New belt guide in third row of Mazda 5?

[BookMama]

I went to the Detroit auto show today :love: and had to check out the Mazda 5. I know that the seatbelts in the third row are known to be a problem because they're several inches in front of the vehicle seat.

But I wonder ... have they fixed that problem with a belt guide? I don't recall seeing these belt guides in previous Mazda 5 pictures. I also wasn't familiar enough with the problem to be able to tell whether these would do the trick.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/taruff/Detroit%20auto%20show%202009/DSC01417.jpg
The opening is toward the front of the car, and you just slip the seatbelt in.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/taruff/Detroit%20auto%20show%202009/DSC01415.jpg
The other seatbelt, buckled.

So, what do you think? Still too far forward of the vehicle seat?

[Namegirl]

Those aren't belt guides. Those are for holding the seat belt out of the way when you're not usng the 3rd row and have it folded down. My 06 has those. They're only for seat belt storage.

[BookMama]

Oh darn, I thought I'd discovered something new. :o The vehicle manuals weren't provided, so we couldn't read about what they actually were.

[Namegirl]

LOL. Yeah, the 2nd row seats have them, too.

[Defrost]

Don't feel bad - every single time I've shown someone the seat belt problem in my car, the first thing they do is grab the seat belt and stick it in that little holder on the side. :) I always have to point out that even if that's what it were for, it would position the shoulder belt right around the child's elbow.

[Jeanum]

I was Bookmama's sidekick/enabler at the auto show yesterday, good times. :) :thumbsup: I also initially guessed those were belt positioning guides, but then it also occurred to me they were probably intended to hold the seatbelts aside for folding/stowing the vehicle seats. Thanks to the 5 owners for confirming their function for folding/stowing the seats. :)

[Pixels]

If you think about it, it makes sense that those would not be belt guides. The opening is toward the front of the vehicle, so it would likely get pulled out of the guide in a front end crash.

[BookMama]

If you think about it, it makes sense that those would not be belt guides. The opening is toward the front of the vehicle, so it would likely get pulled out of the guide in a front end crash.

Yes, that's why I was confused about what they were.