How to check your child car seat fits properly

Although online seat t checking tools provide a good guide, they can’t take into account all the factors that can affect how suitable a child seat is for a particular car. Here, we outline the most common factors to consider

Number of children

If you have two or three children who need to use car seats, you’ll need to nd seats that are narrow enough to t side by side on the rear bench.this shouldn’t be a problem in a large MPV or SUV, but it will be an issue in many smaller cars. Find out more about the cars that can accommodate three child car seats in our online advice guide at bit.ly/three-child-seats.

Driver and front passenger position

If you or your front seat passenger need to slide their seat back a long way to get comfortable, this could impinge on the space in the back for a child seat.

Some rearward-facing infant carriers are designed so the child seat can touch but not push on the back of the front seat, but others need to have a gap of around 10cm between them and the child seat. Check this with the seat maker and ask them for the seat’s dimensions so you can assess how well it will t.

The same issue could arise if you’re using an Iso x seat base with a support leg; it might need to have a gap between the support leg and the back of the front seat.

Headrests

If your car has bulky rear headrests, you might need to raise them upwards or remove them altogether so the back of a forward-facing child seat can sit ush with the rear seatback. Putting a child seat in front of a headrest could compromise its safety, push the seat forward and make it dif cult to secure using a seatbelt. If you are struggling to nd a suitable seat, look for one with a shaped back and an adjustable head restraint rather than a seat with an upright, solid back.

Seatbelts

Some vehicles have shorter seatbelts that won’t stretch around bulkier child seats, so check the length of your car’s belts and the seat dimensions before you buy.

Although most newer cars have seatbelt buckles that sit ush with the seat bases, some older ones have buckles on long stalks, and this can mean the buckle sits on a corner of the child seat; this compromises safety, because the seatbelt could snap open in a crash.

If this is an issue, and your car has Iso x child seat mounts, switch to an Iso x seat so you don’t need to use the seatbelt to secure the seat into the car.

Seat shape

The seat bases of some cars are curved, with high side cushions, and it can be hard to t a child seat securely onto them.to get around this issue, look for a child seat with a small base or one with a separate base and leg support to add extra stability.

Under oor storage compartments

Don’t use a child seat with a leg support if it has to stand on an under oor storage box, because the oor won’t be strong enough to support the leg in a collision. Instead, look for a seat with a top tether strap. Some car makers have blocks that can be used to ll up a storage compartment, so check with the manufacturer of your car about this.

Top tether anchor points

If you’re considering a child seat with a top tether strap, check your car’s handbook to nd out if it has them and where they’re located. Don’t mistake luggage hooks for tethers, because they aren’t xed to the structure of the car and therefore aren’t as strong.

In some older cars, the tethers are hidden behind the upholstery on the rear of the back seats, and you might need to cut the fabric to get to them.