I tried a search but I am not sure if seat belt is one word or two...

My seat belt isn't retracting all the way properly. Sometimes it stays in the same position (not retracting after I unhook it), then I forget it hasn't retracted, get out of the car and it gets stuck in the door.

Is this something I can adjust, or is a a dealer trip?

 

Well, it depends on how far away the dealer is, if the MINI is under warranty, and how comfortable you are taking apart your MINI!

I had the same problem with my '04. It wouldn't retract all of the way without assistance, and sometimes even then it wouldn't. And it was making a strange sound when pulling the belt out as well as when it was retracting. I figured that it was the belt... umm... winder thingy (not sure of the proper name! ), but I figured that I'd take a look at it first myself since I was taking apart the right side interior of the MINI anyway for another project. After removing the back seats and the right paneling, I found the problem - the belt was twisted! No idea how it could have happened, but it was twisted between where the belt winder upper thingy is and the 'slot' where it enters the MINI interior. I untwisted it by finagling the belt where it enters the interior. It took a bit, but it finally 'flipped' over, and the twist was gone. After that, it was fine!

So if you're not afraid of taking apart the MINI, and it's not under warranty, I would just take a look at it yourself. If there's no twist, you probably need another belt unit. If I remember right, it was about $80.

Good luck!


-Paul!

 

Not far, yes, it is still under warranty, and while I am comfortable taking my MINI apart, I am not totally comfortable putting it back together. Thanks for your help - I'll have a dealer check it when I take it in for its 25,000 mile check-up.