Principles of Operation

The safety belt system fitted to these vehicles utilizes the conventional lap and diagonal three point fixing in all seat positions.

The front seat safety belt buckles are attached to the seat frame of each front seat. The rear seat safety belt buckles are mounted directly to the floor pan underneath the rear seat cushion. The safety belt buckle attached to the driver seat is fitted with a switch (depending on market options), which is connected through the wiring harness to a warning indicator in the instrument cluster and a buzzer (depending on market options) contained within the central timer module. When the ignition is first turned on, the warning indicator will only illuminate and the buzzer sound if the safety belt is not fastened. If the safety belt is fastened before the ignition is turned on the circuit is broken and the light will remain off.

The front seat safety belt retractors mounted within the base of the B-pillar, incorporate a torsion bar load limiting device. The device consists of a retractor reel which is mounted onto a spindle (torsion bar) which, once the sensor has locked the retractor reel and a predetermined load is applied, twists and pays out additional webbing into the system. The deceleration force required to initiate this sequence is approximately the same as that required to initiate air bag deployment. The torsion bar load limiting device will only react if the safety belt is in use at the time of impact.

It should be considered that during any event which utilizes the full capability of any safety belt restraint, the safety belt webbing may have elongated and discoloration around the 'D-loop" may also be evident. For this reason if a vehicle is involved in an accident which results in the deployment of the air bag(s), all the safety belts that were in use at the time of the accident must not be reused, new safety belts must be installed.