Let me start off by saying I am a safe and considerate driver. I wear my seatbelt as a reflex. It's like tying shoes. It goes on without hesitation or a second's thought...
But . . . I run with the devil for up to 7 seconds a night. I stop in front of my garage, set the brake, get out of the car and open the garage, jump back into the car and pull in. During that short breath of time, I stare death in the face and don't wear my seatbelt. And the damn 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander won't SHUT THE HELL UP about it. This car beeps like nothing I've ever heard before. Not just a couple "Whoops? Perhaps you forgot your belt?" along with the illuminated red guy in the photo above. Nonstop, and loud. More like a kid kicking your seat on a Translatlantic flight, or a yap dog at your window when you're hungover. I'm an adult. I'm pretty sure I won't be T-boned over the last 12 feet of my alley/garage.
I realize this is a modern-day horror. From ATMs to gas pumps, the beeping is unrelenting. The madness must stop. Some cars are particularly incessant (the Mercedes R500 when the hatch closes) and some are downright cool, like the G35, which beeps a couple times and then STOPS! It got its message across. Now it's your decision.
Doug Lloyd, Senior Copy Editor @ 24,029 miles
firstwagon says:
05:15 PM, 03/25/08
I bought a new Mitsubishi Pick-up years ago. Within 10 minutes of getting it home, I had found the stupid beeper and removed it. I always wear my seat belt and yes, I close my door when I'm driving.
I don't need to be reminded.
mikevegas06 says:
04:03 AM, 03/26/08
If only you had an automatic garage door opener:-)
noflash1 says:
04:52 AM, 03/26/08
That was horrible in my BMW (e90).
It's one thing I love in my Honda Civic Hybrid. The car will give you a good 30 seconds of driving before it gives you the seatbelt chime -- and then it's only seven beeps -- another pause, etc.
nf
rick8365 says:
06:31 AM, 03/26/08
Hate this too - thankfully my Nissan truck (like my previous Fords) gives a couple beeps and then just has the little symbol flashing. However, our 07 3 series chimes and NEVER shuts up! I am a life long seatbelt wearer but sometimes I'll drive a block or two before buckeling or run an errand around the corner and I prefer to just skip it.
Both cars will lock and unlock without the equally annoying (IMO) horn honk or beeps.....at least it can be defeated, which of course I did. :-)
ahightower says:
06:47 AM, 03/26/08
That is annoying. Both of my cars only beep if you're in gear.
altimadude00 says:
06:58 AM, 03/26/08
I wonder how many non-seatbelt users will/have just clip the belt in, and then sit on it just to silence the chime?
dougtheeng says:
07:55 AM, 03/26/08
I wonder how many non-seatbelt users there are...
chavis10 says:
08:01 AM, 03/26/08
My '07 Mazda3 does the same thing. When I drive the Chevy Express cargo van, it'll even ding if there's a passenger riding without his/her belt.
spaceywilly says:
10:45 AM, 03/26/08
You might be able to shut this off, my mom had a 2000 Windstar that would beep like this and I found a section in the manual with the steps to shut it up for good. It was a pretty ridiculous process, I think I had to turn the key 3 times then buckle and unbuckle the seatbelt a few times then honk the horn or something... but it did work.
bankerdanny says:
12:35 PM, 03/26/08
My Subaru Forester does the same thing. As soon as it warms up I am finding the speaker and disconnecting it!
genius163 says:
02:45 PM, 03/26/08
My 2008 Scion xD beeps intermittently if you don't have your seatbelt on. Once you hit 12 mph, it is one long, continuous beep. This also applies to the front passenger or, as is usually the case with me, and exceptionally heavy purse plus maybe my lunch on the front passenger seat when I hit a bump going over 12 mph. I have since buckled the front passenger seatbelt.
skierx420 says:
03:17 PM, 03/26/08
Buy a seatbelt extender (some dealerships will give you one for free if you ask) When you plug it in it will forever silence you machine. Chrysler group vehicles are just like the Mitsu. Thats what I did.
cx7lover says:
03:21 PM, 03/26/08
Just have it deactivated at the dealer if it's that much of a bother.
firstwagon says:
06:02 PM, 03/26/08
"My 2008 Scion xD beeps intermittently if you don't have your seatbelt on. Once you hit 12 mph, it is one long, continuous beep"
It's just imitating the sound the heart monitor will make after the accident.
johnmarco says:
08:16 AM, 03/27/08
I reached under the seat of my Tacoma and unplugged the wire. 2 seconds. That killed the beeping forever, and, as a bonus, killed the "hi you've turned on your car let me beep at you for 5 seconds" beeps too.
greenpony says:
09:39 AM, 03/27/08
Spaceywilly, my '02 Mustang is the same. I recall having to flip the headlights on and off a few times, fasten and unfasten the seatbelt a few times. Kind of a tedious process, but it worked.
thebigal says:
08:11 PM, 03/29/08
best thing to do is what a couple others have mentioned and unplug the wire connected to the seat belt... my truck has one of those reminders, but it doesn't beep at me excpet for the 7 or 8 beeps right after I start the vehicle. But I unpluged the wire once while installing my XM radio and amp set up and the chime and the flashing little red guy went away until I plugged the wire back in.
gearhead1977 says:
02:35 PM, 02/24/09
Many vehicles have a way of turning it off, it just requires patience, the owners manual and/or Google.
I find the Ford reminder chime the most obnoxious, followed by Chrysler. But just to show I'm not biased against domestics, I hate how my damn VW beeps when the washer fluid is low, especially when it's low enough to slosh empty, not be empty.