How to Check the Date on a Car Seat Belt?
2 Answers
Here are the methods to check the manufacturing date: 1. Pull the seat belt all the way out. 2. There is a label at the very bottom, which displays the production date of the seat belt. 3. Some seat belts have labels entirely in English. In this case, if you find abbreviations like MFD or DATE, the numbers following them represent the production date. 4. MFD and DATE indicate the manufacturing date. 5. If MFD or DATE is followed by a combination of letters and numbers, it means the 17-digit coding rule is used, which is the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). 6. The tenth digit of the VIN is related to the date, following a 30-year cycle. For example: A0527, where 'A' stands for 2010, combining to indicate a production date of May 27, 2010. B0610, where 'B' stands for 2011, combining to indicate a production date of June 10, 2011.
After driving for over a decade, I've found that checking the seatbelt date is straightforward: There's a small label stitched onto the seatbelt webbing. Pull it out and take a close look—it's printed with a production date code, usually a combination of the last two digits of the year followed by the month. For example, '2103' means it was manufactured in March 2021. Seatbelts degrade over time, and those older than 10 years lose elasticity and strength, potentially failing to withstand crash forces. That's why regular inspections are crucial. I make it a habit to check the label during routine car maintenance, using a flashlight if needed. Remember, safety is no small matter—timely replacement can prevent potential risks. The label is typically located near the seatbelt anchor or buckle. Some car models use numeric strings as codes, but they're easy to interpret.
