Driver's side seat belt will not pull out from the B pillar properly

Belenus

BMW 116i Series1 F20 Feb 2015 about 26,000 miles.

Hello:

The driver's seat belt retracts after use as normal but it is difficult to pull out when preparing to drive off as it jams every few inches.

When it first happened I was able to free it by very gently and slowly pulling it in an upwards direction from the slot in the pillar towards the car roof. I had to stop pulling and let an inch or two back in before resuming pulling as it did still jam every foot or so.

We have temporarily used a clip as in the picture to prevent the seat belt retracting when we park the car and get out. I don't think this is a safety issue as we remove the clip when driving and the seat belt retracts as normal around the driver and appears to instantly lock when tugged.

Is there a safety issue here? I presume that the belt would still lock in an accident. The car has never been in an accident so the pretensioner has never been activated. If there is a risk I will take it to be resolved immediately.

Is this something I can look at myself and, if so, how do I remove the B pillar trim to get at the mechanism and then what do I do?

I have googled and have read lots of advice and suggestions ranging from cleaning the belt fabric to getting a full replacement unit.

My inclination is to get my local service garage to look at it but if it is a simple DIY job such as cleaning the belt I am happy to try that. If there is a safety issue I will leave it to the professionals.

Thanks

(I tilted the driver's seat backwards to take the photo. We don't drive with it in that position.)

Car_54

it may be a safety issue, in which case you shouldn’t be relying on random strangers on the internet. Get yourself to a proper garage!

T.T.D

The device that locks the belt in an event of a collision is faulty preventing it from being extracted smoothly from the spool, I would not trust a device that is faulty to protect my safety. 

You can have them refurbed (2 weeks turn around)

Buy one from a dealer

would not recommend a salvaged unit.  

Sandtree

When this happened to our car, under warranty, it was the pretensioner that was faulty and had to be replaced. Took a little while though as there were none in stock in the UK and Mercedes said they couldn't be flown in because they "count as explosives".

Personally wouldn't, and didn't, mess with something thats integral to safety.

neilmcl

Are you sure it's not just you, does anyone else get the same issue when they use it. Some people can simply be a bit too forceful when pulling on the belt causing it to do what it's supposed to do and lock. You should take it to a dealer for a second opinion.

Thesaltmustflow

Probably unrelated but one of my seatbelts on my new car was very slow at retracting but after spraying it with a PTFE based silicone spray it's like brand new now.  

Belenus

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. I do fully understand the safety issue, I am just hoping there is a safe fix that doesn't require hundreds of pounds for a replacement unit. I have never had this issue before on any cars I have owned or driven. I had a BMW 3 series for 16 years and 120,000 miles and the only failure on that was a water pump at about 90,000 miles.

I have always worn a seat belt as a driver or passenger when available even long before it became mandatory.

I'm old enough (69) to remember the days of cars pre seat belts, air bags, ABS, crumple zones and decent wide tyres and there are still thousands of those old classic and vintage cars around being driven by enthusiasts.

I will contact BMW and my local garage for advice.

Thanks again.