1996 850 - driver side seat belt not retracting.. Help !!
 

I opened the side panel and exposed the seat belt assembly to check if the belt is tangled, it's not. I was able to pull the entire lenght of the seat belt but it won't retract. Please help..

I'm having the same problem, but I guess this is a hard question since no one has replied with an answer to my post either. (posted same day as yours). I'll let you know if I get a response.

Replace it. The part that attaches to the seat is just a stud.

Did either of you try pulling the assembly out to see if the recoils is broken?

But +1 with rspi.... replace it

thanks for the reply.. I tried pulling the seatbelt upward and lubricating the mechanism, it did not work. I bought a used seatbelt from the wreckers and I know it works coz I tried it before removing it, when I removed it, the the belt retracted all the way to the buckle and I thought it was fine but when I tried to pull the seatbelt it was locked and will not release. I removed the buckle so I can unwrap the belt from the spool and tried pulling the belt upward and lubricating to see if I can unlock the mechanism but no luck, now I have 2 seatbelt assembly that does not retract.

The newer belt will lock if it is not sitting at the right angle. Did you install it?

Hi rspi.. Yes, I installed it, and the used seatbelt assembly I bought from the wreckers came from a 1993 850GLT, will the angle still apply?

Should. The belts and the mechnisms are designed to lock up when they sence they are not at the upright angle, as if the car is on it's side or upside down.

used seat belt retractor
 

hello,
I too have problems with my S80 although you are discussing 850'S I think the design is very similar. How does one get one out of a used car without damaging the unit? Power off, unbolt, carry vertical and secure for ride home to install. I have opened one up and the the tilting mechanism is very sensitive to any accelerations or tilting. When purchased new do they have a pin they remove after its installed, kinda of a "remove before flight flag" or do they just become worn out or require lubricant? thanks for any info. as one has gone bad the others will follow suit.

mission accomplished
 

Just an update: I went to a local "Upullandpay" in Cincinnati and found a working driver's side seatbelt for my 96 850. (from the same year car, but belts looked the same from 93 to 97). After removing the trim, I removed bolts A (14mm) and B (Torx 30) (see photo)
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...t-photo-57342/
and the bottom bolt (12mm) holding the tail end of the belt under the seat, took it home, installed it and it's working fine. I disconnected the negative battery terminal first, and then reconnected when done with the installation.
Pretty good deal. About an hour of my time and $10 for a working seatbelt, as opposed to $227.79 new online (wholesale, supposedly), plus shipping.

Volvo Driver seatbelt temporary fix with dental floss, and final replacement
 

Youtube video here:

Volvo Driver seatbelt temporary fix with dental floss, and final replacement - YouTube

On Saturday, the driver's seatbelt on our 1996 Volvo 850 would not extend and would only retract, i.e. get tighter. After a nerve-wracking drive home without a seatbelt, I took it apart and rigged a temporary fix with dental floss to get us through the weekend.

AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THE TEMPORARY FIX DID NOT INHIBIT SAFE AND PROPER RESTRAINT OPERATION OF THE SEATBELT, BUT I CANNOT SUBSTANTIATE, AND DO NOT GUARANTEE, ANY SUCH CLAIM. IT JUST GOT US THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

The dental floss made manual the ability to extend or release the belt under normal driving conditions, which operation is normally automatic. It was annoying because as you drove, the belt would only get tighter and would not release without a gentle pull on the floss, which was needed to look around at intersections, while backing, and such. A piece of soft foam between the belt and collar bone would have been a welcome improvement.

On Monday I got a used replacement from Ithaca Foreign Car Service (Thanks, Dave et al.!) and replaced the bad unit.

This video shows the replacement, the inertial device which seemed okay but was apparently no longer doing its job, then some details of the temporary fix with the floss.

I did forget to video the feeding of the seatbelt through the side door post plastic panel. Also, posts in some fora state that a SRS error will be generated if the battery is not disconnected during this operation. Finally, the Torx bit is a probably a Torx 30, not a Torx 20 as I state in the video.

I know this is an old thread but recently it was a new problem to me. Just wanted to add a quick addendum about my experience. I have a 1996 850 GTL and the driver's side front seat belt stuck (half in/half out) wouldn't retract...wouldn't extend. I read this post, watched a YouTube video and headed out to a Pull a Part yard...first time I'd ever had that experience. I located a Volvo, pulled out the seat belt mechanism and, with it, replaced the defective one in my car. It was pretty easy, three 14MM (?) bolts and a Torx head screw. Trickiest part was moving the plastic covers out of the way and that just took the courage to get a little physical with them. I'm not a mechanic, just some basic knowledge on car repair: battery and brake jobs, the occasional easy to reach part and I don't have a particular robust tool box. I haven't, of course, tested out the "new" belt under stressful conditions yet but it seems to work and I thought the job was just slightly harder than changing the oil and replacing the oil filter. I'd say if you know enough to own a set of metric sockets and torx wrenches give it a shot.