Chrysler Repair: Chrysler seat belt retractor jammed, highway safety commission, chrysler corp

Question
Hi. I just bought a used 2000 Sebring convertible. Nice car but it has had a lot of wierd problems (was a rental). The latest started out rather insignificantly at first, so I thought. I needed to replace a missing plastic seatbelt guide on the passenger side headrest. Once done, the belt now won't retract. After a few light tugs the belt is now fully extended as the retractor seems to only go one way. How can this be repaired by a do-it-yourselfer?

Answer
Hi Alan,
Unfortunately I am not familiar with the Sebring body, and I really haven't had to repair any retractors on my LeBaron. I would suggest that you check to see if there is not a release button at the rear of the door opening which should cause the retractor to wind-in the belt when the door is closed against it. Other than that, you may have to remove the retractor and inspect it. I believe this may involve removing the trim panel, and before that there may be a bolt near the door sill that holds the end of the bolt to the body that needs to be removed (based on the LeBaron convert design which may not be the same on your Sebring).
One possible recourse would be to contact the Federal Highway Safety Commission to see if either there have been other Sebrings behaving in this manner such as to prompt a recall or whether there is an overall requirement for seat belt reliability that would cause the Chrysler Corp to be responsible for repairing/replacing the retractor at no cost to you. Let me know how this works out for you.
Roland