unlocking seat belt 2000 ford Taurus ( no accident)

We took the seat belts out to clean them and the driver one is retracted all the way in and won't come out! Oopsie! How do I fix?

wrote:
> We took the seat belts out to clean them and the driver one is
> retracted all the way in and won't come out! Oopsie! How do I fix?

I'm not familiar with that specific one, however ones
that I have worked on have a plastic cover on the end that
covers the cam and gear.
If yours is similar, then move the cam.

> wrote

> We took the seat belts out to clean them and the driver one is retracted
> all the way in and won't come out! Oopsie! How do I fix?

Is it back in the car now, or still sitting on the kitchen table?

There's usually an "inertia" lock of some kind inside that responds to
sharp movements of the car (and sometimes really steep hills), and
locks the reel. If it's out of the car, and you're not holding it in the same
position as when it's installed, gravity can cause the mechanism to
shift to the "lockup" position. Holding it in the correct orientation and
giving it a couple of thumps should unlock it.