Technical bulletins (general)
16 Seatbelt repair and re-webbing
Requirements for seatbelt repair
A seatbelt may only be legally repaired by the seatbelt manufacturer or their authorised agent.
There are currently no mass-manufacturers or agents repairing seatbelts in New Zealand.
Re-webbing a seatbelt is considered to be a repair.
Waka Kotahi has provided an exemption to the following companies to re-web seatbelts manufactured by other seat belt providers:
- APV Australia
- Autosafe Ltd, Christchurch.
Further companies will be added to this list as they are approved.
Identifying compliant re-webbed seatbelts
To date, seatbelts have only been compliantly re-webbed by Autosafe. Seatbelts re-webbed by Autosafe will meet the following requirements:
- the vehicle’s registration plate and/or VIN will be recorded in the 'Look Up REGO' function found on Autosafe’s website
- the seatbelt will be fitted with a tag as per Figure 16-1-1 below
- re-webbed seatbelts may only be accepted if they meet both of these requirements.
Identifying non-compliant re-webbed seatbelts
Seatbelts that are re-webbed without an exemption from Waka Kotahi may not be accepted for a WoF or CoF.
Most non-compliant re-webbed seatbelts are done in a way to hide that they are re-webbed. The following indicators are the best way to identify a non-compliant re-webbed seatbelt:
- incorrectly fitted hardware such as buckles on webbing that looks new
- new webbing, or webbing that looks newer than the other seatbelts in the vehicle, with the same compliance tags as the original seat belts
- the same identification tags as the original belts with a different stitch pattern
- a compliance label that is different to the other seatbelts that is not from a typical manufacturer
- no compliance labels fitted on new webbing or a new seatbelt.
If you identify a non-compliant re-webbed seatbelt, please take clear photos and report it to Waka Kotahi by emailing the details to vehicles@nzta.govt.nz
Getting a seatbelt re-webbed
If you are trying to help a vehicle owner to get their seatbelt re-webbed it is important that you only use an approved company. Waka Kotahi is aware that there are other companies who re-web seatbelts - this is an illegal activity. Autosafe and APV have been granted exemptions to re-web seatbelts, having been granted these exemptions under strict conditions.
Autosafe has a list of seatbelt installers on its website that is regularly updated. There are three specialist installers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and a number of other organisations that can assist with seatbelt installations. The list is available at www.autosafe.co.nz
Figure 16-1-1. Sample Autosafe label
Page added 18 September 2020 | updated 5 November 2020 (see details)
