Would you chaps mind looking at these photographs of my seatbelt, please! The metal buckle of a baby carseat dug into the webbing. Would this be a WOF fail! Not that it is likely of any relevance but the car is a 1999 Mitsi Legnum VR-4.
Sometimes you can use a cigarette lighter carefully to get rid of the frayed ends
a.woodrow,
Jan 4, 6:27pm
clean the seatbelt and flick a lighter over the rough area to tidy it up. I would say pass, but it's up to the inspector on the day.
johnf_456,
Jan 4, 6:29pm
I would say a pass but can't see much of it on a phone screen lol. But give the belt a clean so the colour blends better with the rest of the belt, don't say anything and if its picked up at a wof then worry about it.
johnf_456,
Jan 4, 6:29pm
I would say a pass but can't see much of it on a phone screen lol. But give the belt a clean so the colour blends better with the rest of the belt, don't say anything and if its picked up at a wof then worry about it.
It doesn't look bad from what I can see
mrfxit,
Jan 4, 6:38pm
1st pic. maybe 2nd pic . nope
Partly depends on the finger push test.
Of course being realistic . depends on the owners usage/ attitude/ driving style/ age of vehicle
mugenb20b,
Jan 4, 7:22pm
I would pass that.
rpvr,
Jan 4, 8:00pm
A hot soldering iron is more controllable and cleans this kind of thing up beautifully.
jmma,
Jan 4, 8:12pm
If in doubt, chuck it out. Do you think its safe OP, If yes, do whats suggested here. If no, replace it (o:
robotnik,
Jan 4, 8:26pm
I am positive there is no danger of it breaking, but that doesn't mean it would pass a WOF, as warrant of fitness standards are quite strict on belts I believe.
Will try a soldering iron as suggested. Thanks all.
tmenz,
Jan 5, 7:13am
Would you trust it with your life!
dent,
Jan 5, 7:18am
if an inpector can tell its been repaired i.e with a lighter or soldering iron I think your just as likely to fail. No repairs are aloud on seat belt webbing. .
a.woodrow,
Jan 5, 7:46am
Absolutely. Have used old frayed seatbelts as towropes and the likes for many years, if you can yank a broken down 4wd along with a frayed one, and I mean yank because boy friday was the one being towed and he didn't know what he was doing, and it still not break, I'm sure it will be ok in a vehicle. People just scaremonger with stuff like seatbelts
lk104,
Jan 5, 8:05am
Oh my god, do you really think yanking on it will generate the same force as in an accident! Its a safety issue, would you really put your family at risk because you didnt want to fork out a few hundred dollars.
a.woodrow,
Jan 5, 8:17am
This is what I mean about scaremongering. yep I think yanking a 2 ton truck with a seatbelt is a good indication of its strength in an accident. Therefore the family isn't actually at risk, stop being a nana
lk104,
Jan 5, 8:18am
Stop being a tight arse.
lyonruge,
Jan 5, 8:21am
Just leave it alone, you may make it worse/more noticable. Based just on your pictures, id pass it, but if i saw someone had tried to hide something, id have a really goooood look.
a.woodrow,
Jan 5, 8:24am
Money has nothing to do with it. if something is still effective and safe it doesn't need replaced. Are you an AVI offering a qualified opinion that it's unserviceable!
lk104,
Jan 5, 8:36am
I dont need to be a qualified AVI. If I got knocked back for a Saet Belt or any other safety item, I would rather replace it for total peace of mind so I know my vehicle is safe. They fail it for it for the hell of it, they fail it because it is deemed to be unsafe. I have seen Tyres that are stuffed and failed by one inspector and yet passed by another. It comes down to interpretation, but I would rather be on the side of caution than put lives at risk.
meathead_timaru,
Jan 5, 8:43am
Absolutely. Total scaremongering. People just have no idea how strong these belts actually are even when damaged. They're still more than enough to hold a person in a car in any survivable impact. In fact, the only reason they're the width they are is so that they uniformly distribute the load across the body rather than pinpointing it. If it wasn't for that they could actually be very narrow.
meathead_timaru,
Jan 5, 8:44am
It's only peace of mind over a neurotic misconception.
mugenb20b,
Jan 5, 9:16am
Again, I would pass the seatbelt in question. If there was a clean cut at the outer edge of the seatbelt, then I'd fail it, or if it's discoloured and gone hard (can be either or, but not both).
unbeatabull,
Jan 5, 9:32am
I've been involved in tests with seatbelts and shown the different breaking points due to fraying and wear. Its quite frightening how much difference there is in applied force before the worn & frayed one breaks compared to when a new one breaks. And they were both taken out of a vehicle by myself so I know they weren't tampered with to affect the outcome.
I would fail that belt, as the VIRM says, ANY visible damage to the webbing is a fail.
merrigj,
Jan 5, 10:30am
Put the carseat back in while you get your warrant this will hide the defect.
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