The front seat belts in my 1993 500 SEL don't retract normally with body motion when buckled, particularly the one on the passenger side. It will extend with passenger motion and not retract at all. Once I push the release button, they seem to retract as they should. The previous owner didn't use them! Does anyone know what may be causing this? Thanks.

__________________
1997 S600 Coupe
2002 Lexus SC430
2004 Lexus RX330 (wife's car)
Owned:
1993 500 SEL
1994 E320 (wife's car)
1987 300 SDL
1978 450 SEL
1980 300 TD (wife's car)
1969 280 SL

Redflash
I had the same problem with my 1993 400 SEL. It was under warranty and was repaired by the dealer by replacing both front belts and tensioners.

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Richard Seaman
1982 300D Turbo 198k
1987 420SEL Sold
1993 400SEL 123k
MBCA Desert Stars

Redflash,

I have the exact same problem with the seatbelt on my driver's side. Am constantly hitting the release button to remove the slack. It's funny how dangerous it seems to me when there is a huge amount of slack in my seatbelt. I remember the days when cars were first getting seatbelts/shoulderbelts, and most people didn't bother to use them. We didn't feel like we were doing anything unsafe back then. I sure know better now.

Mike 1995 S420

The dreaded curse of the 92-94 S class bites again! No wonder, as they were the worst cars Mercedes ever put to market. Let's hope in the future that they learned by their mistakes.

TobiasMB
4 MBs (had an S, dumped it)

same problem on my 93, and I keep hitting the seatbelt release button. After a while, you can get it just right that the clip doesn't have to come out for the belt to retract. At first I thought is was a comfort thing, some people don't like the belt tension (some sort of clausterphobia-related disorder) but it makes no sense in terms of safety.

So, any resolutions to this for cars out of warranty?

Thanks for all the responses. It is nice to know this is not a unique problem, and I guess I am lucky the driver's side seems to work better than the one on the passenger's side. I have priced out the seat belt units but I don't know if this is a DIY candidate. I would like to know a moderator's opinion or one from anyone who has done this before. Don't want to set off the cartridge device, etc.
Many old threads seem to agree with TobiasMB but I have also seen many that really like these cars. I am one of those so far. Of all the MB I have owned this is the by far the best S Class, family sedan I have driven! I managed to get a VMI from a local dealer, so I have much of the history of the car and many of the historical problems have occurred on this one. The only scary item is the EV does not seem to have been replaced, so I suspect I will have to go through that expense at some point. Wiring harness (engine), close-assist pump, power steering pump, push button control panel, rear window "lift motors,other" (three times), rear engine seal, distributor caps, etc. have all been replaced at one time or another. Harness was the latest at 96,000 miles. Other than seat belt problem, all else works, and car is very strong on the highway - LOTS of power.
One other tidbit, the Service Advisor at the dealer who sent me the VMI was told by MB USA regional rep he should NOT have given that to me. According to him, VMI's are Mercedes Benz property!!! Whatever happened to full discloser responsibilities? MB USA seems to be scared of litigation if this is truly their position on VMI's. Thought some of you might find that interesting.
Great site! Thanks again for the inputs.

Scotty Bates
Redflash

__________________
1997 S600 Coupe
2002 Lexus SC430
2004 Lexus RX330 (wife's car)
Owned:
1993 500 SEL
1994 E320 (wife's car)
1987 300 SDL
1978 450 SEL
1980 300 TD (wife's car)
1969 280 SL