Used Volkswagen Taro Seat Belt Pretensioner

The Volkswagen Taro, sold in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s, was a rebadged Toyota Hilux pickup truck of that era, and vehicles of this type and age were not fitted with pyrotechnic seat belt pretensioners as standard — this technology was not part of the Taro's safety specification. The Taro used conventional, non-pretensioner seat belts, so there is no genuine seat belt pretensioner to source for this vehicle. If you are looking to improve the passive safety of your Taro, a specialist vehicle safety trimmer would be the right person to advise you on what can be retrofitted.

It is very unlikely to be correct. The Volkswagen Taro did not leave the factory with pyrotechnic seat belt pretensioners, as these were not part of its safety system during its production run. It is possible there has been a parts misidentification, or that the seller is describing a different component such as an inertia reel seat belt mechanism. We would recommend clarifying exactly what part is being described before purchasing anything.

For a Taro you would be looking for conventional inertia reel seat belts and their associated buckles and mounting hardware, rather than pretensioner assemblies, which were never fitted to this model. A breaker who has a Taro in stock should be able to supply the correct belt for the relevant position — driver's side (OS) or passenger's side (NS) — along with rear belts where applicable. Make sure to confirm the condition of any secondhand seat belt carefully, as belts that have been in a collision or show signs of wear should be replaced rather than reused.

It is theoretically possible that an individual vehicle has been modified or had aftermarket or donor safety equipment installed at some point, but this would be a non-standard modification and not something Volkswagen or Toyota offered from the factory. If your specific Taro has been modified in this way, the pretensioner fitted could be from almost any donor vehicle, making sourcing a like-for-like replacement very difficult through a standard breaker search. A specialist auto-electrician or vehicle safety expert would be better placed to advise you on identifying and replacing any such modification safely.