NorthEastA4

Has anyone noticed that there are 2 different front seat belt assemblies shipping on the whole line of Audi's?
The first type travel from the seat to the pillar with out a twist and the buckle when retracted faces directly to the center floor.
The second type that is on my 2002 A4 1.8TQM, twist to the rear of the car as they go into the pillar. This causes the buckle to face forward when retracted. If the seat belts are released and let retract on there own, there is a good chance that the buckle will hit the door and make dings in the aluminum trim. Also, there are scratches developing on the plastic cover on the pillar.
Due to other service issues that I am having I had a loaner A4 1.8TQA for 25 days with the non- twisting seat belt and had no dings in the door panel.
The best part is that the Manufacture says that this is normal and will do nothing about it.

woofpup

collar bone or neck of certain passengers. I hardly notice I'm wearing it, as opposed to others that lay flat at the shoulder because they're not twisted.

But yes, I did notice the nicks in the plastic from it. Just have to be careful when releasing it. I have wood trim, so not sure about dents from it hitting the door panel...

shadyraven

Thanks for this posting. Sounds like we need to be careful when taking off our belts!

NorthEastA4

Having the seat belt sit flat across your shoulder is much better than sitting on edge. But hey, some people just know everything.

woofpup

Hey, I was just giving my input; take it or don't. I had felt it was a design decision, not a defect and gave my reasoning. It could also be for safety, as the way in which it sits, seems like it could keep it from slicing against your neck in a side collision, but I have no experience to support that, fortunately.

It doesn't sit "on edge" for me, it sits pretty flat, but with the edge closest to my neck lifted up, which keeps that edge from rubbing (which seems to be common in other cars).

Audi tends to do a lot of things that aren't necessary in the name of improvement. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.

By the way, since you've only made 14 posts, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. That "but hey, some people just know everything" comment was pretty rude and offensive. I try to help fellow Audi owners here with personal experience and knowledge. Many times, I take the extra few minutes to go into the factory repair manual and summarize instructions and post diagrams to help people, or do a search and link to other relevant threads with other views and answers than my own. If you have a suggestion, make it - don't make snide remarks.

NorthEastA4

I do not mean to be rude. For that I am sorry.
Seat belts, no matter what the end result that is aimed for, should not deface the interior of the vehicle with normal use. That is my point. While I like the car I cannot excuse the arrogance of Audi to say that, "there are two manufactures of seat belts for Audi and that both operate to design specification" when one design never hits the side of the car and the other does. The operator's manual does not specify that with type A seat belts you must hold the buckle when releasing to prevent damage to the vehicle. I believe that there are others that have little nicks in their door trim and are wondering why. I am glad that you do not have this problem and please keep on helping other with your knowledge.

That said, 14 posts or 1600 posts do not make opinions valid. My original post was mostly a statement. The only question that I asked was "has anyone noticed that there are two types of seat belts". I am currently having major service issues with my entry-level luxury sports sedan that is quite excessive. I had a loaner 2002 1.8TQA that had non-twisting seat belts for 22 days and did not create one ding in the aluminum door panel while treating the vehicle as a loaner which I do not treat my own.
Lastly, I find that people on this forum are very quick to give opinions and much less open to listening another person's perspective but that is my opinion.