Hey there.

I just bought a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback. I was wondering if I have defected seatbelts. I'm a little confused with the all mixed answer I found on the web. What does your seatbelt do? When I'm buckled in and I pull on the seat belt should they lock? The only time I can get the seatbelts to lock me in place is when I slam on my breaks or make sudden turns. but the weird thing is the seatbelts aren't always locking me in. I don't know if it's because I'm not slamming on the breaks hard enough or I'm not jerking the car enough. When I'm parked at a light with my foot on the breaks and I yank the seatbelt it doesn't lock. Is this normal? What happens if I get rear ended will the seatbelt lock? My other cars if you pull on the seat belt it stops. If I break all of sudden or swerve they always lock. Hope to find an answer so I can feel safe driving my Civic

 

It's normal. The seat belts have emergency locking retractors
designed to lock only during a sudden stop or impact. Otherwise,
they allow some freedom of movement in the seat.

Refer to owner's manual: https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...91O00010A.pdf#[0,{%22name%22:%22FitH%22},950]

 

Hey tech8. Thanks for response and showing me some reference. I guess I gotta get used to the way the the seatbelt works and reacts. I still wonder why some people say it locks and some don't.