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Seatbelts Swap - Black to Red

My original belts would auto tighten around 15mph. These new ones didn't. I asked my service guy what it might be. He said bring the car in as we may have to activate the modules. He called me this morning and said the auto tensioner/tightening is now working. They had to activate something with a plug in tool.

Like I said, it's just an fyi.
 
Someone on this forum mentioned that the 25s and 26s don't have that feature which is why they are cheaper to get and are different part numbers.

Here's what the service description said.
 

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Yup. Sure looks like it needs to be programmed. I didn't even notice that they were not operable. I guess this swap is going to cost me more money. Dealer only service. There is no independent shop anywhere near me that can do this.
 
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Got a quote for $225 for mobile service to come out to do it at my house. Couldn't get the dealer to give me an upfront cost until they plug in.
 
Well, I had the mobile service come out to program the seat belt auto tightening motors. Apparently my '24 showed up as not being equipped with this feature. There was nowhere to configure/program it. I don't know if they just didn't know where to find it or it was something I did during the install.....Not much you can do wrong there. There are no error lights on the dash or error codes in the system. It took me 9 months to realize I didn't have this feature until I read this post, now I am wondering whether I ever had it....
Here is the screen shot of the scan. I have a scan from another car with that feature and it is explicitly listed as front left and front right retractor motors as two separate lines. I also have a scan from another CT4BW and it looks just like mine, without programmable items for the front retractors. This leads me to believe they do not need to be programmed. Another member who swapped the belts said the motors just worked "as they should" when he installed them. So this must be some incompatibility with the bets I bought, though they should all be the same from 22 through at least 24 model years when they stopped making special editions with red belts.
 

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My 24 4BW did not have the auto tensioner but my 5 does. Did you get the right part numbers for the belts when you swapped?

I didn't have any codes either when I installed them and drove the car.
 
My 24 4BW did not have the auto tensioner but my 5 does. Did you get the right part numbers for the belts when you swapped?

I didn't have any codes either when I installed them and drove the car.
I did not have any codes. I am pretty sure I got the right belts. There are no options for red ct4bw belts. There has only been one part number per side.
The belts on your 24 4bw do not autotension either? Maybe I am chasing ghosts here and my car never had that feature. I missed the fact that you were installing them in a 5, not a 4....
 
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I did not have any codes. I am pretty sure I got the right belts. There are no options for red ct4bw belts. There has only been one part number per side.
The belts on your 24 4bw do not autotension either? Maybe I am chasing ghosts here and my car never had that feature. I missed the fact that you were installing them in a 5, not a 4....

Yes this was on my 5. It surprised me when I first drove it bc my 4 didn't have that feature.

I apologize for the confusion. I should have stated that this was for a 5. I apologize even more if you paid for that mobile service when your car didn't need it. I feel horrible now.
 
Yes this was on my 5. It surprised me when I first drove it bc my 4 didn't have that feature.

I apologize for the confusion. I should have stated that this was for a 5. I apologize even more if you paid for that mobile service when your car didn't need it. I feel horrible now.
No problem. I am the fn idiot. I had ample oportunity to ask hundreds of 4bw owners here or on fb whether their belts tighten and not jump into conclusions.
 
I hadn't really driven my 2023 since my red seat belt swap (using older PNs 85641155 and 85641159 for the front) and hadn't even realized I was missing this feature, just drove it and confirmed that the front seats no longer auto-tighten as you get up to speed. Guess I'll be making a service appointment for activation.
 
On a 4 right? Do you happen to recall the part numbers? I am looking to do the same swap with the backs as well.
Yes, on the 4. Front Passenger 85082190 and Front Driver 85082188. Share pictures after install. I'll be curious of the look for the rear seats. I think I'd like to swap the steering wheel for the OEM version with the blue center stripe but so far, all new OEM are saying out of stock.
 
Just got back from the dealer, they charged me $220 to activate the auto-tensioner function on the new front retractors.

Thanks to JLayer for pointing this out, I may have never realized it otherwise!
 
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