Decaying Seat Belts

[Grizzly]

I know there has been some disussion about the safety of older tires because of the natural decay of the rubber. Does anyone know it there is a similar problem with seat belts? I pulled on the belt in my '92 and I heard a stitch pop.

 

[JohnZ]

The Federal MVSS test for seat belts is a 5,000# pull, so if you heard a stitch pop just pulling on it, that's a pretty good sign they should be re-webbed.

 

[L48]

I think you might want to try to find out what material is in the seat belt. Depending on what it is you can get an idea how long before it starts breaking down.

I would say that the conditions the belt was put under (exposure to moisture, sunlight, other chemicals) would also factor into it.