I am in the market for a Fit - it would be my first. I just took a 2009 Sport for a test drive and loved it. I was concerned that, being a small car, it might be too tight of a fit for me; I am both tall and fat. I was pleased to find that while things felt quite a bit more snug than the vehicle I am moving from (a '99 Honda Odyssey), almost everything seemed completely tolerable.

The one thing that wasn't great was the seat belt. I'm talking about the receiver end, the part with the button that is bolted to the seat at the driver's hip. My rear end is just a tiny bit too wide for the seat area, resulting in the seat belt poking me a bit in the butt/hip area.

Since I don't actually have a Fit to inspect at length yet, I have been browsing the forums here, looking at pictures and contemplating possible solutions. Here's a picture for visual reference (credit to user phogroian)



I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or experience doing anything like this? So far my ideas were to possibly add a piece of seatbelt material between the seat bolt and the receiver itself, something like this:



But preferably much shorter, maybe three inches. I realize that there is electrical wiring that would need to be dealt with, but I see it wouldn't be much of a problem to disconnect the wires and "fool" the sensor into thinking the belt is always buckled. It certainly isn't a concern to me, I don't need a chime to remind me to buckle my seatbelt. Alternatively, if it was easier I could just extend the wires. I prefer this solution if I can make it work, as the additional three inches of seatbelt room would also be welcome.

The other thing I was considering was possibly getting a longer bolt and spacing it out from the seat with washers. I figure about an inch should do it. From the looks of it, I'd guess that would put it a hair away from touching the center console.

I appreciate any input on this.

Oh, also, I am well aware that narrowing my personal ass region would be the best solution; let's just say that I'm working on it, but projected time until sufficient narrowing of ass exceeds time until need for new vehicle.

 

What about this

2001 2012 Honda Fit Front Seat Belt Extension Seatbelt Extender 3413 | eBay

 

That's an interesting thought. I presume you mean I could completely remove my seatbelt receiver, trick my chime into thinking the belt is always buckled, and then bolt that item onto my seat by threading the bolt through the metal buckle part? That sounds like it might work perfectly. It certainly sounds like it might end up looking better than the ideas I had. Thanks for pointing that item out!

I welcome any further ideas anyone might have, and I'll certainly update this with whatever solution I end up going with - although, that might be a few months down the road.

 

I would go with the extender at ebay. It's not that expensive and is made for your car, if you get the 09. I wouldn't extend it by putting a longer bolt in that position. Right now with the bolt as short as it is it can handle the shear, and has very little moment arm. If you make the bolt longer, you are setting up a moment arm load which can make the support drastically weaker. In other words, it may not be able to handle the same load as before if you get into an accident.

 

I was originally going to suggest a longer grade 8 bolt and spacer or stacked washers but you have an excellent point. OP should listen to this. The seatbelt extension looks like the easiest, safest, best option.