Locking seat belts

My 2005 Honda Civic’s back seat

seat belt unlocked but would no release my passenger. We needed 2 police officers to assist my passenger to disengage from the locked seat belt. Is there a way of releasing the belt?

What did the police officers do?

The police officers were, with great difficulty, able to slide my friend under
the seatbelt. They could not release it, either.
We left the car, and when we returned the belt was working
properly. Of course no one wanted to use it, for fear of it happening again.

Get the mechanism replaced, something must be broken inside it. No reason to risk a problem.

Thank You. crserina

I do remember a recall on certain model Hondas for this exact problem.
Give the service dept at a Honda dealership a call, provide your VIN, and ask them if there are any active recalls on your car. With any luck, you will find that your car is eligible for free repair of the rear seatbelt retractor mechanism.

why did you call the police?

We didn’t, they just happened to be in the same parking lot. If they hadn’t
helped us, we would have had to cut the seat belt.

Thank you, I did not realize they had a recall. Will call them in the morning.