2006 Cobalt SS 2.4 Coupe

So the short version is that my dog, while in the back seat, chewed on the passenger side front seatbelt.
No need to comment on the dog...still pretty mad at the little ****er.

Anyways I removed that section and had the belt restitched at the bottom fixed mount.
However, after a passenger sat in it, the belt got pulled all the way out of the retractor, which put it into lock mode (ALR mode for child safety restraints).

So now the belt is retracted and will not pull out at all. It seems the missing section length is required to reset the ALR mode to normal.

So I just called the stealership. $400 to $450 (Can$) for a new seat belt. It seems our cars have the explosive pre-tensioners.

Of course, only the webbing was damaged so for a couple of bucks worth of webbing, I may need a full new seatbelt.

So I'm looking for advice. Does anyone know of a place that re-belts the mechanisms? Are there any alternatives. I have called a scrapper in case there is a cobalt being scrapped without damage to that side. Is this something I could install myself?

Any suggestions (other than shooting the dog) would be appreciated!

 

Don't ever ever EVER "restitch" a seatbelt. Once it is torn or stretched the integrity of the belt design is compromised. If you were to go to a track or something with a safety inspection or depending on how strict your state/province is with their vehicle inspection - it will FAIL. A freyed or torn (or chewed) belt is a major safety risk.

I don't know if there's any cheaper alternative or if it could be a do it yourself thing, but you're going to need a new seatbelt.

As for the dog, the BEST thing to do with them is buy a restraint harness (or doggie seatbelt) which restricts their movement within the vehicle. This will both protect them from injury in an accident (even a minor accident is usually fatal to an animal) and protect your car. Also, I went to Target and bought a rear seat doggie hammock. It covers the whole seating surface in the back and the back of the front seats. So the dog cannot chew (or pee or poop) on anything in the car of value or importance.

 

Aiyeee! You let a dog sit in your brand new Cobalt SS???? For shame. Definately bang bang bye bye doggy time if you were in the South!

But seriously i have heard good things about the doggy seat belts.

 

get the doggy seatbelts.i have and it limits my dogs movement, not to mention a dog/child should always be buckled in

 

go get a selt belt from a junk yard, and then install it.

A belt does not cost $400+, thats BS

 

^^ yea a junk yard.

 

If you go the junkyard route, just make sure the pretensioner on the belt hasn't already been detonated due to an impact.

 

Just to update the situation...
I had the estimate done today and the replacement seat belt is $486.00 plus labor and taxes for a total of $594.00 ($Can).
Luckily my insurance company is going to cover it under comprehensive so I just have to pay a $100 deductible.

-- YSUsteven...you may want to check your owners manual. The 2005, 06 and 07 Cobalts have seat belt pretensioners on the front belts so YES they do cost $400 plus. If you've never seen a pretensioner in action, you can see a Toyota demonstration on utube.

-- Because the pretensioner is triggered by the airbag sensors, when I checked with the scrap yards, of the 2 they had, one was wrong color, and on both the pretensioners had been triggered in crashes. Even if they had not, a seat belt is considered a one time use item. Not worth the guilt or lawsuit if someone got hurt due to a decision like that.

-- I do use a doggy hammock like alleycat described, and seat belt while the car is in motion. But I unbuckle him if he is left in the car for a few minutes while I pop into a store etc. It was during those few minutes that a truck parked next to me, that had a dog in the back. I guess mine got excited and took it out on the belt. I realize the damage potential of a 50 pound pooch coming toward me in a crash.

The part is ordered and becuase its considered dangerous goods (it has an explosive charge like an airbag) it has to be shipped ground, so will be here next week for installation.

I'm just glad I got comprehensive!

 

its good to here that the replacement of your gm seat belt would be covered by the insurance. maybe next time don't leave your dog alone, to avoid such incident to happen again..

 

You can also buy some form of bitter apple spray and spray on anything you don't want your dog to chew (i.e. seatbelts, floormats, etc). Doesn't work on all dogs though, but most of them it does.

 

Just to close off the thread, the replacement seat belt got installed yesterday.
The final bill was almost $800.oo (Can$)
$486 for the part, then an hour of shop time (watched them remove the rear seat, upper and lower side panels and REALLY struggle to release the bolts) and taxes plus some sort of Insurance fee.
Thankfully it just cost me $100 due to the comprehensive policy of my insurance.

 

You do know that some of our cars have active restrant seat belts right? That means in an accident they actualy pull tighter to keep you out of the dash. Its powered by what best described as a shotgun shell in a tube that goes off when you wreck to yank you back tighter.

You CAN get one at a junk yard just be sure which one you need first.