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My car recently failed its Warrant of Fitness inspection due to a frayed seatbelt.

It is a pre-tensioner unit which is not available off the shelf in NZ and needs to come out of Japan.

Due to the recent earthquake/tsunami, I have been told it may take several months for the part to arrive in NZ. To make matters worse it is classed as dangerous goods and must be sea freighted.

An alternative has been suggested to have it re-webbed and I wondered if this is a safe option.

A new seatbelt has been quoted at $890.

Kerry

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 5 APril 2011

It’s not good news I’m afraid.
It is illegal to interfere with a seat belt in any way. This includes re-webbing. To make it even harder there are no approved seat belt manufacturers/repairers in NZ anymore.

The seat belt assembly fitted to your vehicle has an explosive charge built into it which is deployed when an airbag is activated. As a result, the seat belt is locked and then retracted by a predetermined amount pulling occupants back into their seats to stop excessive forward movement.

You have a couple of possible options;

* Try and find a used belt assembly. This has some risks as there are no guarantees the belt will work as intended when fitted and the SRS dash warning light may come on to indicate a fault. The assembly would need to come with a reasonable replacement/money back guarantee.
* Ask the WoF authority who rejected the seatbelt to seek a dispensation from NZTA to allow you to continue to use the vehicle for a specific time while you wait for the new belt assembly to arrive. In view of the current circumstances in Japan you may get lucky and buy yourself some time.

Legally you won’t be able to drive the car once the WoF has expired.