My 2001 XJ8 has a very slow and incomplete retracting seatbelt (the driver's belt).

I can understand the wear and tear on this belt mechanism. Still, I wonder if this is common? Has anyone been able to fix or adjust/tighten the mechanism so the belt will retract quicker and all the way?

I have seen on some forums about other Jag models that pumping the brake pedal somehow helps this problem. What is that about?

 

Take the pillar cover off and remove the steel bracket that is there. It will speed up the retractor. Also check to make sure it's not twisted. I did this to my passenger front and fixed the problem in 10 min.

 

on my car, I took off the b pillar inner cover and discovered that the belt was twisted, causing a slow and incomplete retraction. you may have the same problem, check this before ordering a new seatbelt spool like I did, returning parts is a pain

 

Same thing on mine-belt was visibly twisted by 180 degrees & slow to retract. Took the plastic pillar trims off & re-threaded the belt the correct way-problem solved...

 

Thanks to all - hopefully it's the same thing on mine.

 

Check this one as well: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-loose-88901/

 

Follow up:

I finally got around to looking at the possible twisted belt situation. That is what it was! On both sides.

I have seen other cars get a twisted belt because there is too much room in the guides. But the guides on the Jag are way tight. It took a lot of working to twist them back right. Just barely enough room.

And for what it's worth, on the passenger side the belt was not only twisted in 2 places but was also bolted to the seat frame backwards!

There was NO way to get in there with the Torx on a 3/8 inch rachet - but I did not want to remove the seat.

I ended up using a pair of Vise Grips and then chanel locks and that worked fine.

 

I'm going to check mine. The driver's seat belt has always been a little slow, but after the tow truck driver tied the steering wheel with the seat belt, it hardly retracts at all.

 

Thanks for coming back on this Robert and for all who replied too.

I'm addding RESOLVED to the thread title so that it may assist others.