Seat belt buckle broke off in my hand and I fixed it with a zip tie

I was pulling into my driveway last Tuesday and my driver's side seat belt buckle just snapped right off the plastic housing. Old Ford F-150 from 2006, so parts are getting harder to find. I looked up a replacement buckle online and they wanted $85 for a used one, plus shipping. Figured I'd try something crazy before dropping cash on that. Grabbed a heavy duty zip tie from my shop, ran it through the metal loop on the belt and around the buckle mechanism, and cinched it tight. Three weeks later and it's holding just fine, clicks in and releases like normal. Has anyone else used zip ties or random hardware to keep a beater car on the road?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_young17d ago

Buddy of mine did almost the same thing with a zip tie on his old Subaru. Held for like six months before he finally got around to fixing it right.

margaret_taylor4217d ago

I mean, six months on a zip tie? That's honestly pretty impressive for a Subaru. I get that people want to fix things the right way, but sometimes a quick patch job works just fine for a while. @taylor_young I gotta ask though, what was actually wrong with his car that a zip tie could hold it together for half a year? Was it like a loose heat shield or something? Cause I've seen guys panic over a little rattle and act like the car is gonna fall apart. Maybe it's just me but most of the time it's not as serious as people make it out to be.

the_paul16d ago

Changed my mind on zip ties after seeing something similar on a buddy's truck. @taylor_young is right about those Subaru things holding up way longer than you'd guess. Thought it was just lazy backyard mechanic stuff until I had a plastic undertray flapping in the wind on my old Civic. Three zip ties later, that thing didn't budge for a whole year until I sold it. Sometimes the "right way" is just whatever keeps the car on the road without making noise.