CT5-V How-To Guide: CT5 Seat Belt Swap

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I’ve been wanting to do a how-to on a seat belt swap since I couldn’t find any good information anywhere on the internet on how to do it on a CT5. Aside from a few annoying clips, the whole process isn’t too bad – I think it took me 3-4 hours total for all five seat belts.

Part Numbers

Black

Driver Front: 84815191

Passenger Front: 85641158 (replaces 85515092)

Driver Rear: 84815183

Passenger Rear: 84815179

Passenger Center: 84815211 or 84870311

Red

Driver Front: 85641155

Passenger Front: 86771460 (replaces 85641159)

Driver Rear: 84815184

Passenger Rear: 84815180

Passenger Center: 84815212

Tan

Driver Front: 85641156

Passenger Front: 85641160 (replaces 86771461)

Driver Rear: 84815185

Passenger Rear: 84815181

Passenger Center: 84815213


Tools You’ll Need

Metric socket set (I believe 7mm, 10mm, 13mm, and 15mm were needed)

T50 Torx socket

Trim removal tools (plastic preferred)

Pry bar (12”-18”)

Small flat strip screwdriver

Long, thin flat tip screwdriver

Before you do anything, it’s VERY IMPORTANT that you do the following things first:

Move the front seats as far forward as possible, and tilt the seat back as far forward as possible

• Disconnect the battery – easiest to just remove the negative terminal
• Wait at least 10 mins after disconnecting the battery to ensure the airbag circuits are de-energized – this might be overly cautious since you aren’t actually touching any of the airbags, but better safe than sorry

I found it better to start with the rears since it will make removing some of the front seat trim easier.

Rear Seats

First, remove the rear seat bottom – there are two total clips you’ll need to release, the white clips on the floor. Insert your pry bar to inner side of each white clip and use the floor as leverage to pull up, the seat cushion comes right off after. Don’t make the mistake I did at first by trying to pry on the white clip – that’s how you break the clip. If you do break a clip, the PN# is 20823966

Release the lower center seat belt buckle, use a small flat tip screwdriver to push in on the white/gray button to release.

Remove the rear seat cushions. Start with the smaller, drive side cushion (40 split) – start by pulling on the latch to lower the seat, pull up on the outside edge of the cushion, then rotate the whole cushion inward. Just work it and it’ll come out. When you remove the passenger (60 split), note that there is a rod that slots into the black hinge mounted on the floor that you’ll need to work the cushion out of.

Remove the “Air Bag” trim covers on the upper C-pillars using a small pry tool. Remove the 7mm screws behind them – a magnetic socket is preferred as you might lose the screw behind the trim but if you do, no worries, the trim is coming off anyways.

Loosen the C-pillar trim by just tugging on it, there are two clips along the rear window you’ll need to unseat

Remove the side bolsters. This is a little tricky – first remove the 10mm nut at the bottom. There is a hidden orange clip inside the softer, elastic-y part of the bolster that you’ll need to unlock. The best way to describe how to unlock it is that you need to pull the orange clip towards the front of the car; you should be able to get a finger in there to pull it, but if not, use a small flat tip. Once it unlocks, pull the bolster forward and twist it to the outside of the car as there’s a hooked clip that holds it in place against the C-pillar

 

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Next you’ll want to remove the driver and passenger seatbelts – with the bolsters removed, there are three T50 Torx bolts holding the belt in place – one just off the floorboard, and two on the C-pillar. I recommend starting with the lowest bolt, then popping the guide trim off the C-pillar trim and feed the seat belt through the C-pillar so you can completely remove the C-pillar trim. Then remove the highest bolt holding the guide in place, and finally the middle bolt holding the retractor in place (I forgot to take a picture of the guide bolt).

Now remove the rear deck tray. This is also a bit tricky – there are three blue clips, one in the middle and very easily accessible, and two that are…less accessible. First photo shows the middle clip that you can get to from the trunk, second shows the driver side clip, third shows the passenger. The last photo shows the underside of the removed tray – the middle clip is circled in green, the outer two are circled in red. Basically, you just need to squeeze the underside of the clips and push up to release them. The problem are the outside clips as it is very difficult to reach them. This is where I used a very long, thin, flat trip screwdriver to try and release the clips through the oblong holes in the rear seat structure. I applied a little upward pressure on the underside of the tray while working the clips, one at a time. When you release all three clips, just pull the tray upward and toward the front of the car to get it out. Note there are four tabs at the rear that you’ll need to seat upon re-installation. You’ll need to feed the middle seat belt with attached trim through the tray before you can completely remove.

Lastly, remove the center seat belt – remove the front metric and rear Torx bolts, and voila, all of you rear seat belts are out!

 

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Reinstallation is the reverse of the above – a couple of specific notes:

Make absolutely sure you torque all seat belt mounting bolts before re-installing all the trim! Double and triple check – safety first! I also used blue Loc-tite for good measure.

Be sure to start with the middle belt then tray – I tried to install the C-pillar trim before the tray because it made sense to me but it does not fit that way

If you’re also replacing the front seat belts, go ahead and stop before you get to re-installing the rear bolsters as you’ll need to remove the lower rear sill trim to remove the B-pillar trim. Proceed with replacing the front belts, then you can re-install the sill trim and the rear side bolsters.

When you re-install the bolsters, once you seat the orange clip, push firmly on it from the front to lock it back in place

When re-installing the back seat cushions, start with the passenger (60 split) side and feed the rod through the bracket on the floor as the driver (40 split) side will need to slide over that. Also note the slots on either side of the car that the other side of the seat cushions will slot into

When re-installing the bottom seat cushions, make sure you feed the seat belt buckles through the seat bottom before locking them in place

Below are the torque values for the various fasteners:

Driver/passenger seat belt mounting bolt, 3x per side (Torx) – 33 lb ft

Center seat belt retractor bolt, front (metric) – 80 lb in

Center seat belt retractor bolt, rear (Torx) – 33 lb ft

Upper C-pillar trim bolt (7mm) – 22 lb in

Lower side bolster nut (10mm) – 80 lb in

 

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Front Seats

Remove the rear sill trim – this is easiest if you haven’t yet re-installed the rear bolsters from replacing the rear belts. Just tug on it, there are two clips holding it in place

Remove the front sill trim – again, just pull upwards and there are just a couple clips holding it in place

With the front seats fully forward, use a small trim tool to pop the cover off the lower seat belt mount and remove the 10mm bolt holding the bottom of the belt to the top of the floor-mounted pre-tensioner.

Remove the air bag trim piece from the B-pillar with a small trim tool – it doesn’t need to come all the way off, just loosen it as shown. Remove the 7mm bolt behind it

Remove the B-pillar trim. This seems scary but just pull inward and release the various clips holding it in place; feed the seat belt through the trim to remove

Use a trim tool or small flat tip to pop the plastic retainer holding the upper guide in place against the B-pillar

Remove the electrical connectors. IMPORTANT NOTE – the number of connectors are different on each side of the car. On the driver side, there are two connectors – a white multi-pin connector that you can release by pushing on the tab with a small flat-tip, and a yellow connector that is released by gently prying it off (emphasis on gently)

On the passenger side, in addition to the above two connectors, there is a third connector that you’ll just need to release the locking tab on; use a pry tool to pop the black plastic rivet off the B-pillar harness if needed for additional room to work. When you re-install, just be sure to feed the new wire behind the B-pillar wiring harness as shown

Lastly, remove the upper metric and and lower Torx bolt on the B-pillar holding the retractor in place, and pull the whole assembly with belt out

As before, re-installation is the reverse – no major gotchas that I noted but another reminder to torque all the mounting bolts before re-installing trim!

Below are the torque values for the various fasteners:

Lower seat belt to floor anchor plate tensioner bolt – 53 lb in

Lower seat belt retractor lower (Torx) bolt – 33 lb ft

Lower seat belt retractor upper (metric) bolt – 80 lb in

Upper seat belt D-ring guide (Torx) bolt – 33 lb ft

Upper B-pillar trim bolt (7mm) – 22 lb in

 

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Re-connect your battery, and you’re done! Here is the finished product - a lot of work that could have been saved if the red seat belt option box had just been ticked upon order but oh well, I am very happy with the splash of color it gave the interior.