Ok so for once I have a solution rather than just a problem to ask about. My seatbelts on my 2006 Boxster S were not recoiling when taken off and would just lay there waiting to be fed back in. With only 29k miles, the car hasn't had a hard life so I was puzzled.

I asked the dealer if they knew of issues with the recoil mechanism needing replaced. The service advisor said it is likely just gunk build up on the anchor point near your shoulder. He also said that some clear packing tape covering the belt facing points would reduce the resistance from the belt.

I looked at mine and had no gunk to speak of . I wiped my belts with a cloth as well and got some dirt off them but it didn't make much difference.

I then carefully tried fitting packing tape on the belt loop anchor point and oh my that did the trick. It apparently was just the resistance of a soiled belt on a worn plastic piece. With the slick side of the tape facing the belt, it now slides through effortlessly. Give it a try.

 

Thanks for the tip. I have had the same issue from time to time. 22000 on the clock and had the problem since I bought the car at 17800