Seat belt buckle is jammed

[Craig Wright]

How do I dis-assemble E34 front seat belt buckle where the belt clips into the buckle housing?

My passenger side is suddenly jammed, and will not release the metal clasp. The red plastic button will not move up or down, and is flush with the plastic buckle housing, which is not far enough down to release the metal clasp.

This happened the other day while my daughter was in the car. I had to pull the belt out of the B piller in order to have enough slack so she could get out under the belt. Anybody know if the buckle housing is in two pieces? It appears that there is a top and bottom to the housing. I could not find anything on realoem.com

Suggestions, please?

[myles]

The buckle clasp can be opened by prying it open. There is a front and a back section to it. It will need to be glued back together. I have seen other people have the same problem once or twice before. You will find something has broken in there, probably the anti-rattle clip, or something else has jammed the mechanism.

[2fast]

Wd40 ;)

[shogun]

Wd40 ;)

That helps especially when your passenger is wearing her finest expensive dress ;)

[artguy]

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showpost.php?p=272695&postcount=1

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showpost.php?p=280569&postcount=1

Not the exact same issue but it might give you a look-see as to what you are dealing with.

[Dash01]

Mine jammed several years ago, and it was not the metal buckle itself, which is bullet proof. Rather, it was a bit or two of black plastic from the cosmetic cover of the buckle, that had broken off and fallen into the buckle and jammed it.

Chances are pretty good that's what you have.

I wound up removing the black plastic cover, fishing the bits out, then gluing the black plastic cover back on.

[Claude]

How do I dis-assemble E34 front seat belt buckle where the belt clips into the buckle housing?

My passenger side is suddenly jammed, and will not release the metal clasp. The red plastic button will not move up or down, and is flush with the plastic buckle housing, which is not far enough down to release the metal clasp.

This happened the other day while my daughter was in the car. I had to pull the belt out of the B piller in order to have enough slack so she could get out under the belt. Anybody know if the buckle housing is in two pieces? It appears that there is a top and bottom to the housing. I could not find anything on realoem.com

Suggestions, please?

Had the same problem with the passenger one 3 years ago (a spring got out of the buckle), i went to the dealer and they changed both (the driver and passenger one) for FREE :), they told me BMW made a recall on those parts.

[Craig Wright]

Thanks Claude, I'll visit the dealer this week! If that recall solution does not pan out, then I'll use the great photos from artguy as a guide.

shogun: You are very correct, I doubt that my daughter will be wearing formal attire in the E34 very soon!

By the way, for those who continue to bash the dealers, I have the following to pass on.

I stopped by to purchase wiper inserts for my E39 a few weeks ago, with the CCA discount, the price can't be beat, they installed them for free. I realize that all dealers are not the same, but Davis in Cleveland, Ohio has always provided the quality customer care and service to earn my trust. On one occasion my E34 broke down on a Saturday afternoon. I had it towed to Davis, by then the service department was closed, and I was stranded. The sales manager gave me a loaner, and said that they would take care of any paperwork on Monday. He made the initial offer, I did not have to ask. On another occasion, my E34 was promised to be ready on a Friday. It was not done because necessary parts were not delivered in time. The loaner I had was a 3 series. I explained that I was going out of town for the weekend to take my son to a football camp at the University of Michigan. The service manager told me to keep the 3, or if I'd like, to return the 3 and swap it for an E39 touring. Now I have most service that is above my ability, done by Koala Motorsports, but still return to the dealer parts department for some items. I'll be back there this Friday to test drive the M3 from the Susan Koman drive.