i have tried to attach a standard child booster seat to the rear seat belt attach. It is extremely difficult due to the fact that the seat belt attach points are embedded within the rear seats, without having an extension that most modern cars have. Has anyone had any dialogue with Tesla on this issue and is there a resolution in work?
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Child booster seat attach
- Thread starter Growlercars
- Start date
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- Model S
I looked into this as well. Tesla does not have a resolution but here's whats been suggested:
Seat belt buckle extenders
Narrow booster/car seat, The Diono Radian RXT seems to be a popular model.
Bubble Bum inflatable booster seat
I have a 2.5 and 6 year old. The 2.5 year old uses the Diono Radian RXT, its just narrow enough to fit in between the LATCH hooks.
The 6 year old has been using the Bubble Bum and its worked out well for shorter rides (no headrest when she falls asleep), we use our Recaro ProBooster for longer rides.
With the Diono and Bubble Bum in place, an average sized human can still fit in the middle seat between the kids on short trips.
Seat belt buckle extenders
Narrow booster/car seat, The Diono Radian RXT seems to be a popular model.
Bubble Bum inflatable booster seat
I have a 2.5 and 6 year old. The 2.5 year old uses the Diono Radian RXT, its just narrow enough to fit in between the LATCH hooks.
The 6 year old has been using the Bubble Bum and its worked out well for shorter rides (no headrest when she falls asleep), we use our Recaro ProBooster for longer rides.
With the Diono and Bubble Bum in place, an average sized human can still fit in the middle seat between the kids on short trips.
I just got a Recaro Booster hoping it would work, but my daughter (5 years old) is unable to latch the seatbelt by herself. I have to reach across her to do it, and it is difficult with the embedded buckle. Since seat belt extenders are not safe for use with car seats / boosters, we may end up going back to the Diono car seat I had in there before. It worked ok, but you couldn't put anyone in the middle between it and my son's (2.5 years old) car seat on the other side.
I have three kids and a fleet of Recaro and Cybex (they are great!) seats and boosters.
Get a belt extender - it helps a lot.
I was afraid of the eBay quality seat belt extenders and eventually found this company. I've used their BMW extenders previously for the same reason. This company claims their extenders are made to the same E4 regulations as seat belts (since there are no rules for extenders).
I picked the 7 inch soft extender (the shorter one is rigid and doesn't help so much)
Tesla Model S Seat Belt Extender
Get a belt extender - it helps a lot.
I was afraid of the eBay quality seat belt extenders and eventually found this company. I've used their BMW extenders previously for the same reason. This company claims their extenders are made to the same E4 regulations as seat belts (since there are no rules for extenders).
I picked the 7 inch soft extender (the shorter one is rigid and doesn't help so much)
Tesla Model S Seat Belt Extender
Read the warnings.
Seat Belt Extender Pros™ - Disclaimer
They specifically say not to use that extender with any child restraint. No extender should be used with a child car seat or booster seat. They are not designed or tested for that purpose.
Where do you see that?
I see it says
"3. Seat belt extenders are only for use by those who otherwise cannot wear a seat belt as required by each user’s country, state, region and/or local municipality. However, read and abide by your car manufacturer’s owner’s manual prior to installation or use of this product. Adults and children who can use the vehicle’s existing seat belt should not use an extender. Such unnecessary use, including with child restraints, could result in serious personal injury or death"
I see it says
"3. Seat belt extenders are only for use by those who otherwise cannot wear a seat belt as required by each user’s country, state, region and/or local municipality. However, read and abide by your car manufacturer’s owner’s manual prior to installation or use of this product. Adults and children who can use the vehicle’s existing seat belt should not use an extender. Such unnecessary use, including with child restraints, could result in serious personal injury or death"
At 7" you're likely changing the geometry of the seatbelt.
The seatbelt needs to go across the childs lap, not stomach. In the event of an accident, the seat belt across the lap keeps the child in place. A seat belt across the stomach causes internal organ damage.
ETA: Nevermind, you got a soft one. A 7" rigid would change the geometry. A 7" soft one *could* place the buckle within the childs naval area. I forgot what the regulations are, I think the closest the buckle should be to avoid injury is 7" away.
I am way more comfortable with my kid in a crash tested booster with kid-appropriate belt routing and side impact protection and using a necessary seat belt extender than with my kid on a Bumble Bum (which is just an inflatable pillow) with its adult-appropriate belt routing and zero side protection.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
You probably missed my ETA, I didn't notice you were using a soft extender. A rigid 7" extender would 100% change the geometry. A soft 7" might get the belt buckle too close to the naval, I can't find the exact requirements at the moment, but it's somewhere out there.
I used a seatbelt extender too (a 3" rigid one), and I was been back and forth about this topic too for a while. I decided it's safer to go without one. The chances of something happening are small, but they're there.
Also Tesla (in their manual) doesn't allow it either.
It does add an extra point of failure (there's no argument here, none). So it is less safe than not using one (again no argument here). The question is does it matter? (is it a 1 in a trillion vs. 2 in a trillion odds? or a 1 in a trillion vs. 1 in a 100 odds of failure).
And since they're not crash test rated, we don't know the answer.
Seconded on the Diono(we have the rear facing seats but still use the Diono for nap time, since it sits reclined a bit more). Bonus that that thing is built like a tank, though it can be quite difficult to install.
davidc18
Active Member
Tesla is just not well designed for child seats. We now have one in a booster and one in a child seat with its own 5 point restraint. We did have to use a 4" ridged extender with a previous booster seat.
Reviving this old thread since I'm in the same conundrum trying to fit multiple child booster seats in the back (two boys, ages 6 and 4) and I've been struggling to get the seat belts secured into the attachment points that are recessed into seat and located underneath where the booster seat wants to sit. Has anyone tried this narrow booster seat in their Model S?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K3KUO0M/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2227PP1E1XLNM&colid=U5U5O1SC8356
I saw this product mentioned on some mommy blogs where people are trying to fit three boosters across the back seat for their carpools...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K3KUO0M/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2227PP1E1XLNM&colid=U5U5O1SC8356
I saw this product mentioned on some mommy blogs where people are trying to fit three boosters across the back seat for their carpools...
I still use the Recaro I mentioned above in my car, and my daughter still can't latch it herself. She can unlatch it, but she can't latch it. Someone has to reach across her and we end up using the buckle for the middle seat rather than the one for the passenger side side because it is a little further over and not under the booster seat. That puts the button on the inside of the latch when latched, but seems to work the best so far. Definitely don't seem to be any good (safe) options for booster seats in the Model S.
