Baby Seat And Rear Seatbelt Issue

[Nightstalker]

Hi all... :D

I just wanted to find out if anyone has got this issue (with the new shape avensis)...

I've got a M&P infant seat with a base. The idea (I thought) is that the base stays in the car with the seatbelt securing it, you then click the seat on the base, strap the seatbelt round it and thats it. Then you remove the seat - the seatbelt retracts and all is ready for when you use the seat again...wright?

Well in my case I have to each time I use the seat I have to undo the seatbelt, let it retract fully and then start all over again....is that normal that I cant just leave the seatbelt clicked in place and just stretch the belt around the seat each time I use it??? It's just that once its used it retracts and then locks in place and the only way to free it up is to unclip the seatbelt fully let it retract and then stretch it out again...

Does'nt sound right to me

A

[JAHill]

I believe that the Avensis belts in the back have a safety feature where the belt "locks" if the belt is allowed to feed back in a bit, like when you put the belt on, a bit will spool back in and trigger the lock. To loosen the belt further, it seems that it needs to be retracted first, which then unlocks it. Generally a good idea but it is a bit annoying when putting a child seat though.

[Nightstalker]

Dont know if it is such a good idea...

as when the wife was in the back looking after the littlen when ever she leant over to check on him her seat belt would also retract and lock so that the only way she could move again would be to unclip her seat belt let it retract fully and then strap herself in again....not to good. :(

[JAHill]

Good point.

I've just looked to see if there's a way of stopping the locking mechanism in the manual and there isn't.

It just says "When a rear passenger's shoulder belt is completely retracted and is then retracted even slightly, the belt is locked in that position and cannot be extended." and "To free the belt again, fully retract the belt and then pull the belt out once more."

So the only way of having this on or off is "completely retracting"or not. I can see the point of it for a large childs seat as you never have to unfasten them, but a baby seat is far more complicated.

If you aren't "completely retracting" and the belt is locking then I wonder if there's a fault. I've just been out and played with mine and it does spool out and act like a normal belt if you don't completely retract it. The moment it reaches full extent, it locks. You can actually hear the mechanism running over the belt.

[Saintsman]

Hi,

We have two Avensis - one 1998 Hatch & a 2005 Hatch.

The Rear Seatbelts work the same on both cars, hopefully I can explain what you are describing:-

If the belt is pulled out & clicked in it is possible to contine to have more slack. Except if you completely pull out the belt.

If you pull the belt completely out (quite common to get enough slack to fit child seats) the belt behaves differently. As you feed the slack back into the reel, it will not allow you to pull anymore out without returning the belt fully, and then you have to start again.

We have seats for older children, this feature is really useful & actually much safer. We like it, now we understand it.

Hope this helps, & that I didn't confuse you?

All the best,

Ian.

[Nightstalker]

I do understand it and should it ever have to be used it is a good saftey point.

It is however a pain in the back... for when you take the car seat out and keep the base in place as you always have to unclip the seatbelt let it retract and pull it out again.

I can see why it locks in place, but it would be good for the tensioner to realise when this saftey feature is not needed, ie, if it only retracts a little then keep the safty on but when it retracts more then switch it off...

no what I mean??

[debug77]

Hi. Sorry to drag this thread up again, but we have just experienced the exact same problem. 06 Avensis, and believe it or not, an M&P baby seat. Have been out there frustrated for hours before finally deciding to look on the forum.

Am I right in assuming there may be a problem with the rear seatbelts if they are locking before you have extended them fully? We have the old problem that as soon as we have fitted the base, and fastened the belt, that's it, no more slack until we retract the belt completely. Which makes the putting the baby seat part (where you have to unclick the baby seat and extend the belt around the seat) somewhat impossible.

Likewise we're having problems of adults sitting in the rear and being stuck in place, even though the belts have NOT been fully extended (i.e. they've just put them as normal).

I'm definitely taking it to the garage to get them to check, but does it sound like there's a bit of a problem with the belts?

Thank you :)

[vmssys]

I have same seat. it comes with with a clip that you put on the belt to stop it retracting. you have to physically lift the seat forward to get the belt behind it. a guy from the shop showed me this and said it was common these days. I now leave the seat it the car and remove baby from seat.

[debug77]

I have same seat. it comes with with a clip that you put on the belt to stop it retracting. you have to physically lift the seat forward to get the belt behind it. a guy from the shop showed me this and said it was common these days. I now leave the seat it the car and remove baby from seat.

Kinda defeats the whole purpose of the baby seat detatching from the base though really?

The way our rear seat belts work are very different to how the manual (and the label on the belts) say they should work :(

[bjw]

I found there was a problem with fitting a rear facing child seat the seat belts were just not long enough! you could do it but it was a struggle.

Also the seat belts do lock but in most cars you just slacken a little and pull again this was not the case on the Avensis you had to fully retract the belt and pull again in the end I used to pull the belt all the way out then put a peg to stop it retracting and locking

[Parts-King]

I'm definitely taking it to the garage to get them to check, but does it sound like there's a bit of a problem with the belts?

The seat belts work this way, they are not faulty, inconvenient yes, but not faulty. The problem with fitting child seats was addressed a few years ago, seats and there anchorage points were not standardised, and most seats were placed in a car, without being secured properly. To end this nightmare, Isofix was designed to overcome the difficulties. An Isofix seat fitted in a modern car means once it's fitted in, it will be correctly fitted, it just may be a little inconvenient to do.

This child seat complies with the new Child Car Seat Safety Law implemented on September 18 2006. For any queries, please check http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaign...ildcubikats.htm

Kingo

[debug77]

I'm definitely taking it to the garage to get them to check, but does it sound like there's a bit of a problem with the belts?

The seat belts work this way, they are not faulty, inconvenient yes, but not faulty. The problem with fitting child seats was addressed a few years ago, seats and there anchorage points were not standardised, and most seats were placed in a car, without being secured properly. To end this nightmare, Isofix was designed to overcome the difficulties. An Isofix seat fitted in a modern car means once it's fitted in, it will be correctly fitted, it just may be a little inconvenient to do.

This child seat complies with the new Child Car Seat Safety Law implemented on September 18 2006. For any queries, please check http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaign...ildcubikats.htm

Kingo

Doesn't really help though as this thread is about M&P baby seats, not child seats, which are a different kettle of fish, and I'm sure you can appreciate that M&P products are quite popular.

Also, the way the seat belts work is very different to whats in the Toyota manual, and even whats on the label on the belts themselves.

It's quite disappointing that Toyota seem to think all is OK :(

[pcu]

I've got an 06 T180 Estate, Ive had so much trouble getting a child carrier to fit that I went to our local Toyota dealer. They couldn't get Toyota's own infant carrier to fit because the seat belt was too short. I called Toyota Customer Relations, all they said is "tuff luck". I expect better service form the worlds largest car manufacturer. :(

The garage has now raised it as an issues with Toyota Technical.

[Scoobs]

I've got an 06 T180 Estate, Ive had so much trouble getting a child carrier to fit that I went to our local Toyota dealer. They couldn't get Toyota's own infant carrier to fit because the seat belt was too short. I called Toyota Customer Relations, all they said is "tuff luck". I expect better service form the worlds largest car manufacturer. :(

The garage has now raised it as an issues with Toyota Technical.

There's loads of car seats that fit the Avensis, even in belted form. Which ones have you tried? The Britax Cosi-Tot Premium fits fine with a belt for example.

[folkpunk]

I would say the major problem is if the belt is locked until it is retracted completely and cannot be released - how do you retract the belt fully if it is still attached around the seat and there is no slack to get the seat out????? Is there no way to override the locking feature once it has locked without retracting the belt fully. Or is it now a case of taking the plastic covers off to get to the assembly?