Front Seat Belt Height Adjustment

The upper anchor points for front three-point seat belts are adjustable on all mid-year 1986 and later Jettas. Although adjustable belts were not factory-installed on earlier Jettas, or on Golf and GTI models, parts are available to allow installation of the adjuster on early 1986 Jettas. Also, a kit is available for remounting the seat belt anchors on 1985 Jettas and 1985-1990 Golf and GTI models. All parts are available from an authorized Volkswagen dealer.

The adjuster and its parts for early 1986 Jettas are shown in Fig. 4-37. To install the adjuster, remove the upper seat belt anchor and trim plate. Pry back the door seals slightly, and remove the trim-plate upper mounting bracket. With the new adjusting mechanism set to the second stop from the bottom, install it to the pillar using the allen head bolts. Install the bolts into the old seat belt anchor mounting hole and the hole under the trim-plate upper mounting bracket. Attach the pillar trim plate to the mechanism, and then install the unlocking knob and the upper seat belt anchor.

Fig. 4-37.

Adjusting mechanism for early 1986 Jettas.

The installed kit for 1985 Jettas and 1985 through 1990 Golf and GTI models is shown in Fig. 4-38.

Fig. 4-38.

Belt adaptor installed for lowered belt anchor position on 1985 Jettas and 1985-1990 Golf and GTI. Lock screw and shoulder bolt can be reversed to raise anchor. Trim cap is used to cover hole if anchor position is changed.

To install the kit, first remove the upper belt anchor and the trim plate, and pry back the door seals. The trim plate should have a rectangle-shaped dotted line on its reverse side. Cut out the rectangle.

Mount the threaded plate vertically to the pillar, by loosely installing the bolt supplied with the kit through the center hole of the threaded plate and into the old belt anchor hole. Coat the lock screw with thread locking compound and, depending on whether the anchor position is being raised or lowered, install it into either the upper or lower hole in the threaded plate until it is flush with the plate. Now torque the center bolt to 40 Nm (29 ft. lb.).