Dear TimA,

May this find you well. The easy solution is to urge you to get the towing company to pay for a replacement. This item (Part #9156298) will cost about $250 at the dealer. It is a dealer-only item. Alternatively, you could get a unit from a salvage yard. Be advised: do no work on the seatbelt unless and until you disconnect the negative battery cable clamp from the negative battery terminal, and put the cable clamp into a plastic bag, to isolate it. This makes inert the SRS system, and removes the risk of an inadvertent airbag deployment. Be sure you have the radio activation code, before you disconnect things. I can provide detailed guidance as to how to remove the jammed unit and how to replace it.

Before that, here are two things to try:
(a) if the car is not level, put it on a level surface as that will allow the seatbelt to unlock (if the car was tilted, the belts lock, to hold passengers in place, should the tilt become a roll-over)
(b) grip the belt, and snap it it taut, which may allow the ratchet to release.

If these things do not work, the seatbelt unit should be replaced. Again, do not work on the seatbelt unit, without taking the precaution above set forth. These seatbelts have a pyrotechnic pre-tensioner. When the airbag deploys, the pre-tensioner "fires", snugging the belt, so that the person cannot slip out from under the belt. These seatbelt units are thus more than mechanical and need to be treated with care.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook