In this section we offer information about General Instructions for Installing car seats.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. User Manual comes with the car seat.
- Keep the Car Owner’s Manual in the car.
- If you missed the instructions, check the manufacturer’s website.
- Don’t risk an “in-ear” installation because you can make many mistakes you don’t suspect.
- If you are unsure, you can contact us at: expert@siguranta-auto-copii.ro
- Never make changes to your car belt or seat out of a desire to fit the seat in a particular car for which it is not actually suitable (for example, DO NOT USE BELT EXTENSIONS).
- If you removed the seat from the car, make sure you fit it correctly each time you reinstall it.
- It is safer to have a car seat installed in the rear seat than in the passenger seat on the right.
- Never mount a RearFacing seat (rear-facing) on the right-hand passenger seat if the airbag is still active.
- If you install a ForwardFacing-oriented seat (front-facing) on the right-hand passenger seat, make sure it is moved as far back as possible and the passenger airbag is active.
- Check in the car manual (section for the child car seat) if there are specific instructions related to the child seat and the seat on the car seats.
Before You Buy
We advise you to always do a physical check of the fit of the seat in the car to see if it is compatible with the car.
Make sure that the seat is compatible with the car and that it can be fixed correctly. The manufacturer of children’s car seats offers in the manual a section called “Compatibility List”, but this list is purely indicative because no car manufacturer can check a seat on any car brand, model and year of manufacture listed in this list.
If a car seat is installed incorrectly or is not compatible with the car in which it is installed, it will not behave correctly in the event of an impact, and can even become dangerous.
Do you check if your car is equipped with an Isofix system or with an additional “Top Tether” fastening system? If you do not have such a thing, then all Isofix seat options will be automatically removed.
If we fix a seat with the car belt, how important is the length of this belt?
Do you have a small car, an SUV, a minibus or a sports car?
The height of the driver and front passenger will influence the space available for the child’s car seat.
All these factors will determine the type of seat selected and its position in the car.
The shape and inclination of the car seat will influence the performance and positioning of the child’s car seat.
General Installation Instructions
Car seat belts
When installing a car seat with car seat belt, we must know that there are two types of seat belt guides present on car seats: one blue indicating the installation with the back in the direction of travel and one red indicating the mounting facing the direction of mers. If you know this, it will be easy for you to install an evolutionary car seat (which can be mounted both front and back in the direction of travel) because these seats are equipped with both types of colored seat belts.
Make sure the car’s belts are NOT twisted. A twisted belt cannot be tightened properly.
When the seat is in position, we recommend that you rest your weight on the seat and pull on the belt as hard as you can. This means that the seat will be firmly fixed on the seat.
‘Buckle Crushing’ is a phenomenon that occurs when the belt buckle and not the belt strap is in contact with the seat. In a collision, the belt buckle may break or open accidentally. This phenomenon is common in cars where the belt stop (the part that has the release button) is at the end of a long and flexible piece of strap. Alternatively, it can happen that the area where the stop is is very short. In this case, you need to replace the car seat with one that offers an alternative mounting option.
Installing car seats with ISOFIX
Car seats with ISOFIX seem much easier to fix. The attachment of the two ISOFIX points in the car is most often done by using a support leg or an additional “Tether Strap”, two types of devices that prevent the seat from turning in the event of an accident. The seats have color indicators that change color from red to green when the installation is correct.
Not all car seats are equipped with an ISOFIX system. An example might be that the base of the seat is too wide for the car seat, or that the car seat is designed for an adult, and the child may not be in a comfortable position if seated there.
Installing the Fixing Foot
When installing a car seat with a fixing foot, you must check if there is a storage compartment at the bottom of the vehicle floor. This is extremely important because, if the car is involved in a collision and the fixing foot rests on the area with the storage compartment, it can destabilize, which destabilizes the child’s car seat to the side. To avoid this situation you should contact the car manufacturer for a special filler for the lower storage compartment or opt for another type of car seat, one with an additional fastening belt, “Tether Strap”.
Install an additional fastening belt
The fastening area of this additional fastening belt can be located if you consult the car manual. Don’t guess where this attachment point is, but look in the car’s manual.
The new car models produced after 2012 are in principle provided with an additional fixing point in Isofix called “Top Tether”.
Install I-Size seats
This new concept has appeared in recent years, but the trend is that an i-Size seat can be fitted in all i-Size cars.
However, we still recommend that you do a check at a car seat installation center to see how much space that seat occupies in the car, how much it influences the position of the seat and the angle of inclination of the car seat.
CONCLUSIONS
Child Safety It is recommended that you always check the car seat before buying it. This is the best way to confirm that the seat is suitable for the child and is compatible with every position in the car.
This information is just some General Installation Instructions, because each car seat and each car have their own particularities.
For any car seat installed by our center, benefit from unlimited consulting and support.