help! told my kia cant have any child seat installed

sunshinetours

You mention the police safety check - we have a local council run one weekly I think (essex in case relevant) that they will check any seat you request. Maybe check your lcoal council website or call them. They don't sell or endorse any seats so at least you are getting practical independent advice

Halfords I wouldn't rely on anything they tell you and Britax will only recomend what they out on the Fit Finder as a guide. Plenty of other manufacturers out there for seats. If Kia won't help its because they don't sell one or won't make any money out of it unfortunately

The fact that the belt has come loose after a week is not necessarily a problem as you should check the tightness each trip anyway

JQ.

This thread makes no sense to me. 3 point seatbelts are all the same, they house an inertia reel that locks in the event of sudden movement. The length of the seatbelt has no impact on the performance of childseats on any car or seat we have owned, because the unused belt recoils back into the inertia reel. The seatbelt loops round the seat and is locked in place by a lock contained within the seat. It's that lock that holds the seat tightly in place.

I'm no expert on this, but to me it sounds like you have a duff seat not a duff car. We have had Maxi-Cosi and Britax seats in cars with ages ranging from 1996 to 2009 and the length of the belt or slackness of the belt has never had an impact on the performance of the car seat. However, when witnessing relatives move our car seats about, invariably the don't tighten the lock and belt enough, creating a lose fit which I always have to tighten myself. Perhaps the seats were not fitted correctly.

sunshinetours

No some cars have funny shaped seats, funny seat belt clips, short belts etc and all these can affect how some car seats fit on that particular seat

Just because you can fit a belt through a seat and clip it in doesn't make that seat safe in the case of an accident (which is ultimately the only important time after all. Isofix obviusly helps a lot of that as it provides a solid restraint

I've seen the difference at the Council safety centre when they have fitted unsuitable seats and then simulated a hard yank on the seat and its basically slid on its back or turned over for example - exactly what you don't want to happen

alleycat`

kazzys51 wrote: »

its a britax first class plus the only explanation they could give is there is too much slack on their belts if i could cut a foot off(professionally) it it would be gr8 but renders the belt un safe i cant believe there is no answer to this surely there has to be a gadget, seat or something that will work and pass a safety check..........pure stuck

thanks

http://www.britax.co.uk/car-seats/fit-finder/
tends to suggest whomever you spoke to at britax was talking out of their blow hole.

It has recommendations for several seats for your car, make age and model.

The SI / first class plus seat is a pig to get tight with seatbelts (we had one).

It isn't impossible, however, to get a good fit.
I would follow the destructions when doing it and possibly kneel into the seat when tightening it off.

Any seat fitted with a seatbelt should be checked regularly for slippage anyway.

Edit: realised someone else pretty much posted this :-/

molerat

"Seat belt too long" generally refers to the seat / buckle end being too long and fouling the child seat preventing a secure fit. This is a very common problem including large volume cars such as Vectra and Astra.

Flyboy152

kazzys51 wrote: »

hi, ive just bought a kia sedona(2003no iso fix) after i had asked halfords if my britax car seats would fit which they said it would, and fitted it for me , after a week the seats came loose so i went back and they tightened them and said its just one of those things with the belts.

i still wasnt happy so decided to contact britax to ask if there was some sort of gadget............she told me there is no car seat that they would recomend for a kia of that age as the belts are too long:eek: therefore will be too slack which is exactly the case:eek:

i cant believe ive been driving with the kids in the car for 4 weeks.

so she advised contacting kia to see if the belts can be adapted which they cant and also kia recomends that no car seat for a child should be in sedonas!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant believe anyone without kids would want such a big car.

our local kia dealer said she has encountered this before but was very shifty about it and said she was sorry there is nothing she can do.....

ive spoke to motability to see if they can adapt the car..... nope!
kia wont do he haw!!!

ive got two rachets on each seat that can take 300lb weight as well as the belt after my friend recomended and it is really solid but it still dosnt feel right........im stuck with a car im scared to use

Have you had a really good look in the seats, because the Sedona has had ISOFIX since at least 2002.

I have had a good look around and can't find anything about this issue. I would have thought that something like this would have been raised a few times before.

Flyboy152

sunshinetours wrote: »

No some cars have funny shaped seats, funny seat belt clips, short belts etc and all these can affect how some car seats fit on that particular seat

Just because you can fit a belt through a seat and clip it in doesn't make that seat safe in the case of an accident (which is ultimately the only important time after all. Isofix obviusly helps a lot of that as it provides a solid restraint

I've seen the difference at the Council safety centre when they have fitted unsuitable seats and then simulated a hard yank on the seat and its basically slid on its back or turned over for example - exactly what you don't want to happen

A "hard yank" is nowhere near comparable to the deceleration forces experienced in a collision.

datostar

Long time since I needed child seats, but in the 1970's when I did they came with a fitting kit - big bolts, spreader plates etc. and the 4 locating straps were bolted through the rear floor and the boot floor. Presumably they don't do that kind any more?

sunshinetours

Flyboy152 wrote: »

A "hard yank" is nowhere near comparable to the deceleration forces experienced in a collision.

Of course not but the check they do carry out (and sign their name to) is far better than the approach by Mothercare, Halford, Babies R us sales assistants IMO

Side protection is the key safety aspect for many child seats as this is where the big damage can be done

sarahg1969

zappahey wrote: »

Do the middle seats come out so that the pram could go there instead of the boot?

That wouldn't be safe, though, would it? I wouldn't be happy putting loose luggage in front of my children.