[IcemanJeeper]

I was experiencing the same issue that many others had brought up in previous threads from the past 5 years or so: My seat belt would make a "clicking" noise in my ear, coming from right around the height adjuster.

It was an off & on problem, sometimes clicking with every subtle shoulder movement while I was driving, sometimes not clicking at all for a period of time. But when it WAS clicking, it was obnoxious to say the least and driving me NUTS!

When I took it to my local Jeep dealership, they told me it wasn't repairable and I would need to just replace seatbelt. Oh yeah, by the way, that was going to cost me $1202 before tax ($710 for parts & $492 for labor), just to replace a dang seat belt, which is clearly defective.

Anyway, long story short, my dad helped me research and he ended up finding this YouTube video of a similar issue in a BMW seat belt. If you follow along in this video, it shows exactly how to find the source of the issue and how to fix it. The seat belts are nearly identical in this BMW & in the Renegade (at least in my 2018 TH).

The clicking is from a worn down/compressed spring washer that is sitting between the plastic seat belt bezel and the torx bolt.
To get to this spring washer:

• Pop off the height adjuster cover
• Unscrew the torx bolt (mine required a size T47)
• Remove the tight-fitting silver washer & the plastic bezel piece (you will then see the spring washer)
• Either replace the spring washer or bend it so it regains more tension (make it so it isn't so flat)

I bent the spring washer enough so it wasn't as flat, almost making a "V" shape, and put the seat belt back together. So far, no more clicking and no more of me going insane.
If it comes back, my plan is to replace the spring washer altogether with another one, ideally one that is not as thin and "tinny sounding."

Hope this helps anyone else out there experiencing this issue. Definitely worth trying to fix it yourself rather than getting completely screwed out of $1200 by the dealership for a replacement.

 

[Mrsig]

and enjoy the forum!
Great post! I made it a sticky.

 

[XFiber]

...When I took it to my local Jeep dealership, they told me it wasn't repairable and I would need to just replace seatbelt. Oh yeah, by the way, that was going to cost me $1202 before tax ($710 for parts & $492 for labor), just to replace a dang seat belt, which is clearly defective...

(Sarcastic comment follows)

Firstly... You have a 2018 that should have been covered by the warranty.

Secondly... How did the dealer's repair department manage to determine that the seatbelt was defective? I sincerely doubt it set a trouble code.
Plus I suspect they would not have told you that it was only a broken thrust washer, replaced that part, and still charged you for an entire seat belt assembly. (claiming that the washer was not available separately)

If you haven't guessed by now I have no love of dealership service departments as I have too many nightmare stories from dealing with them. Ranging from breaking or losing parts and trying to charge me for the replacements to trying to diagnose trouble by swapping out parts until the trouble goes away. I applaud your dad for the assistance and saving you from throwing away good money needlessly.

 

[IcemanJeeper]

(Sarcastic comment follows)

Firstly... You have a 2018 that should have been covered by the warranty.

Secondly... How did the dealer's repair department manage to determine that the seatbelt was defective? I sincerely doubt it set a trouble code.
Plus I suspect they would not have told you that it was only a broken thrust washer, replaced that part, and still charged you for an entire seat belt assembly. (claiming that the washer was not available separately)

If you haven't guessed by now I have no love of dealership service departments as I have too many nightmare stories from dealing with them. Ranging from breaking or losing parts and trying to charge me for the replacements to trying to diagnose trouble by swapping out parts until the trouble goes away. I applaud your dad for the assistance and saving you from throwing away good money needlessly.

In regards to the warranty, they had told me it was past the 3 years so it wasn't covered. Only my drivetrain warranty is still active.
And honestly, they did not seem to take my complaint about this clicking noise seriously at all. At one point the mechanic gave an eye-rolling look to the customer service person when I was trying to show them the issue. (I assume this might bring up memories of some of your dealership service dept horror stories?)

The mechanic was actually arguing with me, saying I was moving the seatbelt in such a drastic way that the plastic bezel was tapping against the plastic height adjuster, which is completely incorrect. I had a video of the issue and showed them in person how just a small subtle movement was causing this noise from an internal piece. (I'm not a moron and would obviously notice if I was smacking plastic on plastic).

They didn't really do any sort of formal determination of the seat belt being defective. They basically just told me "Well, we can't fix whatever you're hearing so we can replace it. But we also can't promise that a new seat belt won't make this same apparent noise you're hearing."
Also, even if I wanted to spend that obscene amount of $$ on a replacement, the customer service person told me they were completely backordered on the part with no timeline of when it would be available.
I guess lesson learned on my local dealership service dept. I'm gonna be sure to steer clear (pun most definitely intended) of them forever.

The positive from this though was I was so furious at this experience that it motivated me to put in the effort (along with my dad's research) to just go for it and try and fix it myself. I'd done work on my 96 XJ before, but was hesitant to mess with anything on my '18 TH. Glad my anger pushed me over the edge.

 

[XFiber]

... I was so furious at this experience ...

I had the same feelings with a motorcycle dealer that had my Goldwing for 2 1/2 weeks because they were "backed up" with repair work. An in-person visit I asked if they had a chance to diagnose the problem. I was told the three year old bike needed the carburetors rebuilt and the vacuum lines replaced long with the insulator mat replaced. Puzzled I asked what they did to figure that out and was told "That's what most guys with that complaint need" and then he turned and walked away. I refused to authorize any work, demanded they wash the bike, (it had been sitting in the same spot for the 2 1/2 weeks) and told them I would be back the next day to pick it up. The dealer called me about 20 minutes later to apologize but I refused to let them work on it. As it turns out it was an alternator problem.
A Chrysler dealership service department was fixing a blown head gasket on my mini van and snapped an intake manifold bolt. They then chowdered it up trying to drill it out and had to order a new manifold and thought they would charge me for the replacement cost. That didn't work for me either.
Now a days I only go to the dealer service department for warranty work. And even that gets a close scrutiny! (Get the idea that I don't trust them?)