Child Seat Advice

[ThunderSpook]

boobles said:

The trouble is, if you were to have an accident (god forbid) & you were using a child restraint that was not compatible, you wouldn't legally have any leg to stand on. It may feel safe & tight but not worth risking unless they state that it is compatible.


May be worth having a look here, they do list some Porsche's & it may also be worth contacting them to see what they say.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&am...

Tries them, they don't list the Boxster unfortunately. When you say I would be liable, for what exactly? Surely it can't be illegal to use a perfectly safe fitting just because nobody's tested it? I'm sure they haven't tested all car and seat combos??

[boobles]

ThunderSpook said:

ries them, they don't list the Boxster unfortunately. When you say I would be liable, for what exactly? Surely it can't be illegal to use a perfectly safe fitting just because nobody's tested it? I'm sure they haven't tested all car and seat combos??

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

Most vehicle manufactures now test child restraints in their vehicles because they are rated for this as part of EuroNCap & most child seats come with a vehicle application list stating which cars that particular seat will fit into, safely. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Lotus etc don't tend to do this as they target people who want a fun car & not a child seat friendly car.

[JR]

boobles said:

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

That's quite an extreme statement. Could you give an example?

[ThunderSpook]

boobles said:

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

Most vehicle manufactures now test child restraints in their vehicles because they are rated for this as part of EuroNCap & most child seats come with a vehicle application list stating which cars that particular seat will fit into, safely. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Lotus etc don't tend to do this as they target people who want a fun car & not a child seat friendly car.

Ah, so what you're saying is that at the end of the day it's my responsibility to decide if I think it's safe or not if it doesn't match someone's listing and I can't blame someone else if something goes wrong? I can live with that. It's the way life should be after all, not continuously blaming other people for the stupid things you do (assuming you've done something incorrectly).

I am happy that when I fit this seat in my car it is fitted as it should be. I have gone through the instructions a number of times to ensure it is right.

[boobles]

ThunderSpook said:

boobles said:

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

Most vehicle manufactures now test child restraints in their vehicles because they are rated for this as part of EuroNCap & most child seats come with a vehicle application list stating which cars that particular seat will fit into, safely. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Lotus etc don't tend to do this as they target people who want a fun car & not a child seat friendly car.

Ah, so what you're saying is that at the end of the day it's my responsibility to decide if I think it's safe or not if it doesn't match someone's listing and I can't blame someone else if something goes wrong? I can live with that. It's the way life should be after all, not continuously blaming other people for the stupid things you do (assuming you've done something incorrectly).

I am happy that when I fit this seat in my car it is fitted as it should be. I have gone through the instructions a number of times to ensure it is right.

Spot on. Like you have said, it feels right & seems to fit the car perfectly fine so I can't see any issues.
Unfortunatley some people (not meaning you) will always try & blame others when things go wrong like these bloody adverts we see on the telly every day for claims etc. Sometimes a bit of common sense could come in handy & I can see that you have this.

[boobles]

JR said:

boobles said:

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

That's quite an extreme statement. Could you give an example?

We have seen/tested child seats that have come back to us where the parents are trying to blame the manufacturer for faulty goods etc after being involved in an accident. 100% of the time it's been human error in instalation of the products which has led to either injury or damage to the seat. (I am not including the day to day returns for faulty goods, just the one's that have been involved in an accident & the parents are trying to claim for the product being faulty)


I must add that we have only been involved with these investigations a handfull of times over 15 years so need to worry.

[ThunderSpook]

boobles said:

Spot on. Like you have said, it feels right & seems to fit the car perfectly fine so I can't see any issues.
Unfortunatley some people (not meaning you) will always try & blame others when things go wrong like these bloody adverts we see on the telly every day for claims etc. Sometimes a bit of common sense could come in handy & I can see that you have this.

Thank you squire, most helpful

[JR]

boobles said:

JR said:

boobles said:

What I meant is, if you fit the seat yourself & are satisfied that it fits properly/correctly without clarifying this with the child seat manufacturer and as previously said, if you were to crash & you're child was injured as a result of the seat not being compatible for the car, then you have zero comback.

That's quite an extreme statement. Could you give an example?

We have seen/tested child seats that have come back to us where the parents are trying to blame the manufacturer for faulty goods etc after being involved in an accident. 100% of the time it's been human error in instalation of the products which has led to either injury or damage to the seat. (I am not including the day to day returns for faulty goods, just the one's that have been involved in an accident & the parents are trying to claim for the product being faulty)


I must add that we have only been involved with these investigations a handfull of times over 15 years so need to worry.

OK, so that's when the seat has not been fitted properly/correctly which is very different from what you said the first time.

[JR]

boobles said:

ThunderSpook said:

Ah, so what you're saying is that at the end of the day it's my responsibility to decide if I think it's safe or not if it doesn't match someone's listing and I can't blame someone else if something goes wrong? I can live with that. It's the way life should be ...

Spot on.

You're all happy and that's nice but it doesn't sound right at all.

If the something that went wrong is solely down to a manufacturing fault then I would have thought that you'd have a very strong case and this talk of zero comeback is non-sense. The general guideline is what is reasonable to expect.

[boobles]

JR said:

boobles said:

ThunderSpook said:

Ah, so what you're saying is that at the end of the day it's my responsibility to decide if I think it's safe or not if it doesn't match someone's listing and I can't blame someone else if something goes wrong? I can live with that. It's the way life should be ...

Spot on.

You're all happy and that's nice but it doesn't sound right at all.

If the something that went wrong is solely down to a manufacturing fault then I would have thought that you'd have a very strong case and this talk of zero comeback is non-sense. The general guideline is what is reasonable to expect.

If you are suggesting that the product is faulty, then you are correct & a full refund is always given if it does turn out to be a manufactures fault. If you damage the seat by ignoring instructions or by fitting into a vehicle to which the product is not compatible with, then you are at fault & this is what I meant.

[JR]

boobles said:

If you are suggesting that the product is faulty, then you are correct & a full refund is always given if it does turn out to be a manufactures fault. If you damage the seat by ignoring instructions or by fitting into a vehicle to which the product is not compatible with, then you are at fault & this is what I meant.

That's more in line with what I understand. Fitting seats to cars which have no chance of being on any list is always the challenge. Manufacturing faults can be impossible to spot (internal defects in metal or plastic) and there is little guidance in judging whether the product is compatible with the vehicle - most of what I have gleaned on this last itme being picked up from shop assistants which I think is far from ideal.

[boobles]

The trouble is though, we can not force car manufactures to come to us to see which seats will or won't fit. We do however approach the most popular "family" car manufactures & try lots of different seats to gain experience in what will & what won't fit & this is where the vehicle application list comes from. We however do have a good working relationship with most car manufactures & they are now beggining to understand that children also have to travel safely in their cars.

[Dino D]

Hi boobles,

Looking t getting a Z3 and had a look on Maxi Cosi's website to see which seats fitted - my son is 3yrs and 16kg. The site shows the Z3 has having 5 seats ad states that some seats can be used on the rear seats of a z3!! Very shoddy of them. I saw a mistake on their site about the Honda FR-V and emailed them and they never bothered responding either or changing the info...

Anyhow, what would you recommend I use for him?

[boobles]

Dino D said:

Hi boobles,

Looking t getting a Z3 and had a look on Maxi Cosi's website to see which seats fitted - my son is 3yrs and 16kg. The site shows the Z3 has having 5 seats ad states that some seats can be used on the rear seats of a z3!! Very shoddy of them. I saw a mistake on their site about the Honda FR-V and emailed them and they never bothered responding either or changing the info...

Anyhow, what would you recommend I use for him?

Hi,

MaxiCosi do seem to have got slightly confused.


The trouble I found when I owned my Z3 was finding something to fit (I don't have children but my job also consists of finding out which seats will fit into certain cars) I would say that you're son is now ready for a "high back booster" & the only thing you have to be careful of is "buckle crunch". This is where the plastic stork that you click the seat belt into clashes with the plastic of the child seat & this is a massive no no because the webbing of the seat belt should be hoding the seat in place & not the plastic bit. Definately worth going to Halfords & trying some in before you commit to buying because Halfords will allow this without any hastle & also worth asking if there is a member of staff who is trained within this area. Sorry I can't be more specific but always worth trying some in before you buy.

[DBSV8]

Heres a car seat ordered from an E-Type owner for use in an early series 1 car
circa 1963

[Dino D]

boobles said:

Hi,

MaxiCosi do seem to have got slightly confused.


The trouble I found when I owned my Z3 was finding something to fit (I don't have children but my job also consists of finding out which seats will fit into certain cars) I would say that you're son is now ready for a "high back booster" & the only thing you have to be careful of is "buckle crunch". This is where the plastic stork that you click the seat belt into clashes with the plastic of the child seat & this is a massive no no because the webbing of the seat belt should be hoding the seat in place & not the plastic bit. Definately worth going to Halfords & trying some in before you commit to buying because Halfords will allow this without any hastle & also worth asking if there is a member of staff who is trained within this area. Sorry I can't be more specific but always worth trying some in before you buy.

Thanks for the advice.
Do I need to de-activate the airbag too? If so up until what age do you have to de-activate it until?

[boobles]

Dino D said:

boobles said:

Hi,

MaxiCosi do seem to have got slightly confused.


The trouble I found when I owned my Z3 was finding something to fit (I don't have children but my job also consists of finding out which seats will fit into certain cars) I would say that you're son is now ready for a "high back booster" & the only thing you have to be careful of is "buckle crunch". This is where the plastic stork that you click the seat belt into clashes with the plastic of the child seat & this is a massive no no because the webbing of the seat belt should be hoding the seat in place & not the plastic bit. Definately worth going to Halfords & trying some in before you commit to buying because Halfords will allow this without any hastle & also worth asking if there is a member of staff who is trained within this area. Sorry I can't be more specific but always worth trying some in before you buy.

Thanks for the advice.
Do I need to de-activate the airbag too? If so up until what age do you have to de-activate it until?

Yes, I was supposed to mention about that. The recommendation is to keep it de-activated until the child is out of a car seat.

[fatvik]

Hi Boobles,

I have just been informed by Britax that they no longer do the baby safe ii plus - This is the one I was going for (with the ISO FIX) for our first child (due soon) in our Yaris.

Instead, they have a new product (not on their web site as yet) called the baby safe. The lady on the phone from Britax said that there are numerous changes to the new model and these include, no head rest and no chest pads. I have asked for information to be sent over to me, which is going to be posted out today.

Have you heard of this new product? Are you free to share your views on it? It seems odd that the head rest and chest pads have been removed from a newer product.... sounds less "fitting"

Cheers
FatVik

[boobles]

fatvik said:

Hi Boobles,

I have just been informed by Britax that they no longer do the baby safe ii plus - This is the one I was going for (with the ISO FIX) for our first child (due soon) in our Yaris.

Instead, they have a new product (not on their web site as yet) called the baby safe. The lady on the phone from Britax said that there are numerous changes to the new model and these include, no head rest and no chest pads. I have asked for information to be sent over to me, which is going to be posted out today.

Have you heard of this new product? Are you free to share your views on it? It seems odd that the head rest and chest pads have been removed from a newer product.... sounds less "fitting"

Cheers
FatVik

Hi,

First of all, did you get the name of the person you spoke to?

I have asked my colleagues here & all of whom have said that they have not heard this. There are 3 versions of this product. First one being the "entry" level with no headpad or chest pads, then there is the Baby-Safe plus II with headpad/chest pads & D-SIP for side impact protection. Then there is the Baby-Safe plus SHR II with all the features of the plus II but with integrated adaptors to allow you to simply attach the infant carrier onto the pushchair to form a travel system. Both the plus II & SHR are compatible with the isofix base.

My understanding is, there is no plan to just have the "entry" level product to replace the other two.

[JR]

boobles said:

Baby-Safe plus II with headpad/chest pads & D-SIP for side impact protection. Then there is the Baby-Safe plus SHR II

FWIW I bought two of the former. No problems with the product but wish I'd gone for the latter - trying to pick up a sleeping baby without disturbing him/her isn't easy.