I believe I solved my seat belt rattle!

I have always felt that the gentle annoying knock heard by my left ear had something to do with the seat belt mechanism. While driving, this can be heard as a low frequency knock that has no periodicity to it. It could be heard along with the rise of my chest while taking a deep inspiration, when I leaned forward slightly or when I did any significant adjustment in my seat. It was either intensified when pulling the belt out completely and holding it taut or worsened (I don't know why the duality). I also came to the conclusion it was the mechanism when I went driving around yesterday without my seat belt on :scared: and didn't hear any knocking.

So, below is the picture of the B-pillar cover with the seat belt.




If you retract the seat belt superiorly, you get a better view of the inside of the pillar cover. Note the pieces of tape that the Chicago Service Center placed as a means of solving the problem.




As you can see above, there is a plastic loop inside, and through this runs the actual belt. Below in a modified picture, I have outlined in red this plastic loop and show where it most likely runs behind the tan plastic molding or "grommet." (I don't actually know this, but I am guessing that's where it runs.) I think the plastic loop inside the pillar knocks against the "grommet" as the seat belt moves this ring/loop back and forth.




I had some padded strip Velcro lying around, and I cut strip about 6 inches long and rolled it up as such:




I wedged it between the tan plastic molding/"grommet" and the black plastic seat belt loop. I placed the rolled section inside, taking care to insert it between the tan "grommet" and having the "tail" hang outside along the seat belt itself. Lastly, I rotated the Velcro strip forward so that it padded the majority of the inner ring.




I made sure the seat belt moved freely at this point, and I made a few hard stops while driving around. My solution did not appear to hinder the movement of the seat belt at all. After this, I enjoyed a blissful drive around the Village without any knocking that I could perceive. After I reached my destination, I took out the Velcro strip and drove around again. The knocking returned.

I replaced the Velcro strip, and the knocking went away again!

So, I think I have found a solution to at least my problem. I will be testing it over the week as I drive to and from work before I make my final determination. If any of you out there are willing to give this a try (or have a more elegant modification of this), I would be grateful. Hey, you never know! This might actually be the solution. If it is, I will show the service center the next time I am down there for anything else that comes up.

I did some additional driving this afternoon. The only knocking I experienced was when the Velcro slid towards the back. After moving it back into the right position, no more knocking. I really hope this work around does the trick, because that damn knocking is really souring the "silent ride" experience.

araxara said:

I've been hearing a clicking sound from this seat belt area for quite some time. Today I decided to stick my finger in there where the "plastic loop" is. The clicking stopped. So I think this is a fix that will work for me too. I was thinking of possibly just wrapping/sticking the velcro around the "grommet".

Click to expand...

I tried the finger method as well, and that convinced me the padding in there would work.

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stevezzzz said:

Ditto! Thanks a bunch, you guys... :wink::biggrin:

Click to expand...

Ha!

Now that my B pillar is silent, I'll probably notice something else...or at least convince myself that I hear something.

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I disagree. It's not the belt rubbing. I've moved my Velcro strip -- and you're right, it could be any type of pad -- so that it covers only the belt and prevents it from rubbing the plastic. Doesn't stop the knocking. Tesla taped all around the plastic so the belt wouldn't rub against the plastic. That didn't help. Only my interposition graft helped the problem.

Now maybe you and I have different sounds coming from our respective cars, and mine is not the belt rubbing. If that were the case, Tesla's solution and my other attempts would have worked in the past. I've tried numerous different things and had Tesla look at it twice. This is the only thing that helps my situation, and probably it will help some others. It ain't the belt rubbing...