Isofix problem

[mdianuk]

Not the most exciting of discussions I grant you, but a serious one nether the less.

Just had our first baby arrive and look out on first journey on to find the little man's head was slumped forward on arrival at our destination.

It seems that the angle in my VW Golf Mk7 is such that the Isofix base (Graco Snug-safe) angle is compromised, meaning the baby seat is more upright resulting in added risk to baby.

Is this something others have come across and how did you resolve? I'm going to pop in to Mothercare tomorrow and ask, but so far the manufacturer have said they've never heard of this issue before, which I can hardly believe.

I don't want to have to change my setup, as I purchased the pushchair etc to suit.

I've tried wedging a towel under the lowest point of the seat, but of course with Isofix clamp points, your angle is pre-determined. The only way around this I've found is use a seat belt, which defeats the object!

Any advice welcome.

[mcflurry]

Does the seat or base tilt?

Our first car seat was on a pendulum type base, for want of a better technical term..

[Urban Sports]

I didn't use isofix in my 3 series I just used the belt instead which is equally safe, try that.

[MattGTA]

First of all, congrats !

It's a few years since I had an isofix, but many of the seats recline a bit, which may help. If I remember correctly, the reclining lever was under the front of the seat on all of ours. (Presumably this is a rear facing seat for a new baby? If not, that may be your problem.)

Also, you can get additional head supports / huggers if you're worried - they're a bit like squidgy HANS devices or those travel pillows they sell in service stations. As you know, new born babies take a good few weeks to build up the strength to hold their own heads so it's not an unsuual problem.

Most of the big baby shops are really helpful with this stuff - as you say - if you pop into a Mothercare or similar, they will take a look and help / put your mind at ease.

Good luck !

M

Edited by MattGTA on Wednesday 25th June 17:49

[mdianuk]

Thanks for the advice guys; both the base and seat are fixed, so no option to recline that I can see anyway (and no suggestion of there being one by the manufacturer). At the moment, should I need to travel with baby, I will have to prop the base up with a towel and then use the seat belt only, which does appear safe, but annoyingly not the method I purchased for.

I think as you say I'll get some advice from Mothercare tomorrow; they have been very knowledgeable in the past so might be able to advise me.

[Sensibleboy]

Surely on a baby seat the child is more flat on their back? It's rear facing isn't it? Does the seat have the leg on the floor? Is it too far extended?

[Herbs]

Don't worry we had similar

We contacted the manufacturer of the seat and they sent us a free wedge which went on the bottom of the seat to alter the angle of the car seat to solve the problem - if yours doesn't offer the same you can always use a thick foam wedge to create the same effect (it doesn't need to be too thick to make a world of difference)

[mdianuk]

Sensibleboy said:

Surely on a baby seat the child is more flat on their back? It's rear facing isn't it? Does the seat have the leg on the floor? Is it too far extended?

No, baby seats are still quite upright, which is why they recommend no more than 2 hours in the seat, or in some cases, no more than 30 minutes per day.

Yes, it is a rear facing seat, I think they have to be at that age by law.

The ISOFIX does have a leg to extend to the floor but this isn't over extended; it is purely down to the deep angle of the Golf's rear seats, it is too steep and means when the base is flat, it creates too much of an angle for the baby seat which has them sitting more upright, creating the issue of their head slumping forward.

[mdianuk]

Herbs said:

Don't worry we had similar

We contacted the manufacturer of the seat and they sent us a free wedge which went on the bottom of the seat to alter the angle of the car seat to solve the problem - if yours doesn't offer the same you can always use a thick foam wedge to create the same effect (it doesn't need to be too thick to make a world of difference)

I assume in that situation though you had to then fix the base to the car by the seat belt rather than the ISOFIX clamps?

[anonymous-user]

Urban Sports said:

I didn't use isofix in my 3 series I just used the belt instead which is equally safe, try that.

Yep, we've done the same. Belt takes two seconds once you've done it a couple of times.

[Bill]

Don't you need the belt as well as the isofix points? Otherwise it's only attached at one end, surely?

[Urban Sports]

Bill said:

Don't you need the belt as well as the isofix points? Otherwise it's only attached at one end, surely?

Nope, on mine anyway the belt fixes across the base which then clamps it down tight between the buckle and the anchoring point at the seat, the rest then wraps round the baby seat so it's secure at 3 points.

[Bill]

Urban Sports said:

Nope, on mine anyway the belt fixes across the base which then clamps it down tight between the buckle and the anchoring point at the seat, the rest then wraps round the baby seat so it's secure at 3 points.

Yep, but IME if you're using isofix you use the belt too.

[Urban Sports]

Bill said:

Urban Sports said:

Nope, on mine anyway the belt fixes across the base which then clamps it down tight between the buckle and the anchoring point at the seat, the rest then wraps round the baby seat so it's secure at 3 points.

Yep, but IME if you're using isofix you use the belt too.

Just using the belt is just as safe, I didn't use it on my 3 series because the anchor points where that deep into the seat join it'd have wrecked the seats.

[miniman]

Bill said:

Yep, but IME if you're using isofix you use the belt too.

Nope, definitely not on the Maxi Cosi Easyfix base.

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/handlers/dorelbase/downlo...

[Bill]

miniman said:

Nope, definitely not on the Maxi Cosi Easyfix base.

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/handlers/dorelbase/downlo...

Hmmm, I'm sure we had one of those. Looks like I didn't read the instructions

[mdianuk]

Similar on my Graco, it has the option of running the seat belt into the base itself, held down, therefore meaning that the ISO clamp wasn't required. You do have to run the whole seat belt under it though, including the top strap.

Blue bit http://s7ondemand6.scene7.com//is/image/Mothercare...

I think they class them as semi-universal so can fit either way. I suspect this it what I'll have to do as I can then wedge it up a little to give a better angle for the baby seat. Still a PITA, but with the matching pushchair that fits the baby seat on, we didn't want to have to change everything due to a design fault (either by Graco, or the car manufacturer).

Edited by mdianuk on Wednesday 25th June 22:34

[Herbs]

mdianuk said:

Herbs said:

Don't worry we had similar

We contacted the manufacturer of the seat and they sent us a free wedge which went on the bottom of the seat to alter the angle of the car seat to solve the problem - if yours doesn't offer the same you can always use a thick foam wedge to create the same effect (it doesn't need to be too thick to make a world of difference)

I assume in that situation though you had to then fix the base to the car by the seat belt rather than the ISOFIX clamps?

Nope, just used isofix, the points on my seat actually pivot (I think most do) which allows you to still use them whilst adjusting the angle.

[skip_1]

We had the same issue with a Graco non-isofix base in a Mk6 Golf. The seat cushions just didn't let it sit right and the baby seat would be tilted just a little too much (orange in the seat positioning indicator window). The seat itself was fine strapped in by the belt though.