1998 Toyota Camry Seat Belts Problems

Starting in 2015, three of your five seat belts stopped latching properly or wouldn't stay latched while driving. The problem is in the anchor mechanism where a metal spring is mounted on a red plastic part — the plastic has cracked at the spring's mounting point, causing the spring to lose its gripping force over time. Your seat belts may feel secure when you first buckle them but then come loose after several minutes of driving. Fixing this requires replacing the seat belt anchor assemblies with new OEM parts.

Your back seat center seat belt won't retract back into its housing after being pulled out. This means the belt stays extended and doesn't automatically wind back up like it should. You may need to manually push or pull it back, or it might hang loose in the seat area. The seat belt retractor mechanism likely needs to be inspected or replaced.

REAR, RIGHT SEAT BELT WAS FULLY EXTENDED AND WILL NOT RETRACT; EVEN AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO RETRACT IT. *TR

REAR PASSENGER BELT STUCK AND WILL NOT MOVE. *TR

THE REAR MIDDLE SEAT BELT SUDDENLY WILL NOT RETRACT. THE REAR SIDE SEATBELTS SEEM TO GET STUCK EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE. MY BROTHER PURCHASED THIS CAR FROM OUR MOM (WHO HAS BEEN THE ONLY OWNER) LAST YEAR, AND WERE WONDERING IF SHE MISSED A RECALL. *TR

WE PURCHASED OUR 1998 TOYOTA CAMRY FROM MY HUSBAND'S 70 YEAR OLD PARENTS LAST YEAR. THERE ARE 82,000 MILES AS OF 1/08. THERE ARE TWO BROKEN SEATBELTS IN THE BACK SEAT(PASSENGER SIDE AND MIDDLE), AND BOTH FRONT SEATBELTS EITHER DO NOT RETRACT OR HAVE TO BE MANUALLY FED BACK INTO THE RETRACTOR. IS THERE ANY KIND OF RECALL REGARDING THIS ISSUE? *TR

SEAT BELT ON MY 98 TOYOTA CAMRY MALFUNCTIONED WILL NOT RETRACT. MY 5 YEAR OLD WAS PULLING ON THE SEAT BELT AND PULLED IT OUT ALL THE WAY. DEALER SAID HE WOULD FIX FOR $200.00 I ASKED HIM WHY THEY DON'T FIX IT FOR FREE SINCE IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT'S WHAT THEY CHARGE. *JB

ABOUT A YEAR AGO THE DRIVER-SIDE REAR SHOULDER BELT FAILED TO RETRACT. I CHOSE NOT TO GET IT REPLACED, BECAUSE MY CHILD RIDES ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. NOW THE PASSENGER-SIDE REAR SHOULDER BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. MY CHILD IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO SIT IN A BOOSTER SEAT IN THE BACK, AND IT IS VERY AWKWARD TO USE THE CENTER SEAT WITH THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF HIS BOOSTER. I WILL BE SPENDING NEARLY $600 TO GET THE SHOULDER BELTS REPLACED. *NM

DT: THE SEAT BELTS IN THE BACK ON THE LEFT LOCKED ABOUT A YEAR AND HALF AGO, COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT. ABOUT 6 WEEKS LATER THE RIGHT ONE WOULD NOT RETRACT. TOOK VEHICLE TO TOYOTA, AND WAS TOLD IT NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. HOWEVER , DID HAVE THEM REPLACED, BUT THEY WERE HARDLY EVER USED. *AK

REAR SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. I NOTICED SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS FROM CONSUMERS. I BELIEVE IT IS TIME THE MANUFACTURER TOOK NOTE OF THIS PROBLEM.

THE CHILD WAS FASTENED IN THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT. THE CHILD LEANED OVER TO LAY IN THE SEAT AND SLIPPED HER HEAD AND SHOULDER IN THE CENTER RETRACTABLE SEAT BELT. WHEN THE CHILD MOVED SUDDENLY TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW THE SEAT BELT TIGHTENED AROUND HER NECK, STRANGLING HER. THE MORE THE CHILD MOVED TO FREE HERSELF THE TIGHTER THE BELT BECAME. THE CONSUMER HAD TO USE SCISSORS TO CUT THE BELT OFF THE CHILD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A BODY SHOP WHO REPLACED THE BELT AND RETRACTOR. THE CONSUMER REQUEST REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS REPAIR. *AK UPDATED 11/29/2005. *NM

CONSUMER NOTICED REAR LEFT PASSENGER SEAT BELTS DID NOT RETRACT. AFTER RELEASING BUCKETS LOCK MECHANISM BROKE. DEALER INDICATED SORRY YOU DON'T HAVE NO LONGER WARRANTY, WOULD COST YOU $300.00 AT CONSUMER'S EXPENSE. *AK

2 OF MY 3 REAR SEAT BELTS WOULDN'T RETRACT. THEY BROKE WITHIN 2 WEEKS OF EACH OTHER. HAD TO HAVE THE WHOLE SYSTEM REPLACED. *J B

IN DECEMBER STARTING ON THE 5TH MY REAR SIDE SEAT BELT DID NOT RETRACT. A FEW WEEKS LATER A SECOND SIDE SEAT BELT DID NOT RETRACT. *CB

CENTER REAR SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT. *AK THE FAILURE WAS UNEXPECTED AND SEEMED TO BE A DEFECT. THE CONSUMER WAS NOT ABLE TO USE THE CENTER BELT IN THE REAR SEAT. THE DEALER REFUSED TO COVER THE REPAIR COST. *SC

REAR SEAT BELTS FAILED TO RETRACT. THE DEALER SAID IT'S NOT COVERED BECAUSE OF MILEAGE OVER 60,000. SEAT BELTS TOO LARGE NOW TO PROVIDE PROTECTION TO KIDS. *LA

BACK SEAT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. OCCURRED JUST AFTER 60,000 MILES AND DEALER SAID NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. NOW 109,672. *JB

THE AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELTS BECAME INOPERATIVE. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *NLM

SEAT BELT ON DRIVER'S SIDE DOES NOT RETRACT PROPERLY WHEN VEHICLE IS EXITED. IT GETS CAUGHT IN DOOR AND IS DAMAGED AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME BY THE DOOR BEING SLAMMED AGAINST IT.

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE TRAVELING THE CONSUMER HAD NO WAY OF BELTING IN THE CHILDERN DUE TO THE LATCHES IN THE REAR SEAT NOT WORKING. CONTACTED DEALER AND THE DEALER IS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING. NLM

CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 60MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND SEATBELT RETRACTOR FAILED. SEAT BELT CAME APART AND WON'T GO BACK IN PLACE. *AK

DRIVER'S SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT OR EXTEND FROM THE RETRACTING MECHANISM. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

REAR SEAT BELTS ARE TOO SHORT TO FIT AROUND SELF OR ANYONE ELSE THE SAME SIZE. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

WHILE DRIVING DRIVERS SIDE AND PASSENGERS SIDE SEATBELTS BECAME LOCKED INTERMITTENTLY. THIS ALSO HAPPENED UPON ENTERING THE CAR.DEALER WAS CONTACTED. *AK

BACK SEAT BELTS.

WHEN PARKED OR DRIVING ON AN UPWARD SLOPE, OR IF FRONT OF VEHICLE IS HIGHER THAN REAR, SEAT BELTS CANNOT BE PULLED. VEHICLE MUST BE ON LEVEL GROUND. DEALER CONTACTED AND AWARE OF PROBLEM. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

CONSUMER STATE THAT WHEN VEHICLE IS ON THE INCLINE POSSITION CONSUME IS UNABLE TO PULL THE SEAT BELT OUT BECAUSE IT'S LOCK UP AND THIS ONLY ON THAT POSSITION.

DRIVER SEAT BELT FAILED. *YC

SEAT BELT OUT OF ORDER. YH

IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY CAUSED BOLT TO COME LOOSE FROM DRIVER'S SEATBELT ASSEMBLY WHILE MAKING AN ABRUPT STOP.

DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT RESTRAINTS. WHEN VEHICLE IS PARKED ON A INCLINE THEY LOCK UP. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK