I am considering looking at a 1988 Maxima SE that is for sale locally. Seller says it has automatic seatbelts, but I thought 1989 was the first year for the automatic seatbelts on the Maxima? I seen a 1987 with manual seat belts. Did the 88 Maximas have automatic seatbelts? Thanks.

 

87 and 88 have automatic, my 87 did

 

Damn Skippy!

Mine has automatic seatbelts, but according to safety crashes, this is a BAD THING. Why, I don;'t know. Haven't looked into it really. I'm from CA, so I rely on being lazy and convenienced by my 2nd gen max.

Wanna buy mine?

-A

 

This is what i don't get, with automatic seatbelts you still have to buckle the bottom belt manually, so you have to buckle one thing, but with regular all manual seat belts you still only have to buckle one thing cause they are connected. So why the need for the automatic chest belt??? seems unneccesary to me, and potentially dangerous.

 

It is dangerous. I want to convert my auto belts to manual. The biggest danger comes from people not buckling the lap belt. I a collision, the chest is held back, but people have slipped down, under the steering wheel, getting crushed, etc...so you still wanna use the lap belt. It's a huge false sense of security.

And the saddest part of all...insurance companies still give discounts for them...

 

Thanks. As far as the safety- I have studied car crash tests for a few years. It is dangerous to use only the shoulder belt and not lap belt, because of two things: 1- is that in a crash, the chest would take all of the impact and not the lower body. 2- is that if the door happens to open, the seat belt would go forward and nothing to hold you in. Not sure about the case of the 85-88 Maxima, as far as the poor safety rating goes, but is could possibly be from the design of the car - by not designed to absorb impact - rather than the seat belt itself, but it could be the belts, or both. I will have to check, but the Maxima may ACTUALLY have a good rating. If I recall, the 88 Maxima had a poor rating, but I think in the full-frontal goverment test, on cars equipped with the automatic belt, only the shoulder belt is used, therefore, giving a poor rating. This was the case on the Toyota Cressida, according to a old issue of Consumer Reports I had from back in 1985. So with the lap belt as well, it may be a good crash test rating. However, the 85 had manual belts and it still rated poor if I recall correctly. The automatic belts are not necessarily dangerous, if used with the lap belt. It is also according to the car. For example, the 89-93 Maxima have auto belts and they are average-good in the tests. The 1990-1993 Honda Accords have the automatic belts and they have a good (4-star) rating. I was just wondering, because she said it was a 88 with auto-belts and I thought 89 was the first year and was hoping it would be an 89. Thanks again.

 

no, 87 and 88 definetly have them, i dunno about years prior. However I would think that if there was a high impact collision the automatic shoulder belt could just snap off. Am I wrong? The location of where the belt is hooked in to the roof of the car seems somewhat cheap and flimsy. If I wanted to I think I could brake it off with my hands nevermind an accident, I dunno just a thought. Does anyone agree??

 

Yes, I've heard of people's seatbelts snapping off, especially on the 87-88 Maximas during high impact collision. Hence I pay more for my insurance on my car.

What I find disturbing is that most insurance companies, when doing an estimate after an accident, won't ever think to replace seatbelts, whether automatic or manual seatbelts. Shouldn't they?

-A

 

I have always heard that after a moderate to severe crash to replace seatbelts, as the crash weakens them.

 

Half of the 87s had them because Nissan Started Prodcution on the 87s in 86 so the ones that were built in 86 and maybe early 87 had manual seat belts while later 87s had the automatic seat belts. Not all of the 87s had automatic seat belts. Ive sat in one it was kinda weird, but normal in a way. All 88s have them. I think they stopped in 89 not sure though.

 

i have an automatic seatbelt on my 88. the weird thing is, sometimes when i open the door, the belt gets stuck and it tightens across my chest really hard, so i have to use the manual seatbelt release. it's only the driver side that has that problem

 

My passenger side does that now very rarely. Itll stop and tighten up so I just tell my gf or anyone sitting there to just shut the door and wait and then open the door again. That usually works. There was only one time I had to use the Emergency button to get it off when it did that.

 

That was onew reason I asked, because I seen a 1987 maxima for sale and was sure it looked like it had manual belts. It must have been an early 87.

 

you know why it will do that sometimes is that the sensor for one of the doors or trunk goes bad and the car doesnt realize that something is being opened or closed, therefore the seatbelt doesn't respond accordingly, also you may have blown a fuse if it happens alot.

 

yup

 

My wagon was built in 11/86, and has the auto belts...

 

My passenger (only side that still works) does that. It usually has to do with hitting a bump in the road hard enough to lock it, or trying to lean forward. The same things that can cause a manual belt to lock - you just don't notice it as much with manual belts. They're desinged to tighten up like that.

To release, grab the belt down by the retractor, next to the seat and console, and gently pull the belt across your chest, feeding the belt into the retractor. This releases the tension, and it will open like normal with the door.

 

My driver side automatic seatbelt on my 87 Maxima wagon stopped working - like the motor gave out or froze. I contacted Nissan because I had read online that these seatbelts had a lifetime warranty. NIssan Consumer Affairs first retrieved the archived warranty and info using the VIN. Then, I was directed to go to the dealer and was told there that the part was no longer available. I then got a call from Nissan to tell me that the lifetime warranty began in 1989 and as such, they would not assist me with my seatbelt concern. I guess I will have to look to see if it can be repaired or replace with a new 3-point belt.

 

I'm from CA, so I rely on being lazy and convenienced by my 2nd gen max.
Nox Vidmate VLC

 

The federal government required passive restraints in all passenger vehicles beginning with motor year 1985. This included airbags or automatic seat belts. A number of manufacturers chose automatic seat belts. 1985 through 1988 Nissan Maximas did not feature airbags and so the seat belts were required. Good luck with the purchase of SE. I love those boxes sedans especially in the SE trim!
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