useful. But I dont want to get ticketed which I last heard is around a $200 fine. So my main concern is just to satisfy the law, which is presently very hard to do, if I'm only driving a few blocks while running errands.

I'd rather spent $10 or $15 for one of these than get a $200 ticket.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan
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Are you easily bored?

Reply to
Meanie

I was about to say...Jerry give it a rest, find another hobby! 8^)

Reply to
bob_villa

I'm looking for a serious answer. I need to buy something to solve this problem. Or replace the whole seatbelt!

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

Hi, I think he is lonely. If seat belt extension is needed, I'd go to a dealer get a DOT approved real thing for sure.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Maybe you can still learn to put the belt together without looking When I got a new car, or if I ride in someone else's, it takes a while to be able to find the latch, esp. the second time.

AT one level I'd prefer for you to buy one, since you say there are lots of them sitting around doing nothing, but you should know that you may be eligible for a free one from GM.

The government requires them to do this, though I don't know exactly what the law says about what years, but someone told me she got two of them free at the Buick dealer. And she showed them to me.

EVen if you're not strictly eligible, they might give you one. Nothing I read said anything about a price if one wasn't eliglbe. Maybe every car is included.

I don't like my Toyota Solara, but even when I weighed 30 pounds more, there was plenty of belt to reach the latch, but in her car, it woudln't reach. At 240 pounds I had to use the extension.

I've kept track and with my build, it's 6 pounds to an inch of waist, at least starting at 160 pounds. Both going up and going down.

Later, I was looking at an extensive webpage I thought might help me fix my car in the future. It didnt' have that much but it had recall notices etc. and there was an announcment from Toyota that they gave out free ones but you had to come in for a fitting iirc. They had t hem in 6,

8, 10, 12, and iirc 14" lengths, (or 4 - 12) and you also had to tell them what seat you woudl use it in. What if you want to sit in a different seat!!!, like if you want someone else to drive for a while.

Just that one time (and maybe on an airplane last year.) By not attaching at the place where the seat bottom meets the seat back, you lose some of the effectiveness of a 3-point harness. Even with a belt that fit perfectly whn I only weight 200, when I slid on the ie and hit a car head-on (neither of us were going that fast) my chest slid under the belt, and my knee hit and broke the plastic panel below the instrument part of the dash board. With an extension, the shoulder strap would be of even less value.

My friend put ice on it, but the next day, the muscles in my leg didn't work I wanted to get out of bed and I expected my leg to straighten automatically. When it didn't, I told it to, but it still didn't. I had to use my hands to straighten my leg, go to the batroom, and then I went back to bed to check further. I had to use my hands to bend my leg, and then I poked all over my knee and nearby and nothing hurt at all. I stayed home though, and the next day everything was back to normal, and it's never bothered me since. To me it was clear that my leg knew it had hit something hard and my leg decided to take it easy for a day, to have time to heal, even though it probably wasn't actually hurt. Fantastic to see the body at its smartest.

I don't think latches are standardized yet, esp. not in 1995. If you get one online, it probably shoudl be for a Chevy, or at least GM and '95 or close. And of course the color should match.

Reply to
micky

Further down there is a post that suggests Honda does NOT give away extenders. I had figured that if the law required wearing a seat belt, it would be reasonable to require extenders be available, so one could folllow the law, and maybe even free, but now I recall that it's only antilibertarian state laws that require seat belts, Still it seems that GM does.

A 2010 web post:

GM gives away Free Seatbelt Extenders with no cost shipping

Hey just thout anyone who might have been thinking oh im a bit big and i need a longer seat belt or extender but i dont have 40 to buy one might be intrested in knowing the GM gives these at no cost i just called up my Dealer today because i need on e for when i sit in the pasanger seat the seat belt seems to be smaller wich i dotn understand why so i wanted to get one and was going threw the order procese didnt care how much it was gona cost so i told them just to order it and ill pick it up when it comes in at the end he asked me would i like the 10 inch or the 15 inch then he said u know what ill just get you both of them i was like wait a second im not paying for 2 he said no no GM gives them away for free i said what about shipping said free shipping to dealers also so just thout ppl would like to know this.

Re: GM gives away Free Seatbelt Extenders with no cost shipping

GM has been doing this for many years.

Re: GM gives away Free Seatbelt Extenders with no cost shipping

I find it amusing that American cars have the shortest seat belts while Japanese cars have the longest. [I don't know if this is true but it seems to conform to my Toyota and my friend's Buick!!!]

Re: GM gives away Free Seatbelt Extenders with no cost shipping

I`m glad i found this info before i shelled out $$$`s to buy 2 for my front seats! My '78 Sedan Deville has the lay flat short receptacles i really can`t reach. I`ll bet the color won`t match though since GM does`nt have as many color options these days compared to back in the day when they had many color options. I got a ticket last night for not wearing my seat belt,so if i can get extensions i`ll surely wear the belt. I still don`t know how the cop could see i was`nt wearing a belt at night.It was real dark outside.

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Chevrolet Contact the parts department of your local dealership for extenders. Customer Service: 800-222-1020 Chevrolet Motor Division Attn: Executive Correspondence PO Box 7047 Troy, MI 48007-7047

9/13/01 update Cleacia writes... Elizabeth; I wanted to give you an update for Chevrolet. I own a '95 cheve Camaro and I was able to pick up a seat belt extender today with no problem. I called the number you supplied and they were more than happy (and friendly) to find a local dealer near me who carried them. You did have to go in person to get it but it is free of charge to all owners. They had a 9 in. and a 15 in. I got the 9 in and it was plenty for me. There were absolutely no questions as to why I needed it and no funny looks were given. I mentioned to customer service about your campaign and they said that Chevrolet strives to make their customers happy as well as safe.

OTOH Honda does not offer seat belt extenders Hyundai does not offer seat belt extenders.

But see

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And here is an example of why Toyota and GM wants people to come in. This moron wants an extender because he has a hard time getting to the buckle when he buckles his daughter in. So if he gets one the buckle and some of the belt will be behind the seat cushion until the crash, when it will all fly out, and her collision will be against the belt, rupturing her little belly. Instead of maybe gluing a stick to the belt that is there now so it stays in front of the junction between seat and back. I hope toyota set him straight.

Well, a dealer did set someone else straight "My dealership refused to order me an extender because their computer said they shouldn't be used with child safety seats. Now what? :( I struggle with that seatbelt every morning! "

But he learned from what he was told "I didn't say my inconvenience was a safety issue. And, yes they (Toyota) )expect you to bring your overweight family member to the dealership. BTW, based on what I read on another thread I'm not the only priuschat member who has had this experience. And I already asked them to order the shortest extender but they refused. Finally, I'm no longer interested in getting an extender if it will create a safety issue for my granddaughter. What I meant when I wrote 'safe and responsible' was that people are less likely to use seatbelts when they are difficult to operate and Toyota has a responsibility to address the functionality issue with the Prius' rear seatbelts"

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Also, if not getting from the dealer, people should check out

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which has a picture of 5 kinds of tip. And if the tip is different, the buckle is too.

No Frills, No Fanfare

We Are A New York Based Company That Has Been Providing Seat Belt Extenders For 10 Years. We Specialize in Foreign Cars Whose Manufacturers Don't Supply Extenders. Our Extenders Are Produced By The Same Companies That Make OEM Seat Belt Systems For The Major US Car Manufacuters. Don't Compromise Your Safety With Untested, Chinese Made Extenders, Sold Elsewhere. Please Click Here To Buy Seat Belt Extenders Specifically Designed For Acura Audi BMW Honda Hyundai Kia Land Rover Mercedes Porsche Saab Subaru Suzuki VW

I think this is a better list of companies that don't supply extenders, for free or for money.

Reply to
micky

I'm almost sure you can what you need from Chevy,

but finally one that I missed.

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This seems like it would work where all others didn't, and like their webpage says, seems to do it the right way, by lengthening the adjustable belt, not the fixed length belt nearer the center of the car.

You can't lengthen the end of the belt that rolls up, but you can the other end of the same belt, and that's what this is for.

Drawings at home page.

$14 plus 10 s&h, for one, in black tan or grey. If the color is bad, one could make a simple cover for it.

BTW, USA Today had an article on this, by manufacturer, and appears to have gotten some makers wrong, so for some cars there are conflicting statements.

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Not Chevy.

Reply to
micky

Maybe you should check out GMC too. OTOH, maybe since the GMC re-org, some phone numbers have change??

This is rich. For example, Mercedes:

Mercedes-Benz USA Today reports that Mercedes-Benz has no extenders Customized longer seat belts available On 10/26/2001, Steve Chisholm reports that he has been corresponding with Mercedes-Benz about their "Extended Belt Kit." While they do offer it, it costs around $1200 PER SEAT to purchase and install.

They're expensive in the first place and then they soak you for stuff like this!!

If you think only the government has bureaucracy, read the Saturn entry!

Reply to
micky

I bought a new Trailblazer when they 1st came out; a 2002 model, but I got it in late 2001 ... right around Sept 11, my wedding anniversary and daughter's birthday. I complained to the dealer that the shoulder belt was uncomfortable and cutting across our necks. He provided, for free, a set of extenders. Solved the problem. Still have the car ... probably the most reliable car I've owned! BTW, we leave the extenders connected to the stationary buckle and they work pretty good that way. Only problem is that some 'visitors' will invariably do it wrong and leave the 6" extender with 2 buckles dangling from the end of the shoulder/lap belt. I probably should have put a screw into the stationary buckle to prevent its removal.

Reply to
Art Todesco

If you're talking about the US, the requirement for vehicles to have seat belts is a federal law. Wearing them is required by all states although they differ on whether it's primary or secondary enforcement and to the priority they place on enforcement.

I think my Toyota came with extenders. There is some sort of belt in a plastic bag under the passenger seat that I never opened and figured out what it was for. It might be some sort of cargo restraint.

Reply to
rbowman

Thanks You saved me a few bucks. I went to the local Chevy/GM dealer, asked if they had free ones, and he said he did not know. He contacted the main office and was told they do indeed. He looked up the part number and found they have two different lengths. He said he'll just order both of them and I can have both. They should arrive on Friday.

He said no one ever asked for them till now, but the main office was well aware of them.

I appreciate you finding about this. I would have never known about it, and would have paid $10 or more, probably closer to $20 (or more) with shipping. Plus I'll know its made FOR my truck and not some after market thing that may not work well.

There was no mention of color, but I dont care what color it is as long as it works.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

The ones from GM may just be sitting around too, now that I think about it.

Great. Copy to my friend with the Buick who told me about this.

Reply to
micky

I got them, today. They are both the same length, one has a rigid (stiff buckle), the other is flexible. Both work well. He just told me to take both, so I can now put the other one on the passenger side. The best part, I can not snap my seatbelt in 5 seconds or less, rather than taking up to 5 minutes.

The guy at the counter told me that he has always thought the seatbelt buckles were too low on many of those mid 90's Chevy pickuups too. He said a friend of his has a similar truck, and he has driven it a few times. Said he will order his friend some of these now that he knows about it.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

So one or two more people benefit. That's great.

Reply to
micky

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