1997 Mercedes-Benz E320 Seat belts Problems

“Was driving slow like 10 MPH and preparing to make a right turn and there was a loud explosion as the passenger seat belt retracted with such force that it slammed into the sternum of my 73 year old mother, who almost had an episode of cardiac arrest, both from the impact of the belt pushing on her heart and the explosion. One week later the drivers side seatbelt did the same thing . I had not used the drivers side belt on the day of the first incident, or any day since. …”

“I was driving in a parking lot outside a drugstore very slow. I did not hit anything at all. All of a sudden the seatbelt made a loud explosion sound and smelled like burning. My entire body was restrained very tight against the seat and a hard impact on my chest. It was scary and I thought I was shot. I was lucky that I was not driving on the freeway at the time seat belt exploded. This could have caused a serious accident if I were driving on the highway with heavy traffic.”

“When turning on the car, notice srs (seat belt restraint system) light on, upon moving forward in slow speed, a loud pop followed by the tightening of the seat beat and then burning smell of smoke filled the cabin. This I assume is how the system should work during an accident but this happened while I was driving and if I had been driving on the freeway or public highways, I could have easily crashed due to the incident.”

“While proceeding straight on a city street, at about 30 MPH, during the day, with no other vehicles on the road, I heard a metallic explosion inside our 1997 mercedes benz E320 sedan. The seat belt immediately and painfully pinned me back into the drivers seat, rendering me breathless and disorientated. I felt like I had been shot, and I looked around outside the car for the source. I turned off the street and parked. I was able to release the seatbelt, but it did not retract. The srs warning light was on. I got out of the car and inspected its exterior. There was nothing to note. …”

“On november 19th, 2014, while stopped on habana at mlk, jr. Blvd. In tampa, florida, without any warning whatsoever, a very loud explosion occurred inside my car and there was instant pressure on my chest. From the noise and the pressure, I thought I'd been shot, but then realized neither I nor the car was struck by anything! I looked at the drivers on either side of me (nobody behind me) to see if they had heard or seen anything, but nobody was looking my way, so it was obvious they had not heard or smelled anything (burning odor emanating from somewhere in the car). …”