2014 Auris Hybrid - Isofix Car Seats

[redadair]

Hi all,

I made an alarming discovery over the weekend. After shopping for hours and hours the wife and I finally settled on a car seat for our 9 month old baby. Similar car seat image attached.

We got a qualified RoSPA fitter to fit in the car, The main seat fitted great to the anchor points at the rear, the indicators on the seat moved from red to green (to tell us it is secure and fitted correctly).

However, the base support (long "arm" extending from the seat to the floor) did not. No matter how much we tried it just wouldn't indicate from red to green. It stayed red regardless of how hard we pushed down. We removed the floor mat and still the same issue. We tried both left and right sides but it was the same issue.

It appears the Auris floor (in the rear of the car) is "pliable" rather than "solid" at least on the top layer ie put your fist straight down on the floor and move it you can feel something underneath moving.

Therefore I have spent circa £20K on a car of which I cannot install an Isofix car seat. Has anyone else came across this issue? Cheers. Red.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The topic title has been edited, as the Auris is obviously compatible with some Isofix car seats (otherwise it wouldn't have the Isofix fittings).

Since 2011 a minimum number of seats in all new cars have had to offer Isofix attachment possibilities.

According to Which?, it is important that any Isofix seat you use is approved for use in the vehicle you have. It is not yet the case that an Isofix seat will fit every car that has Isofix points.

Which? also has the following advice:

"Isofix Support Leg

A support leg braces an Isofix car seat (or base) against the floor of the car, preventing the seat from tipping forward in a crash. Using a support leg is usually easier than attaching a top tether, but you need to make sure that the support leg is correctly adjusted for the height of the seat, so the Isofix seat is braced against the floor.

Safety tip: Support legs can't be used where the foot will sit over an underfloor storage compartment - it's not strong enough to support the force of a crashing car seat being transmitted through the support foot.

Always check with the car maker to ensure the seat can be used in your car.

Isofix Top Tether

A top tether is a fabric strap that is used to secure the car seat to tether points in the car. It helps to absorb some of the force of a crash and stops the car seat pivoting forwards. Top tethers on rear-facing car seat can be a bit complicated to install as they often have to be attached to the car's front seat.

Safety tip: You should only attach the tether to the top tether points in your car; they are specifically designed to withstand the force of a car seat moving in a crash.

Headrest stems and luggage tethers are not designed to withstand this strain."

Have you checked with Toyota that the car seat you have can be fitted to the Auris?

The top tether can be used instead of the support leg.

[redadair]

Thanks for the edit, I wonder if such a compatible list is available?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Would have thought that Toyota dealers would have information on which car seats fit individual models - one would have thought it is a common query.

Alternatively, some of the child car seat manufacturers have details on which of their seats fit particular cars. Example is Britax - http://fitfinder.britax.co.uk/

[RunningInPleasePass]

The backrest of the rear seat can be adjusted for angle, perhaps if you tilt it back, the child seat would tilt back allowing the leg to be fully extended?

[Aceshigh84]

I've got a maxi cosi isofix base in my Auris, the leg fits fine without any flex, it can both be angled and extended to adapt to the car - similar to your Britax it has the green lights when fitted correctly. I do recall the instructions gave a list of the major manufacturers and models and listed which would require the use of the top tether (which the Auris can also do). I also use it in the Yaris without a problem.

I personally use my top tether bracket with a bungee cord to the metal cargo net (I think?) attachments in the boot by the hatch/bumper as an added support against having the seats collapse in the event of an accident and having anything I'm carrying in the boot coming through into the cabin. Before the Auris I just always had the rear belts bucked.

[redadair]

Thanks for your reply guys, I was a bit miffed that a RoSPA agent couldn't the bottom "support leg" for love nor money. I'm sure he tried all sorts of angles too, but since the seat was protruding slightly it looked a clear and simple process of point the arm straight down and lock into position.

The problem seems to be that the auris hybrid has a thin channel under the carpet (presumably for all the Battery wizardry) but I doubt the non hybrid auris would have that feature. I'm not 100% as I don not have 2 auris models compare with when fitting an isofix baby car seat.

I'm not a fan of the red tether thing, I can't see how a silly thin rope with a plastic clip is going to help me in the worst case scenario, just my opinion though. Cheers. Red.