Rear Seatbelt (End Fitting) Tensioner: Notes

If the rear airbag package is ordered, end fitting tensioners are fitted for the outer rear seats. In the middle, a three-point automatic belt is fitted. (The basic version has 3 three-point automatic belts.)

The rear seatbelt consists of the following components:

Fig 1: Identifying Rear Seatbelt (End Fitting) Tensioner Components

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

The rear end fitting tensioners have the same task as the seatbelt tensioners at the front, that is removing the slack in the belt during the crash as well as early binding of the occupant to the vehicle deceleration (called riding out the crash).

Since the space available beneath the rear seat is limited, it meant that a component similar to the front seatbelt tensioner could not be used, a new solution had to be found.

The belt slack is removed by drawing in the seatbelt strap at the end fitting point. The inertia reel seatbelt forms the upper attachment point, the end fitting tensioner is the lower attachment point.

The end fitting tensioner consists of the following components:

Fig 2: Identifying End Fitting Tensioner Components

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.