I am trying to get at the seatbelt in my 2024 Blazer because of noise issues coming from the guide visible in the photo. The presence of an air bag in there concerns me. Is it just a matter or popping it off or do you have to disconnect the battery to be safe, or something else? Car is under warranty but last time I brought it in for this issue, they did not correct it and probably think I am imagining things because they can't hear the noise it makes while driving, but it drives me crazy. Sounds like mice crawling around inside the wall of the car.

Thanks for any help

 

The upper B pillar trim does clip into the underlying sheetmetal, but I believe that it also has clips into the lower trim that runs from the front door sill all the way back to the rear door sill. Given the freshness of the vehicle, things shouldn't come apart all that bad.

An alternative way of trying to track down the source of a noise that I have used myself on my '16 Sierra is to place some craft sticks (popcicle sticks) into the gap between the trim pieces to see if that stops the noise. In my case, the noise ended up being the seatbelt tang piece hitting the hard plastic pillar trim. A stick on piece of neoprene rubber and the noise was gone.

I had my truck in twice for service when it was under warranty and had them look into it both times with "cannot duplicate concern" on the work order at the end of each service. I doubt they even drove it.

 

The issue with the noise is a clicking/buzzing sound as the seatbelt moves in and out, but it's only when the belt is pulled at the angle to fasten around the driver. The sound is coming directly from metal guide area, like some kind of roller, but I can't get it to stop from the outside. The dealership claimed they duplicated the problem when I had it in, and they actually replaced the seatbelt, but it still does it.

My concern with removing the pillar trim is the airbag inside. Is there a risk of activating the airbag?