08 E92 M3 Seatbelt Robot Arm Replacement

[nutmegchoi]

They are tired and not grabbing seat belts anymore.
I was wondering if anyone here replaced them before.
Where did you get it done and what was the cost?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thank you!

[nutmegchoi]

Also.
My passenger seat's folding handle thingy is a struggle to use.
(I'm making things up since I don't know how to call them)
Anyone else has the same experience?

[m3cp]

Hi,

very good vid, explains what you need to do:

[Beemdog]

There are threads on this. You can replace the ends of the robotic arms as an assembly, and it's a fairly easy job. My car (under waranty) is going in for this very problem in a few days (dealer ordered parts). There is also a BMW service bulletin for some sort of spacer at the bottom of the seatbelt attachment point that alters the alignment of the belt with the hand-off device slightly. My dealer is going to implement the spacers as well. Will post on how that went and if it fixed the problem.

IMO, the condition of the belt itself is a factor. As the belt ages, it softens and that seems to add to the problem. If I take the belt and crease it down the middle in the area where it gets grabbed by the hand-off device, the belt gets picked up almost every time. (Seated in the car, crease the belt lengthwise in the grab area with the folded sides of the belt coming toward you). Guys have done this with an iron and some starch and "fixed" their hand-off issue. I tend to think starching a safety belt could compromise its tensile strength.

IMO the belts might need to be replaced to really get this thing working 100%, even with new hand-off devices, but we will see. On older cars, I see this becoming a "more trouble than they're worth" kind of feature.

[grantmax]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

There are threads on this. You can replace the ends of the robotic arms as an assembly, and it's a fairly easy job. My car (under waranty) is going in for this very problem in a few days (dealer ordered parts). There is also a BMW service bulletin for some sort of spacer at the bottom of the seatbelt attachment point that alters the alignment of the belt with the hand-off device slightly. My dealer is going to implement the spacers as well. Will post on how that went and if it fixed the problem.

IMO, the condition of the belt itself is a factor. As the belt ages, it softens and that seems to add to the problem. If I take the belt and crease it down the middle in the area where it gets grabbed by the hand-off device, the belt gets picked up almost every time. (Seated in the car, crease the belt lengthwise in the grab area with the folded sides of the belt coming toward you). Guys have done this with an iron and some starch and "fixed" their hand-off issue. I tend to think starching a safety belt could compromise its tensile strength.

IMO the belts might need to be replaced to really get this thing working 100%, even with new hand-off devices, but we will see. On older cars, I see this becoming a "more trouble than they're worth" kind of feature.

This.

My car just had both arms replaced under warranty and "spacers" installed. The spacers are essentially rubber surrounds that prevent the base of the seatbelt from traveling along the black metal rail. Sure sure sure.

[nutmegchoi]

Originally Posted by m3cp

Hi,

very good vid, explains what you need to do:

Awesome!
Thank you!!

Originally Posted by Beemdog

There are threads on this. You can replace the ends of the robotic arms as an assembly, and it's a fairly easy job. My car (under waranty) is going in for this very problem in a few days (dealer ordered parts). There is also a BMW service bulletin for some sort of spacer at the bottom of the seatbelt attachment point that alters the alignment of the belt with the hand-off device slightly. My dealer is going to implement the spacers as well. Will post on how that went and if it fixed the problem.

IMO, the condition of the belt itself is a factor. As the belt ages, it softens and that seems to add to the problem. If I take the belt and crease it down the middle in the area where it gets grabbed by the hand-off device, the belt gets picked up almost every time. (Seated in the car, crease the belt lengthwise in the grab area with the folded sides of the belt coming toward you). Guys have done this with an iron and some starch and "fixed" their hand-off issue. I tend to think starching a safety belt could compromise its tensile strength.

IMO the belts might need to be replaced to really get this thing working 100%, even with new hand-off devices, but we will see. On older cars, I see this becoming a "more trouble than they're worth" kind of feature.

We had extended warranty and the dealer said it wasn't going to cover?

Most what you said makes sense to me.
But wow... it is a lot of trouble for such a little issue...

I may need to rethink about this whole ordeal...

Thank you so much, guys!!

[Beemdog]

Originally Posted by grantmax

This.

My car just had both arms replaced under warranty and "spacers" installed. The spacers are essentially rubber surrounds that prevent the base of the seatbelt from traveling along the black metal rail. Sure sure sure.

So what is your hand-off success rate now that you have new arms and spacers? Still not great?

[grantmax]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

So what is your hand-off success rate now that you have new arms and spacers? Still not great?

100%.

Prior to this fix, my passenger side had a 5% success rate. Driver was at 90%.

[AshyLarryMP]

I had my driver's side arm replace 1 year ago. After watching the video it seems like WD40 will extend the arms' life.

[duvinclunk]

Seems like every E9X that I have test driven in the last 4 weeks had this issue on one of the doors...

[SenorFunkyPants]

There is a metal bracket that often breaks at the end of the replaceable part. I removed the broken part and the spring that was attached to it and it restored full function.
Its only a 10 min job and nothing to lose if it doesn't work for you.