Has anyone done this modification/change to their sedan? (With power seats).
I'm tired of the seat belt not being in contact with my body close to the middle of the car.

Seat Belt Mod

Did you do it yourself or did you get a dealer to do it? What was the price of the part? What was the cost of installation?

 

I have the original 2003 sedan and my drivers side seatbelt latch looks nothing like the one picured! Mine is not higher than the passengers......Lucky me?

 

Maybe because you don't have power seats?

 

I don't understand?... The picture isn't even a G sedan. Mine doesn't look anything like that either. It’s very comfortable and wouldn’t consider a "seat-belt mod". Is this a joke?

 

No, its not a joke.
I think the picture is of the Coupe?...definately not the Sedan.

I have power seats and the drivers side latch IS taller than the passenger side, however...its not uncomfortable to me. Maybe its in the way if your a larger person? This is the first ive ever heard of this mod.

To each his own. I would do as the guide tells you too though and have the dealer look at you funny and install it for you.

 

This is definitely not a joke. My sedan seat belt buckles are like the picture (taller). I'm not a big person, I think that's actually the reason that my seat belt doesn't fit well. The belt makes less contact with my body due to the raised buckle (hard to explain without a picture).

I tried to have my local dealer do this, but they wouldn't - citing safety concerns with the airbag sensors, and general fear of working on "safety equipement". So I'm hoping that someone either has done this without the aid of a dealer (DIY) or knows of a dealer that will do this for you.

 

It's only like that in the Manual Tranny version. There's a handbrake there. And yeah, mine looks exactly like that. What's uglier is when you look at it from the OTHER side you can see exposed wires that are taped to the 'stem'. It looks terrible.

Since my passenger side latch rattles I may go ahead and do this but order two instead of one.

 

Just did this mod on my 2006 6mt sedan. I did disconnect the battery before disconnecting the seatbelt wiring harness just to be safe. No need to take the seat completely out of the car, just rock it backward to get to the wiring harness and forward to get to the seatbelt buckle bolt. Do protect the interior from scratches by placing cardboard or towels on each side of the seat. The wire for the new seatbelt buckle was much shorter than the old one. I had to separate the seatbelt buckle wires from the wiring harness under the seat so that I could reroute them to reach. A couple of new zip ties keeps the wiring in place. Otherwise the wires could get snagged when moving the seat.

Remember to torque the 10mm bolts 36 ft·lbf.

 

mine is pretty comfy to me.

then again I have a size 30 waist.

 

4.25 yr bump

 

It shows good research. Better to add to an exisiting thread than to make another one. I commend post # 8.

 

The problem is that the lap belt is not tight enough because the driver's side buckle is too tall. I prefer the seat adjusted to almost its lowest position. With higher seat positions it wouldn't be much of an issue. Also some people might not be bothered that the lap belt isn't snug.

I did notice the age of the thread, but thought it was best not to start a new one.

 

At least people are searching now

 

Apologizes for the crazy bump, but glad I found this thread. I can't believe so few people seem to have an issue with the driver's side seatbelt. It's definitely not a "fat person" mod as other's have mentioned, if anything this is a skinny person issue. I noticed it about 10 minutes after I bought the car.

On a positive note, it looks like the buckles are cheap on ebay and there's a single 14mm bolt that holds the buckle in place. It looks like I'll have to unbolt the seat to get the bolt out, but as of now I don't see any reason I'd have to unplug the seat electronics or entirely remove the seat from the car. I guess I'll update once I get the new belt.

Pics of the issue for reference (I'm 5'10" 170 and probably a 20lb beer belly that helps to hide the issue a bit):

Driver seat belt sits high and away from the body:


Passenger seat belt sits low and next to the body:

 

I got my passenger buckle yesterday and swapped it in. It's a very simple process, I certainly see no need to take the car to a dealer to have it done. I bought a used passenger buckle off ebay for $29 shipped. You just remove the 4 bolts that hold the seat to the car, the single bolt that holds the buckle to the seat, unplug the clip on the buckle wiring, plug the new buckle in and bolt it all back up. I don't think the whole process took more than 15 minutes or so.

Driver's buckle on the left, Passenger on the right (pretty easy to see the issue here)


Move the seat backward, pop the covers off the front and remove 14mm bolts


Move the seat forward, pop the covers off the back and remove the 14mm bolts


With the seat now loose from the car you can move it to toward the drivers door a couple inches to get easier access to the bolt on the buckle.


Raise the seat up and you can trace the seatbelt wiring back to the connector and disconnect it. Connect the new buckle in it's place, the new wiring is a little shorter so you have to play with it to get it reach as someone mentioned before.

Bolt the new belt in place, then bolt the seat back to the car, pop the bolt covers back in place and you're done.