97 Seat Belt

[archieboy84]

Okay, i have a problem. My seat belt buckle broke. It got stuck, so i could never get the seat belt to latch. I need to know how to replace it. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, where can i get it. Can a buckle from a camry or the same year be use?

[gbhrps]

I would be willing to bet that the same year Camry seat belt assembly will fit. Many of the same parts exist on both cars.

NOTE: YOUR CAR MAY HAVE A SEAT BELT PRETENSIONING SYSTEM THAT CONTAINS THE SAME KINDS OF EXPLOSIVE PROPERTIES AS AN AIR BAG. BE CAREFUL!!! (Your owner's manual will tell you if your car came so equipped.)To disarm the system so you don't have the possibility of losing a finger or an eye in the case of an accidental firing, DISCONNECT THE BATTERY AND WAIT 30 MINUTES BEFORE REMOVING THE BOTTOM BELT ASSEMBLY IN THE B PILLAR. (You may want to copy down your radio presets before disconnecting the battery.) The battery has to be disconnected to prevent a firing situation, but air bags and seat belt pretensioners have a built in capacitor that stores electrical current for up to 20 minutes or so after the battery disconnect, which means that until the current drains off these capacitors they could still be triggered.

As far as replacing the belt, (you don't tell us which side broke, at the door or at the centre console), you may have to remove the seat to get at the anchor point at the console. If the seat will slide far enough forward to get at it, maybe not. Its four bolts to get the seat out, if its in the way.

You will need a Torx 55 socket bit to remove the belts from the anchor points. This is pretty much standard across the industry. With the seat out of the way the anchor point at the console is pretty straight forward, just be sure to disconnect the wiring harness for the seat belt reminder (under the carpet at the seat, or under the centre console.)

The belt section at the B pillar has a torx fitting at the top loop and at the bottom of the door B pillar. To get to them, simply grasp the top of the B pillar finisher at the headliner and pull it straight towards the centre of the car firmly. Its spring clips will pop out of the steel door opening structure. Do the same to the lower finisher where the belt comes out towards the top loop, and down along its length at the carpet.

With the finishers loose you'll figure out how the belt fits in to the two pieces. The top torx bolt at the ceiling is not a problem, but the bottom one takes care. Disconnect its wiring connector and its two torx bolts, and make the swap. Assembly is just the reverse.

This is a simple job to do, with the exception of the danger of the pretensioner. If you disconnect the battery and wait 30 minutes for the current to drain from the capacitor, before attempting to change the belt, it is a job that any DIYer can accomplish. Good Luck!