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If the belt was retracted and it got wet then that would mean that it is leaking behind the trim panel.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.

Well, I didn't drive anywhere yesterday, and it rained some yesterday (not even a heavy rain), AND I got in the car this morning and checked the seat belt. Completely soaked!!!

This is pissing me off. Why in hell would this be happening all of a sudden for no reason whatsoever? Why would that little side window just start leaking?

I guess I'm going to have to take the car up to the stupid dealership tomorrow. And if I'm doing that, I might as well have them fix the paint on the rear bumper (under the tail light where the bumper meets the fender) that they promised to call me up and have fixed months ago... They never once called.

ChopsZ, We had a really hard rain down here yesterday while I was driving and neither seat belt was wet. Let me know what the dealership finds out. I hope they can find the issue and don't just say that no problem was found. Good luck.

2016 Nismo Same Issue
 

I have had mine for 6 weeks, it has rained plenty of times with no issue. Many car washes with no issues. Last night was a very hard rain, and this morning when I got in, the driver side seat belt was completely wet the entire length of the belt. It even left a wet patch across my shirt from wearing it. I checked the passenger side, same issue. No other area in the car is wet. And, both windows were up and secure. I am dropping it off at Nissan dealer next week, and will keep this thread posted as to the results.

So did anyone figure out how the seat belt was getting wet?

Dealer said they pressure wash tested it and found no leaks. I am going to have to take it to dealer when it is wet again, and have them troubleshoot it right then when it is wet.

this is why no one is allowed to have drinks in my car

I'm curious as to how many of the people who you allow into your car would pour their drink into the seat belt track inside the panel?

Nobody stated the obvious.

When your friend was getting in and out, one time the seatbelt was not retracted completely thusly a 12" or so section of seat belt was hanging out the door. Next time door was opened seat belt retracted and next time it was used the wet spot was discovered.
Boom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a 2016 Nismo with same exact window leaking. I have seen water stream out of the corner from the very back of the window while driving in rain. It does not leak in the automatic car washes I run through.

Any panels/parts removed for mods? Are the rubber plugs just behind the roof, under the hatch in place and in good condition? Have you removed the side roof covers to check for intrusion routes?

FYI, water intrusion on a new vehicle rarely happens while driving in the rain. Angularity is wrong and rain is shed too quickly. Even car washes are probably too brief. It is usually a small gap that only shows itself with a large volume of water over an extended period of time. My dad ran a sprinkler on his SUV for two hours then drove his new swimming pool to the dealer. Got a new vehicle out of it.

Also check for a urine smell. If you're scaring your passengers they may not want to admit to pissing themselves.

I have a 2016 nismo and the passenger rear window leaks when I wash it, taking it to the dealer soon. I know this doesn't really help but it must be the window.

OK this is my first time back to this thread. This is my post, but I have never posted from my phone or with tapatalk... what 'the worl'

My 16 Nismo has this problem, both sides get wet, not damp but soaking wet!

Hi guys. First excuse my english because i speak french. I have the same problem and i think that today i found what is the problem. I have remove all the the plastic interior from the seatbelt to the trunk. After i have put a lot of water on the car. The problem seem to be the two small round plastic cap on top of the trunk. When there is to much water it goes in then it fall in the interior and it go down to the seatbelt. I have patch them with eurethane. I will wait 48h then i gonna see if it still leak.

Thanks for the investigative work Mike! It makes sense. Let us know if it works.

If this turns out to be the cause of Wet Belt Syndrome, you will make a lot of people happy. Thanks for sharing. :tiphat:

A picture or three would be helpful.

:iagree: What a solid first post :tup:

I have try to put 2 pictures but it did not work. I guess i am doing something wrong. :icon14:

You have to have a minimum of 10 posts to upload pictures without moderator approval. Also, if you upload them to the forum (using the Manage Attachments link), there is a maximum size allowed. External image hosting sites are often a good workaround. If you have a link to pictures hosted elsewhere, you can post it here using the [IMG][/IMG] tag.

Does somebody know why these plug are there ?

Wet Seatbelt Cause Discovered
 

After 3 trips to the dealer, My Nissan dealer could not figure this out. I discovered the issue and and took it back for a 4th time. The panel that runs above the window, from the windshield to the back window, has clips holding it in place. Those clips have a rubber seal where they meet the chassis. That rubber either deteriorates or distorts to allow water underneath. That is the cause of the wet set belts. I had my Nissan dealer replace both panels AND the clips, AND reinforce the rubber barrier, and so far, no wet set belt. Picture attached.

Those 2 plugs are what house the wiring going from the interior of the car to the back window for the window defroster, and were NOT the cause of my seat belts getting wet. (See Above Post)

What year is your car?

2016

I'm not discounting any of the theories in this thread, but I've had a wet seatbelt once (2016 car) and I'm pretty sure that I'd shut the door on a small part of the belt, which hadn't retracted properly. It rained quite hard, the belt got wet and the water wicked through a large area of the belt. Of course, in a lot of cases the wet belt will retract as soon as you open the door, so you won't know it's been trapped.

Ever since then I've been careful to make sure the seatbelt doesn't get trapped in the door and the problem hasn't recurred.

I am NOT saying there couldn't be another issue - just letting you know what happened to me.