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rear seat belps ripped

ShrimpHappens

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So the rips/tears/cuts were concealed behind trim until pulling out to fasten. When the buckle is buckled, then, whereabout are the tears? If possible, where are the tears when no one is in the seat, when a child is in the seat, when an adult is in the seat, and when your child's car seat is installed?
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dcmdon

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So here is the update. The dealer finally looked at it and their conclusion is that the seatbelts were cut. Which makes no sense to me. They want me to pay the $1200 to get the whole thing fixed. If what they say is true- someone broke into my car and cut the belts-- wanting to do harm to me or my kids (who sit in the back). Not sure what to do to be honest- maybe file a police report?
I hate to say thing, but that's what it looks like to me. The idea that they would both just fail 100% at exactly the same time with no partial failure found is pretty unlikely.

I am not in any way saying that you participated in or knew about this. But for both belts to just separate at the same time catastrophically in a way that has never been seen by a group as large as this is just impossible.

Good luck with your insurance claim.
 
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Finally have an update to share:

1. The dealer looked at the belt and was certain they had been cut. He wanted $1200 to replace the belts.
2. I had my regular mechanic replace the belts. It took forever to get the replacement parts due to the strike.
3. The parts finally came in and he replaced the belts today. He charged me $700 parts/labor.
4. When he took the old belts out it was clear that they seem to be rubbing against something in the retractor. The belt is fraying in several places. Both the right and left side look the same. It is 100% clear that the belt was not cut and the damage is due to some defect in the assembly.
5. My Glad has 19K miles on it and is a little over 3 years old. So im out of the warranty period.
6. It seems that NHTSA rules say that belts should last at least 10 years... so this is a violation of some internal rule.
7. My next step is to write the mother ship and ask for reimbursement of the $700 I spent to fix this.

Note I've already submitted a safety claim on the NHTSA website.

Jeep Gladiator rear seat belps ripped IMG_0962
Jeep Gladiator rear seat belps ripped IMG_0964
 
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rharr

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Are you a large man? Maybe your unique girth has flexed the belt in a odd way?
 

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ShrimpHappens

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4. When he took the old belts out it was clear that they seem to be rubbing against something in the retractor. The belt is fraying in several places. Both the right and left side look the same. It is 100% clear that the belt was not cut and the damage is due to some defect in the assembly.
Two of the same defects at the same time on the same vehicle?
 

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YIKES! One thing this forum can do to help here - go out to your Gladiator, pull the rear belts all the way out, and look for anything similar. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few here. This kind of thing has recall written all over it IMHO.

(I’d be the first to volunteer if I weren’t three time zones away from my truck rn)
 

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YIKES! One thing this forum can do to help here - go out to your Gladiator, pull the rear belts all the way out, and look for anything similar. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few here. This kind of thing has recall written all over it IMHO.

(I’d be the first to volunteer if I weren’t three time zones away from my truck rn)
I feel like I can't be the only one this happened to. I was so upset when I found this because my kids could've been seriously hurt or killed. And yes.. hope everyone can use what happened to me and check your belts.
 

rharr

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One thing that is not being talked about is childern car seats in the back seat, he has a 6 year old and a 22 month old, both would use car seats i would assume or at least a booster seat.

Maybe he has some weird discount model that has sharp edges or hasn't correctly hooked up the seats.

I am not trying to throw the OP under the bus here, it's just a very specific issue with very specific and repeatable results (both back seats). So when you factor in the odds of these things happening and consider that those 2 seat belts systems are likely not 2 parts that were produced one right after the other, then it would seem to point to a outside influence causing the defect.

I wouldn't be surprised that he comes back in 6 months with the same issue.

Odder things have happened and maybe it's just crap seat belts.
 

JRobes

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Did you ask your mechanic who replaced them to look around behind the paneling for any interferences? Maybe the less frayed areas are where something rubbed while your car seats were strapped in.
 
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One thing that is not being talked about is childern car seats in the back seat, he has a 6 year old and a 22 month old, both would use car seats i would assume or at least a booster seat.

Maybe he has some weird discount model that has sharp edges or hasn't correctly hooked up the seats.

I am not trying to throw the OP under the bus here, it's just a very specific issue with very specific and repeatable results (both back seats). So when you factor in the odds of these things happening and consider the that those 2 seat belts systems are likely not 2 parts that were produced one right after the other, then it would seem to point to a outside influence causing the defect.

I wouldn't be surprised that he comes back in 6 months with the same issue.

Odder things have happened and maybe it's just crap seat belts.
So.. the 22 month old uses a big carseat BUT i use the metal clips. I rarely touch the belt. Only when I go off roading and remove the carseat is the belt used. On the other side- the 6 year old uses a booster seat. The belts were damaged on both sides and were replaced today. Both belts had the same type of damage.
 
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Did you ask your mechanic who replaced them to look around behind the paneling for any interferences? Maybe the less frayed areas are where something rubbed while your car seats were strapped in.
He said there was fraying all over the belt in multiple places. His best guess is that something is rubbing in the retractor. See below pic. It shows where the fraying is in relation to the overall belt.

And again- I used the clips on the car seat not the belt for the infant and the 6 month old used a small booster seat.

Jeep Gladiator rear seat belps ripped IMG_0969
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