Seat Belt Buckle Extender

[CondorXC90]

I am looking for a way of raising the buckle on the two front seats of my 2008 XC90 by an inch or two - their placement is unhelpful for those with severe arthritis, as it involves having to slide one's hand down the side of the seat - my partner struggles with this.

I bought a pair of generic buckle extenders but although they are the correct width they do not clip in and the Volvo belt clip is too thick for them anyway. I would like a decent quality part, to be honest, and these don't look great anyway.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how we could sort this? Partner avoids driving or travelling in the Volvo because of this - it seems such a shame and a simple enough thing to overcome. Pity Volvo didn't fit the buckles just an inch or two higher!!

[abdiel]

Originally Posted by CondorXC90

I am looking for a way of raising the buckle on the two front seats of my 2008 XC90 by an inch or two - their placement is unhelpful for those with severe arthritis, as it involves having to slide one's hand down the side of the seat - my partner struggles with this.

I bought a pair of generic buckle extenders but although they are the correct width they do not clip in and the Volvo belt clip is too thick for them anyway. I would like a decent quality part, to be honest, and these don't look great anyway.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how we could sort this? Partner avoids driving or travelling in the Volvo because of this - it seems such a shame and a simple enough thing to overcome. Pity Volvo didn't fit the buckles just an inch or two higher!!

Not found any in the UK yet but did find these people & they say they do free shipping to the UK!

https://www.seatbeltextenderpros.com...belt-extender/



Also, check this out. It is for the USA & Canada but surely Volvo UK must provide the same item here?

https://www.volvotechinfo.com/index....2018-02-05.pdf

[daveyb]

You can get them on ebay seat
belt extender

[Whippy]

Try enquiring at your local disability shop / centre, they usually have these.

[abdiel]

The OP has already purchased Generic extenders but finds them unsuitable.

[CondorXC90]

Trying them, thanks. They do free returns.......so let's see. Volvo used to do these but can't find any around any more.....

[Whippy]

Originally Posted by abdiel

The OP has already purchased Generic extenders but finds them unsuitable.

They're not necessarily generic, I used to use two types for different charity vehicles, both bought from our local store.

[DaveNP]

If it's an ongoing problem and position of the buckle is too low would some sort of steel extension to the mounting point to raise the original buckle be more appropriate like this-

which would make the buckle accessible and hold it steady to make it easy to latch in to.

Seat belt bolts, mounting points, brackets etc are made with high levels of quality assurance rather than a random bracket or bolt you might find in B+Q, that pic is from an MGB parts supplier so may not be perfect for a Volvo but personally the original marque wouldn't be an issue.

You would obviously need to satisfy yourself that any part or modification is safe, and dare one say in the event of an accident the insurers may take an interest so possibly best to use some sort of qualified person to fit it and inform the insurers.

[sv70]

I also got sick of reaching in the depths of a nonsensical design,did Volvo really think that short changing approx-1 to 2 inches of steel bracketry would save them millions,over the satisfaction of their customers.I also purchased a pair of seat extenders from that website and they did fit and did the job,but after a year of use i changed my front seats for better condition ones,so that made it easier for me to unbolt the original seat belt anchor brackets,after disconnecting the wiring connector,and cutting the bracket approx halfway it's length and then welding a similar size piece of new metal in, approx an inch and 7/8'' long,there is just enough wiring cable to enable this extension with a slightly different routing.Now i have the original buckle at the right height it should have been,by the way the seat belt extenders i got were not of great quality and just didn't feel right.I am not recommending anyone else do this,it's just what i did to overcome a slight design fault 'imo'

[inchindown]

How about this on Amamzon

Seat belt extender