[1997] Loose seat belt spring tension - is there an easy way to fixing it?

[1997Camry]

The passenger side of my '97 seatbelt is loose. Once the passenger unbuckles it, there's not enough spring tension to retract the entire length of the seatbelt. It would fully retract if someone straightens it, and help it feed back, and once it's more than 1/3 way in, it can retract the rest on its own. It's not too much of a bother usually, but occassionally when the passenger forgets to straighten it out, the buckle gets whacked when the door's slammed.

The spring area doesn't look easily accessible, and even if I can open the center frame cover, is it fixable or would I have to get the entire brand new seatbelt assembly? If it's too much work I might as well live with it, or get it done at mechanic.

[Daniel M. Dreifus]

Silicone spray on the belt?

[yotatechie04]

It's fairly easy to access the tensioner for the seat belt. It will more than likely need to be replaced, although there might have been some way for the spring inside to slip off of it's seat. I think that you might actually be able to buy just the tensioner and retractor, instead of the whole seatbelt assembly.