I received my seat belt extenders from Minspeed this weekend and put them on. Much sturdier than I expected. And they work great. No more fishing around behind the seat trying to find the seatbelt, or having to wrestle the clip between the door and the seat. Well worth it.

 

Neat-o. Put this on the list to order!

 

But does the belt fit any better? Have they moved the angle at all---further away from the neck?

 

These seal belts you speak of, are they made from the pelts of baby seals?

 

Seal belts? I didn't even know they wore pants!

 

Yes, they are particularly fond of Levi 501s.

 

Let the seat belt retract fully , then move the plastic slider under the buckle up as far as it will go .I wish I new this before I ruined my trim .

 

+1

 

From reading all the posts about the seat belt isues, I was prepared to order a fix. After the first day of driving Skeeter, figured out the plastic slider........no need to order a fix.

 

A little late, perhaps, but, no, they only help you reach the belt. And they are a waste. However, JC Whitney and others sell a clip-on device for around $4 that allows you to move the belt off your neck. I don't remember what they call it, but a search for "seat belt adjuster" will probably find it. I use that now. It's simple, cheap and effective.

 

Thread title edited: Seal -> Seat.

 

In the initial post, you said that the seat belt extender was "Well worth it." and that "they work great". Now you're saying that "they are a waste."

I may be misreading the post, but it seems like you're talking about the same thing in the two posts and your opinion changed over time. Nothing unusual about that. But if it changed, can you elaborate on why?

My reason for the question is that when I saw this thread this morning (before you replied with the 'waste' comment), I saw your review in the first post & considered looking into these. Stupid short arms.

 

I may be talking about 2 different things. One is the "extender" which clips on the head rest spikes and holds the belt forward so it is easier to put on. When I first got it, I thought it was great. However, it is flimsy and breaks away at it's "elbow" virtually every time the seatback is moved forward. Finally, the one on the passenger side just broke. If you don't use your back seats, it's fine. If you do, forget it.

The seat belt "adjusters" are devices that are designed to keep the seat belt from resting on your neck. I have tried several. The best, in my opinion, was also the cheapest and easiest to use. That is the one I got from Whitney. It clips onto the seat belt portion of the belt and has an open-ended clip that the shoulder harness part slips into. Takes a second to slip it on and can be infinitely adjusted along the belt. Also, it does not interfere with the retraction of the seat belt, as some others do.

Hope this helps and clears up the confusion.

 

It does. Thanks for the updated review. That's the kind of thing that is REALLY helpful for people considering a purchase.

 

I agree with LynnEl. I bought the seatbelt holders that attach to the headrests, thinking they would keep the belt from getting jammed up between the seat and the door, etc. All you really need to do is slide the slider on the belt back up as you exit, so as to leave the male belt clip end right at the top. As to the accessory holders, while I can deal with the one on the driver's side because I understand how to handle it oh so gingerly, my passengers, every one, pull the belt and thus pull the holder apart at it's hinge point. This leaves me to explain the situation, remove the errant holder part that is now dangling from the belt, grumble to myself, etc. This takes up precious seconds when the MCS should be rumbling to life and moving out rapidly. You've been warned. Don't waste your money. The accessory seatbelt holder is much too flimsy an item.

 

Yeah, and my step-daughter got her hair caught in it once. Her brother made fun of her. She retaliated.....Went on and on, blew almost $100 on a dinner none of us enjoyed, just 'cause the thing was a piece of crap.

Now, when I get out of the car, I just pull the belt up so it's resting over the outer bolster on the seat back. Grab it as I get in.

 

Lynn-

can you post pic's...

 

You mean of his step-daughter getting her hair caught? There are photos?

 

What happens with one of these "adjusters" in an accident? From the photo on this page it looks like it would either dig into the body and/or release slack in the belt. I don't know, but seems like it might be a really bad idea.

 

I have one and I'm not terribly troubled by it. The tension is going to be taken up by the normal seat belt locking mechanism. If it did cause injury, I would surmise it would be superficial, especially if you consider what it does--reposition the belt so that it properly supports your body in an impact. The seat belt is supposed to fall somewhere in the vicinity of the collarbone and across the chest--if it's hitting your neck, it's already improperly positioned and that seems like a greater concern to me.

 

The locking mechanism does not retract the belt. It only locks it so more belt cannot be withdrawn. If you have too much slack already pulled out, it wont help you.

From the photo of the boy wearing a belt with the adjuster one can see that extra belt is used to reposition the shoulder strap. If the adjuster breaks in an accident, releasing the extra belt length, the boy would be in a belt that is too loose. That can be dangerous. His body might slip out of the shoulder strap until his chin causes the belt to be caught at his neck.

My 1990 Integra has that government folly, the mandatory automatic shoulder strap that was required just before airbags became mandatory. Problem with the strap was that people would neglect to fasten the not-automatic lap belt. It seems that this could result in decapitation during an accident.

 

Well, there are issues with the boy using a shoulder seat belt in the first place, but that's neither here nor there. Two things:

1) It doesn't seem to me that there will be any force applied at the point of the seat adjuster in the event of an impact... your upper body moving forward will apply a torque about the point of the adjuster which is countered by the locking mechanism of the belt. This is what I was trying to explain (I suppose poorly) in my previous post. The lap belt is still there and functions as it would normally.

2) The slack is present in the shoulder belt portion, not the lap portion. Should the adjuster break, its likely failure point is the shoulder belt retention mechanism (as opposed to the bracket that locks around the lap belt portion). Again, the lap belt is unaffected and is still there to ensure you do not slide forward. Up top, the effect would be that your torso is not as securely held to the seat as it could be; but it still seems like it will still restrain you from having an unscheduled meeting with the dashboard.

In the end, I'm only speculating, of course, but I'm confident in my analysis of the dynamics at work. Maybe this is something for the Mythbusters to explore?

 

Any photos of how this extender looks like once on?

I find it a huge pain when I'm taking my seatbelt OFF and it having to squeeze back into the small gap!

 

And that web site is suggesting such a use.

Of course there will be force applied to the adjuster. As the upper body pushes against the belt, that pressure will go directly to the adjuster, rather than to the belt connector (thingy that you connect when you put the belt on). The belt will try to straighten out, probably snapping the adjuster apart.

The lap and shoulder are all one belt. Slack in the shoulder can run through the belt connector and become slack in the lap. Go look at your seatbelts.

I believe your confidence is in error.