Auto Parts: VW Golf GTI seatbelts, vw golf gti, rear seat belts

Question
Hi.  I have a 2000 VW Golf GTI and the rear seat belts seem to "lock" once they are extended.  If the belt is allowed to go back in even slightly, the belt locks in place in the same way as if the car had braked very suddenly and does not allow you to pull it back out at all, so to loosen it you have to undo it completely and start over.  I have a child's car seat that I need to use often and it's impossible to put it in the back seat because of this.  Because it happens on both sides, I assumed it was how it was manufactured, but this can't be right.  Can you tell me if this is indeed how it's supposed to be and if I can get replacement ones that don't do this.  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Bridget,

Re-read the instructions for your child's car seat.

The belts are designed to hold when extended because child car seat manufacturers were requiring it. There IS a disable feature on the belt spool but my advice would be to not touch it.

In July '07 I read an article in the Blue-Seal magazine dealing with an issue similar to this. The difference was that the owner of the car actually disabled the feature because he claimed the car seat didn't work properly with the extension-stop on. The car-seat manufacturer designed their seat to use the extension-stop belts and had special instructions for placement that the owner neglected to follow. A few months after doing it, he was involved in an accident involving infant death. Upon investigation by a reconstructionist, it was determined the cause of death was due to a child-seat belt failure. When they examined the belt spool, they charged the driver with second degree manslaughter. That is the condensed version.

If your child-seat is NOT designed to use the extension-stop belt system, buy a new one. Technology is awesome and saves lives.

Thanks for the question, I hope this information was helpful to you.
Fred
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