Passenger seat belt wet?
 

I have a 2016 NISMO. I was driving in very heavy rain this weekend and my passenger pulled out his seat belt to find that about 1 ft. of it was wet. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, where was the rain entering?

The following day we had a normal rain and it did not get wet, so I'm pretty sure the Nissan dealership will not be able to recreate the leak.

Thanks for any input.

Where was the wet portion of seat belt? Up high or down low? My guess is it was up high and there was a hiccup in the auto window function when the door closed. Very occasionally I've found the window doesn't seem to roll up all the way and has a small air gap that would allow water in if raining.

was your window down ?

No, the windows were not down. In fact, it was not raining when we got in. He removed his belt and we waited out the rain before we exited. When he got back in, it was wet right about chest-level.

Nothing on the interior was wet, just the seat belt fabric.

open door

rain drips on belt

get back in

belt is wet

Well, that sounds simple enough, but when the door was open, the belt was already retracted into the panel.

Thanks for your advice. I'm just hoping this was a one-time occurrence.

or the retractor seals/bearings could have broke ?

did he pull too hard ?

If the belt was retracted and it got wet then that would mean that it is leaking behind the trim panel. Could be side window leak. Try to recreate the leak with a hose or take it to the dealer. You would probably need to take a trim panel off to diagnose.

did he have a drink in his hand ?

Yes, we both had Absinthe cocktails in our hands, so it all could very well have been hallucination. ;-)

I'd make sure the belt was dry then take the car to a car wash, give that area a good spray (don't get carried away, you want to simulate a rain storm, not a hurricane), then check the belt. If it's wet, get thee to a dealer for repairs before mold gets a foothold.

Thanks. It has already been through a normal rain (for Florida) and the car wash. No leak. It was a real heavy downpour, so maybe it was a one-time deal. I haven't seen rain here like that in a few years. I have a feeling it came down through the small side window.

My '16 Base is having the same exact issue, on the same exact side, at about the same exact spot on the belt, and only about a foot long. Again, a LOT of heavy rain here in Florida this past week and was also driving in heavy rain yesterday on the highway. The belt has been wet for the past couple of days, but today it is completely dry.

And no, no drinks, no leaving the belt hanging out the door or other common sense stuff.

Also reset the windows even though there was nothing wrong with them to begin with.

There's no moisture inside the car anywhere.

I even went and pulled the exterior B-pillar cover to make sure the screw was installed for the roof trim from when the roof was wrapped. It was there and screwed all the way in.

So I have no idea where this water came from. My only other thought is that it came up from under the car somewhere, possibly from driving through some shallow standing water. Other than that, I'm at a total loss.

david81968, did you come to any conclusion on this issue?

Rear side window leak?

No, I don't have any new conclusions. I think your assumptions are about the same as mine. My two guesses: It came in through the small side window or came up from the deep puddles I was driving through.

It hasn't happened since. I'm hoping because it was such a HEAVY downpour, that it won't be happening again anytime soon...but it is Florida.