Seat belt slams on door

[Buzzi77]

Good morning gentlemen I'm fresh owner of vantage v8
From day one I realized that when I take off the seat belt it slams into the door.
It has already left marks on me.
Now I have covered with transparent adhesive.
Does it happen to you?

[LTP]

Buzzi77 said:

....
Does it happen to you?

In a word, no. Not even sure how this could happen.
<slight pause>
I had to go down to my Vantage and see what I actually did (the danger being, like a millipede walking, if you think about it you might never be able to do it again).
In RHD Vantage, I

1. Reach down the side of the seat with my left hand
2. Take the tongue between forefinger and thumb whilst simultaneously pressing the buckle release button with my middle finger
3. Still holding the tongue, raise my left hand diagonally across my body to about my right shoulder
4. Let go of the tongue
5. The belt retracts a little further, coming to rest on the top right corner of the seat

I don't release the belt and allow the tongue to fly back under the retractor spring tension, and never have.

To be fair, my seat is all the way back. I'll have to watch/ask what my much-shorter wife does, as she has her seat further forwards

edited to add
To be clear, I'm talking 2015 VH Vantage; not classic, NP Vantage, or a 2C car. But I'd bet my process would be the same no matter what I'm driving.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 2nd March 13:29

[skhannes]

Yes, happens on my DB11 and I have marks on the leather door jam. I too have my seat back as far as it goes...6'5" and only way I could get in and drive the car.

[Dewi 2]

I can offer one tip.

The VH Vantage and perhaps many of the other models, have a leather location loop strap for each seat belt, attached to the upper corner of the seats.

Take care when pulling the belt through that strap.
Some owners have mentioned frayed seat belts.

[LTP]

I now have feedback from my wife (in the LH seat)

1. Reach down the side of the seat with her right hand on the buckle
2. Reach across with her left hand to grasp the tongue
3. Release the buckle
4. Swing left hand up to her left shoulder, holding the buckle
5. Let the belt go to retract onto the seat

She does have the seatbelt webbing through the leather loop on top of the seat back, which stops the belt retracting behind the seat

Again, the webbing and tongue is never let fly and never touches the door

[Buzzi77]

Dewi 2 said:

I can offer one tip.

The VH Vantage and perhaps many of the other models, have a leather location loop strap for each seat belt, attached to the upper corner of the seats.

Take care when pulling the belt through that strap.
Some owners have mentioned frayed seat belts.

Yes, it is a common problem

[Wafu7]

Dewi 2 said:

The VH Vantage and perhaps many of the other models, have a leather location loop strap for each seat belt, attached to the upper corner of the seats.

The later Vantages don’t … certainly not MY16 on.

[LTP]

Buzzi77 said:

Yes, it is a common problem

More likely to be frayed by the fixed aluminium escutcheon imho, especially as the belt exits at an angle.

[ZT260SE]

Wafu7 said:

The later Vantages don’t … certainly not MY16 on.

Agreed. My 2009 did, but my 2017 doesn’t. I think a few things were dropped towards the end.

I have to admit, the neatest system I’ve had was on my CLKs where a little arm offered you the belt and retracted once taken.

[VantageHead]

Buzzi77 said:

Does it happen to you?

Occasionally happens on my 2019 Vantage.

To cure the issue, I fully extend the whole seatbelt and then carefully feed it back (under natural spring tension control). This improves the ‘retractability’ of the seatbelt and makes sure the buckle returns to its proper position (rather than flopping around ready to get trapped in the door). I’ve had to do this 2-3 times in the 6 years I’ve owned the car (usually after the belt or the buckle get tangled or rotated).

[Davil]

Trying to figure how it could hit the door?