car seat for back seat

[moosie]

Newbie here - I've only just discovered this forum!
Got a question if anyone can help - has anyone found a forward facing car seat (9kg+. I have a one year old) that can be fitted in the backseat of a cooper. I don't want to use the isofix system. Also wondered if any of you have more than one child and manage to get them both in? I'm expecting again but I refuse to give up the car.

Cheers

[minirog]

Hi there - I've got two seats in the back of mine usually, one for our three year old and one booster for our six year old but we could easily get two of the non booster type in I reckon. Fitting them in is not a problem at all (I also shove them in our classic Cooper sometimes and that's no problem either).

I'm sure any standard sized forward facing seats will fit - presumably you'll be adding a backward facing seat for the baby?

That being the case do you have a front airbag that can be switched off? Doing that would mean you can get the baby safely in the front, failing that I believe there are backard facing seats that just fit or you can get your dealer to swich off the aibag I think.

[CDMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by moosie (original)

I don't want to use the isofix system.
Cheers

That's a BIG mistake, we just took a big hit in the rear end, I think the Evenflo Triumph seat combined with Isofix/Latch system is what kept my daughter without any effects. Why would you not want to use it? I don't think there is any way a seatbelt setup will fasten the seat down nearly as well. MINI has made it a really easy system to use, unlike all the others where you have to dig around between the cushions to find where to latch it. With MINI just flip open the covers and there they are. Don't forget to use the top tether either. And when tightening down the front straps get in the seat pressing down with your knee and LOTS of force and cinch the strap up good and tight.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by CDMINI (original)

That's a BIG mistake, we just took a big hit in the rear end, I think the Evenflo Triumph seat combined with Isofix/Latch system is what kept my daughter without any effects. Why would you not want to use it? I don't think there is any way a seatbelt setup will fasten the seat down nearly as well. MINI has made it a really easy system to use, unlike all the others where you have to dig around between the cushions to find where to latch it. With MINI just flip open the covers and there they are. Don't forget to use the top tether either. And when tightening down the front straps get in the seat pressing down with your knee and LOTS of force and cinch the strap up good and tight.

some valid points, but also some that are specific to your region, the products and regulations are different here in the UK

The seats that use just a seatbelt to attach, are just as safe here, and also on Isofix, not all seats require the use of the third tether.

The best advice is to go to a specialist retailer who will allow you to try the seats in your MINI, and find which one you find easiest to use and which best fits your car, as all cars can differ slightly from the next, even in the same model.

[moosie]

Thanks for that advice. I've tried a few retailers and so far have found them really unhelpful and bereft of any knowledge about the products. One retailer wouldn't let me try out a car seat unless I was going to buy it but wouldn't let me return it if it didn't fit. I wasn't trying to buy a pair of jeans - this is child safety! Also how do I know if it fits? One seat felt very secure but there was a big gap ( big enough to get my hand in) at the bottom/back of the seat - is that safe? What are the major things I should be looking for when I try one out?

Cheers

M

[scooperman_uk]

i have had several seats in my MINI varying from baby bucket seats thru to booster seats for 7 year olds. the one my sisinlaw has used in my car is a mothercare one at the moment. i have had everything from halfords to maclaren to mothercare. each has its own merits and faults. best bet is to go to a big store that allows u to try them out in your MINI. only then will you find what fits best with your seats and child.

i currently have 2 booster seats in my MINI for a 4 and a 7 year old, they are the style where u loop the belt over some arms on the sides. they fit in ok. on the occasion i have had my niece and nephew seating in the rear. we have had no problems with the combination of adult next to booster or baby seat. the seats ahve plenty of width. its the boot thats the problem for pushchairs and prams.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by moosie (original)

Thanks for that advice. I've tried a few retailers and so far have found them really unhelpful and bereft of any knowledge about the products. One retailer wouldn't let me try out a car seat unless I was going to buy it but wouldn't let me return it if it didn't fit. I wasn't trying to buy a pair of jeans - this is child safety! Also how do I know if it fits? One seat felt very secure but there was a big gap ( big enough to get my hand in) at the bottom/back of the seat - is that safe? What are the major things I should be looking for when I try one out?

Cheers

M

I would say that if a retailer isn't going to let you try it, then don't buy from them. But I know why they have probably said this. A lot of retailers are been hit hard by the internet giant retailers. You know, someone comes to a store, and then they spend time helping you to select a carseat, check it fits, and then at the end of it you leave and order it online for cheaper

I bet if you went back there and said look, I shall be buying the seat today, from you, then they will be more helpful

As for things to consider, have a read of this thread for some legal and general tips on buying. http://www.mini2.com/forum/minis-chi...e-parents.html

Then all you need to do is find the right retailer and they will do the rest of the work

[Matt R]

I've got a maxi-cosi Priory XP for my little un in the back of mine and you could fit another one alongside it.

[CDMINI]

I believe there are booster pads/wedges that go under the rear part of the seat, but I, with success, made my own wedge out of a rolled up towel. Just cinch it down very tight and make sure the seat cannnot move around. Re-check it after your child has ridden in it a few times.Our fire stations and police traffic safety persons will check your seat installs over here, but so should your retailer if they are any good.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by CDMINI (original)

I believe there are booster pads/wedges that go under the rear part of the seat, but I, with success, made my own wedge out of a rolled up towel. Just cinch it down very tight and make sure the seat cannnot move around. Re-check it after your child has ridden in it a few times.Our fire stations and police traffic safety persons will check your seat installs over here, but so should your retailer if they are any good.

I recommend reading this thread, and I still stand by my original post in there saying NOT to ever use anything under a carseat to fill a gap or to prevent marking on interiors, doing so puts a childs life at risk!.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/minis-chi...at#post2477897

[CDMINI]

You may have misunderstood my use of a towel. It isn't under the whole seat to protect the plastic leather. I could care less about that. I use it as a wedge/spacer under the back of the seat bottom because the seat doesn't sit level on the flat part of the seat back there. If it wasn't there the seat would just rock around all the time you are driving and there is nothing safe about that. It's too bad all they make are generic seats and all car seats are built different. I'll bet no one tests these things on every car.

I should be able to buy a seat built for the MINI alone, tested, crashed in it, etc., but no one is going to do that. Your standards may approve the seat moving around as it's hit, but I would think that is just asking for trouble , because you can't tell which way the forces are actually going to come from in an accident in the real world. Another reason testing only confirms the test not the real world.

I still will stick with my top tether and my seat cinched down tightly on a rear wedge if I need it so it is resting foursquare on the bottom of the baby seat, and hope she stays exactly where I put her if we should ever have to faceoff with another vehicle again.Thanks for the thoughts though.

[Rakey]

No, I totally understood what you was saying, but maybe I didn't spend enough time explaining it in here.

The fact that you are putting a towel/wedge in to stop a seat moving about is even worse than doing it to stop the seat from getting marked.

If you need the towel or wedge, then it sounds to me like the seat doesn't fit the car as no correctly fitted car seat should have a gap underneath it or be loose in the car.

You have to imagine how these seats move in an impact, first they move towards the dash of the car until they can't move any further be it the isofix tethers that stop it or the seat belt, once it stops in this direction of travel the seat comes back (generally) towards the seat of the car, compressing the seat foam and the seat belt tightens back up as it does this. Now imagine if there is a foreign object, such as a towel/wedge there, firstly you don't know where this could have moved to during the motion of a crash, secondly how are you going to make sure the carseat lands pefectly back on it, and thirdly who checks to see how the thing compresses when the car seat lands on it?

You have to picture that in the testing is the same density of towel/wedge is used on the crash testing, no as no towel or wedge is used, as its not supposed to be there. So who takes accountability for this been there and how it effects the crash test, no-one.

When car seats are designed they are made to fit a generic bench, and also with statisics for the market place of average seat angles and data like this.

Unfortunately they have to be tested on a specific test rig, which is as instructed in the standard, so they can't be tested in a specific car, and could you imagine how much that would cost to do Its already costly to do the bench testing, never mind killing a car eveytime you tested these seats

I know testing doesn't give a true picture of the real world, but it is the best thing we have and the only thing we have at the moment. It is constantly been revised and reviewed, and this is shown by the introduction of side impact testing soon coming into force for us in Europe,

[CDMINI]

My goal is to keep the seat from moving at all, the way none of the seats we sit in actually move on impact. Actually the latches on my seat broke on impact and the seat back did flop forward and bang me in the head. That moving forward of the baby seat, is that not because of the seat belt fasten system? Physics too, but if the tethers and isofix belts are as tight as they can be the seat shouldn't move at all.We unfortunately had the chance to test it by being rear-ended by a bus, luck was on our side all around, but everything stayed exactly where I put it. But when I install these seats, I get my knee down in the seat and REALLY tighten down on all the straps.That's what I don't like about the seat belts to fasten the seats in with. You can't tighten them down as securely.

I looked for my owners manual last nite to confirm, but I believe it had pictures of the wedge in it and they also sell them here. That would be one 'helluva' liability if they make things worse. I can't confirm it though because I couldn';t find the book.Thanks for the discussion and feel free to make any other comments or point me to a MINI tested seat, right now I am kind of stuck on this one because we both came out of the accident in good shape. Still waiting for my next MINI and insurance agents.

[luigimascioli]

ok