we have a 2016 Odyssey and last night our 14 year old son got entrapped in the second row seat belt. the belt got stuck around his waist (fortunately no his neck) the problem was no way to release the locking mechanism and the more we tried to loosen it from around his waist it only continued to tighten he became extremely panicked to he point that after 30 min I had to cut he belt, I did see on line this has happened to others. just thought I would ask here. an info would b appreciated.
seat belt entrapment
wpelc2003
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we have a 2016 Odyssey and last night our 14 year old son got entrapped in the second row seat belt. the belt got stuck around his waist (fortunately no his neck) the problem was no way to release the locking mechanism and the more we tried to loosen it from around his waist it only continued to tighten he became extremely panicked to he point that after 30 min I had to cut he belt, I did see on line this has happened to others. just thought I would ask here. an info would b appreciated.
I hadn't heard of this happening, but given the severity of your experience, I would probably file a NHTSA complaint were I in your shoes:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
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Most rear seat belts when pulled all the way out will lock on the way back in. As you let it back in you will hear it ratcheting. This is a safety feature specifically used for child safety seats. After you strap the safety seat in you are supposed to pull the seat belt all the way out and then let it retract. Once retracted it won't pull out again until you unlatch it and let it retract nearly all the way in. This keeps the child safety seat snug in the seat so it won't loosen up. So, if you are messing around with it and pull it all the way out you will go into this locked mode.
Are you saying the seatbelt release on the buckle was not releasing the clasp when you pushed it?
A mentioned above the seat belt will function in this method if it's pulled all the way out. If this happened to him then he probably pulled it all the way out or leaned very far forward causing the ratcheting mechanism o engage.
If the release button on the clasp was stuck then save the device and contact your local safety authority. They will want to examine the clasp to determine if a recall is required. I'm not sure if it's true for everywhere but I believe the seatbelt has a lifetime warranty. That is true for my Nissan anyway so I'm assuming it's true for Honda too. Talk to your Honda dealer about having it replaced but mark the device and make sure you get the correct one back if they need to see it. It should be you that gives it to the safety authority so it didn't get "lost" by mistake. They may direct you otherwise but before you pass it off to anyone make sure you talk to them first.
In Canada we would contact the Consumer Protection Agency.
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A mentioned above the seat belt will function in this method if it's pulled all the way out. If this happened to him then he probably pulled it all the way out or leaned very far forward causing the ratcheting mechanism o engage.
If the release button on the clasp was stuck then save the device and contact your local safety authority. They will want to examine the clasp to determine if a recall is required. I'm not sure if it's true for everywhere but I believe the seatbelt has a lifetime warranty. That is true for my Nissan anyway so I'm assuming it's true for Honda too. Talk to your Honda dealer about having it replaced but mark the device and make sure you get the correct one back if they need to see it. It should be you that gives it to the safety authority so it didn't get "lost" by mistake. They may direct you otherwise but before you pass it off to anyone make sure you talk to them first.
In Canada we would contact the Consumer Protection Agency.
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I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand this well enough. I'm not following why you felt you had to cut the belt. Why didn't the boy just unlatch the buckle and let himself out?
I know that the shoulder belt will lock and tighten if it's pulled hard; as mentioned before, that is a safety feature to keep your body positioned firmly against the seat in a hard-braking or crash situation. But the lap section of the belt doesn't automatically tighten like that. He should have been able to press the red button to release the latch, get himself out of harm's way and let the retracting shoulder belt return to its resting position. No muss, no fuss.
Or am I not envisioning this properly?
I know that the shoulder belt will lock and tighten if it's pulled hard; as mentioned before, that is a safety feature to keep your body positioned firmly against the seat in a hard-braking or crash situation. But the lap section of the belt doesn't automatically tighten like that. He should have been able to press the red button to release the latch, get himself out of harm's way and let the retracting shoulder belt return to its resting position. No muss, no fuss.
Or am I not envisioning this properly?
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The lap and shoulder section are all one strap with no retraction of the lap portion itself. Yes, it the shoulder harness will lock if pulled on suddenly but it also goes into a locking mode when pulled all the way out. If it has been pulled out all the way, even if unlatched from the other end there is no way to unlock it without allowing the seat belt to nearly fully retract. So, if someone gets themselves all caught up in it, even if not latched, I can see this happening. Seat belts aren't to be "played" with.
LOL, no doubt! My assumption was that it was being used properly... On rereading it, I should have recognized the likely significance of the victim - 14yrs old means that there is no telling whether or not that's the case!
Thank you for your responses, so it turns out yes the belt was unlatched. my son had fallen sleep on a long ride home. we are thinking he must have pulled the shoulder harness
all the way out before trying to get out. how it got tangled not sure. but at that point the more we did to untangle it them more it was retracting and tightening around his waist
now at this point he stated to panic !! I was trying to see if there was a way/safety release of the retractor but I guess there isn't. Now panicked kid and screaming wife 11:30PM
so I cut him free. so it did work how its designed to. I know he wasn't playing around it just turned into a bad situation fast. fortunately we were home and had access to a cutting device, what if it happened in the mall parking lot ?? I guess 911 call I don't know, all I know is it was scary for all of us and could have been worse if it was around a kid neck.
all the way out before trying to get out. how it got tangled not sure. but at that point the more we did to untangle it them more it was retracting and tightening around his waist
now at this point he stated to panic !! I was trying to see if there was a way/safety release of the retractor but I guess there isn't. Now panicked kid and screaming wife 11:30PM
so I cut him free. so it did work how its designed to. I know he wasn't playing around it just turned into a bad situation fast. fortunately we were home and had access to a cutting device, what if it happened in the mall parking lot ?? I guess 911 call I don't know, all I know is it was scary for all of us and could have been worse if it was around a kid neck.
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The owner's manual on page 28 even states that you need to remain seated in the correct position and that some safety features can actually contribute to injuries if they are not used properly.
On page 31 it states, "If a rear seat passengers moves around and extends the seat belt, the lockable retractor may activate. If this happens, release the retractor by unfastening the seat belt and allow the belt to retract completely. Then refasten the belt." It doesn't discuss about what to do if one becomes tangled in the belt but the warning on page 28 to remain seated in the proper position is probably what they'd refer you to.
My kids always liked to recline the seat backs and sleep but that really isn't safe in an accident either. My concern for your son, more so than becoming trapped would have been, what happens in the event of a collision in whatever position he was in to tangle up the seat belt? Did he start by putting it under his arm? That's extremely unsafe and is even mentioned in the manual. For that reason alone, you need to keep passengers in the proper position. I used to fly with another pilot who used to be a CHP officer. He told me he saw people cut in half in accidents because they had the seat belt under their arm.
Seat belt use has to be taken seriously, and even sleeping kids doesn't mean you can let your guard down.
On page 31 it states, "If a rear seat passengers moves around and extends the seat belt, the lockable retractor may activate. If this happens, release the retractor by unfastening the seat belt and allow the belt to retract completely. Then refasten the belt." It doesn't discuss about what to do if one becomes tangled in the belt but the warning on page 28 to remain seated in the proper position is probably what they'd refer you to.
My kids always liked to recline the seat backs and sleep but that really isn't safe in an accident either. My concern for your son, more so than becoming trapped would have been, what happens in the event of a collision in whatever position he was in to tangle up the seat belt? Did he start by putting it under his arm? That's extremely unsafe and is even mentioned in the manual. For that reason alone, you need to keep passengers in the proper position. I used to fly with another pilot who used to be a CHP officer. He told me he saw people cut in half in accidents because they had the seat belt under their arm.
Seat belt use has to be taken seriously, and even sleeping kids doesn't mean you can let your guard down.
Its been brought to my attention that most likely my son was incorrectly using his seat belt and that's how we got into this situation, But that can happen with any age child It just shows that as parents we must be more aware, but there could be some kind of emergency release if the vehicle is in park and turned off just thinking out loud.
It can happen with any age person... it's just most likely with teenagers...
I would argue that an electro-mechanical release (it couldn't be simple mechanical one, since it'd have to detect park/off ) would add a layer of complexity which would add a layer of unreliability. The split second during which that seatbelt is in the process of saving your life is also the moment which a fault (in a hypothetical emergency release) is most likely to occur.
No, I would say simply making sure you carry one of the safety hammers/seat belt cutters in the vehicle going forward would be a far better idea. ... But then I'm the type of guy who keeps a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and reflector triangle in the van as well (as well as mylar blankets, a small inflator... etc.)
This is probably my biggest pet peeve with our Odyssey (the other is horrible key sensor on passenger side). My 3yr old gets 'seatbelt stuck' almost every time and I have to go back and fight for it for 5 minutes each time to get it unstuck. It is horrible. Is it user error... yeah, probably he screws up buckling himself in every time. Should this be user error... heck no imo. Does he pull it out too far... yeah probably some of the times because that is how he is able to buckle himself in so it doesn't retract to where the buckle does not reach. When he lets himself out... it retracts to the arm and headrest of the car seat, where it is now stuck where I can sometimes not even get it off. I have to try and squeeze it back past the car seat armrest.. but since it is locked, it will not always make it. More than once I have had to go open the trunk, remove things that are in the trunk, try to unhook the car seat latch, let the back of the seat down, so the car seat can hopefully be moved back just enough to get the stupid belt around the car seat arm rest (which I am about to saw off), then put it all back together so we can be on our way.
I will continue to yell at him each time he buckles to try and stop him from pulling it out too far. How far is too far dad? I don't know son.. just don't do it.
I curse the thing every day.
I will continue to yell at him each time he buckles to try and stop him from pulling it out too far. How far is too far dad? I don't know son.. just don't do it.
I curse the thing every day.
Has it happened when the trunk is full for vacation and you stop so kids can go potty. Yep.. take all of it out of the trunk and repack you lucky ba@##.
I could go on and on all day with this one folks.. but I will stop here. If you have kids, you will probably find out of this genius design sooner or later....
I could go on and on all day with this one folks.. but I will stop here. If you have kids, you will probably find out of this genius design sooner or later....
My kids (including the youngest - now 5) haven't ever had a problem. But the design is pretty much the same as most others... if you are having repeated problems due to a car seat, as you've described, I would probably just get a $15 extender so that the release is not tucked down and hard to get at. I'd think that'd save enough stress to prevent an aneurysm ... and then be worth it's weight in gold...
... and then be worth it's weight in gold...Don’t folks use LATCH? Even my now really old Ody has LATCH. It also has the rear seatbelts that do the locking thing when pulled all the way out. A four year old would have to be pretty big to legally use just a seat belt in my state. You don’t want to find out you were being too casual with this the wrong way.
Two things are coming to my mind as I read through these posts.
1) people should be reporting these incidents to the local safety authority when these things happen. Having an emergency release wouldn't be hard to safely add to future seat belts but it would be expensive to retool and modify existing designs so they won't make it mandatory unless there is a need for it. If enough people report the issues then the need for an emergency release may become apparent.
2) people may be installing their car seats incorrectly by not engaging the latching mechanism when the strap them in. If you haven't been activating the latch then you should probably confirm with the installation manual that it is installed correctly.
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1) people should be reporting these incidents to the local safety authority when these things happen. Having an emergency release wouldn't be hard to safely add to future seat belts but it would be expensive to retool and modify existing designs so they won't make it mandatory unless there is a need for it. If enough people report the issues then the need for an emergency release may become apparent.
2) people may be installing their car seats incorrectly by not engaging the latching mechanism when the strap them in. If you haven't been activating the latch then you should probably confirm with the installation manual that it is installed correctly.
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I used LATCH wherever possible when my kids were little. In fact, I think I still have the LATCH belts in the storage well in front of the middle seats. They don't loosen up, they don't get in the way, and they prevent "kid nastiness" from staining the seat belts. I always thought they were the best invention ever.
It's sad, so many new parents don't take the time to learn how to properly install car seats. They will do everything else but never even think about it.
Oh, and you don't have to use those metal clips that keep the shoulder harness and lap belt connected together.
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LATCH is fantastic, for all the reasons you mention, John. Along with the trigger-style latch release some seats have, make travelling with small kids just a little bit easier. The only drawback is that it is only rated for use up to a specific weight (IIRC, it's 75 pounds for the Odyssey for the child and car seat combined). Above that and you have to use the factory installed seat belts.
I agree here too - without any exaggeration, not installing car seats properly is lethal. A poorly installed seat can be a hazard in and of itself.
The local authorities here in Alberta will occasionally conduct checkstops for improper car seat installation; they'll pull over any vehicle they think might be transporting children, so minivans (obviously) are consistently targeted for these checks. Failure to install a seat correctly or failure to properly restrain a child in the seat (loose or twisted straps, for example) results in a $155 ticket issued to the driver.
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