Improperly Installed Seat Belt?

boisecrawfords · Thursday at 6:52 PM

Both my seat belts seem as if they were installed 180 degrees out (the strap, not the buckle). When buckling I have to twist it. I was going to pull the lower seat cover off and rotate them 180 degrees, but wondering if this was some weird intentional thing by Lotus. Are others mounted the same way?

Eagle7 · Thursday at 7:47 PM

boisecrawfords said:
Both my seat belts seem as if they were installed 180 degrees out (the strap, not the buckle). When buckling I have to twist it. I was going to pull the lower seat cover off and rotate them 180 degrees, but wondering if this was some weird intentional thing by Lotus. Are others mounted the same way?

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Yeah that was noticed years ago. Apparently, if installed with a normal orientation, there was an issue with the edge of the seat belt cutting into your neck, so they applied the twist. It looks odd, but in practice you don't notice it as the belt lays across your shoulder comfortably.

crestima · Saturday at 9:48 PM

boisecrawfords said:
Both my seat belts seem as if they were installed 180 degrees out (the strap, not the buckle). When buckling I have to twist it. I was going to pull the lower seat cover off and rotate them 180 degrees, but wondering if this was some weird intentional thing by Lotus. Are others mounted the same way?

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This was a subject of the Forum's debate in the past i.e. if the belt are correctly or wrongly installed. I happen to think that the orientation coming from factory (twisted) is both visually odd and not functional to use. I then compared them to my other cars and it was enough to convince me to I change them to straight (no twsit) with the buckle facing inward. I've been happier even since. This only required the removal of one bolt per seat and sort of trick to reverse the buckle direction from outward to inward. If you'd like to follow suit, just send me a PM and i'll be happy to help with this +- 30 minute mod. The good news is that it's just as easy to go back to the OEM twisted version.which I, for one, never intend to do.