Model Y Seat belts too deep for car seats. How to tell Tesla

[Mike7564]

Wondering if others have had this issue with car seats. Test drove the MY with three booster/car seats in the back and it’s incredibly difficult to plug in the belts (reaching between car seats) given how buried the plugs are.

As a family oriented car, seems being able to pull the plugs up a bit would be super helpful (akin to what we can do on our old Honda).

Seat belt extensions aren’t recommended given I’ve been informed they may compromise safety for the kids (intended for obese individuals).

Wonder if any venue to give “feedback” to Tesla designers on this? Seems an easy modification (just adding 2 inches of belt to the plug end). Thought about Twitter but guessing no one actually reads that.

Just seems it would be a cheap family friendly design adjustment.

 

[Mike_TV]

I think others here have had issues with certain three across child seats in the 2nd row too. Maybe they expect people would put a third seat into the 3rd row instead of cramming all three in the 2nd row?

Here are the offical instructions on how and where to install them...

Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla

 

[Noflash]

Wondering if others have had this issue with car seats. Test drove the MY with three booster/car seats in the back and it’s incredibly difficult to plug in the belts (reaching between car seats) given how buried the plugs are.

As a family oriented car, seems being able to pull the plugs up a bit would be super helpful (akin to what we can do on our old Honda).

Seat belt extensions aren’t recommended given I’ve been informed they may compromise safety for the kids (intended for obese individuals).

Wonder if any venue to give “feedback” to Tesla designers on this? Seems an easy modification (just adding 2 inches of belt to the plug end). Thought about Twitter but guessing no one actually reads that.

Just seems it would be a cheap family friendly design adjustment.

So obese people are safe in them? We used them. Easy peasy.

Why aren't you using the LATCH anchors?

 

[Nikon201068]

Wondering if others have had this issue with car seats. Test drove the MY with three booster/car seats in the back and it’s incredibly difficult to plug in the belts (reaching between car seats) given how buried the plugs are.

As a family oriented car, seems being able to pull the plugs up a bit would be super helpful (akin to what we can do on our old Honda).

Seat belt extensions aren’t recommended given I’ve been informed they may compromise safety for the kids (intended for obese individuals).

Wonder if any venue to give “feedback” to Tesla designers on this? Seems an easy modification (just adding 2 inches of belt to the plug end). Thought about Twitter but guessing no one actually reads that.

Just seems it would be a cheap family friendly design adjustment.

I bought mine here and I'm very happy with them. Seat Belt Extender Pros™ - Shop Extenders by Car

 

[Mike7564]

So obese people are safe in them? We used them. Easy peasy.

Why aren't you using the LATCH anchors?

Latch anchors are only available in two positions. If you have three (hence the need to reach down deep between cad seats/booster, the middle seat can’t use it.

Also latch has a weight limit.

Also using latch positions the lateral two seats too centrally and then you can’t fit three seats.

Regarding safety, there is a lot of data that they should not be used for car seats. Google it. Here’s a quick example.

Are seat belt extenders safe to use with child car seats? The answer is no.

It can be tempting to use a seat belt extender with a booster seat, but you put your child at risk for serious injuries or death if you do.

www.knoxnews.com

 

[Mike7564]

I bought mine here and I'm very happy with them. Seat Belt Extender Pros™ - Shop Extenders by Car

Btw. Read the disclosures on this company’s products: Should not be used by children or for car seats.

Seat Belt Extender Pros® - Disclaimer

www.seatbeltextenderpros.com

 

[Noflash]

Latch anchors are only available in two positions. If you have three (hence the need to reach down deep between cad seats/booster, the middle seat can’t use it.

Also latch has a weight limit.

Also using latch positions the lateral two seats too centrally and then you can’t fit three seats.

Regarding safety, there is a lot of data that they should not be used for car seats. Google it. Here’s a quick example.

Are seat belt extenders safe to use with child car seats? The answer is no.

It can be tempting to use a seat belt extender with a booster seat, but you put your child at risk for serious injuries or death if you do.

www.knoxnews.com

I feel your frustration. I remember those days of trying to fit rear-facing car seats in the back of a Civic Hybrid. I kept them rear facing way past all their friends and later in boosters past all their friends and then they didn't get to ride in the front seat until about 12. There are a lot of variable including the crash test results of the car and car seats. All our friends with kids didn't even know the car seats had safety ratings. Even when I thought I had everything perfect in the back I still couldn't imagine how they would fare in the back in a wreck. We've been fortunate not to have to find out. Even today rear seat safety is questionable. New crash test spotlights lagging protection for rear passengers

We didn't use extenders with belts. They were basically the buckle, so it raise the attachment point 3-4 inches. I have a hard time believing that made it a death trap. I seriously doubt auto engineers are considering car seats and boosters at all when designing the seats and setabelts. From the latest IIHS crash tests, I'm not sure they were considering normal passengers.

All you can do is make the best decision with what you have. Looks like you are giving it due diligence. Hope you find something that works for you.

 

[Mike7564]

I feel your frustration. I remember those days of trying to fit rear-facing car seats in the back of a Civic Hybrid. I kept them rear facing way past all their friends and later in boosters past all their friends and then they didn't get to ride in the front seat until about 12. There are a lot of variable including the crash test results of the car and car seats. All our friends with kids didn't even know the car seats had safety ratings. Even when I thought I had everything perfect in the back I still couldn't imagine how they would fare in the back in a wreck. We've been fortunate not to have to find out. Even today rear seat safety is questionable. New crash test spotlights lagging protection for rear passengers

We didn't use extenders with belts. They were basically the buckle, so it raise the attachment point 3-4 inches. I have a hard time believing that made it a death trap. I seriously doubt auto engineers are considering car seats and boosters at all when designing the seats and setabelts. From the latest IIHS crash tests, I'm not sure they were considering normal passengers.

All you can do is make the best decision with what you have. Looks like you are giving it due diligence. Hope you find something that works for you.

Yeah. It’s tough. Guess was wondering if the MY specifically is targeted as a family friendly car (contrary to something kike a MS, etc), maybe they’d consider this (if there was a way to give this feedback).

Oh well.

 

[willwllx]

Why are the seat belt clips so deep ? i have to get out fo the car and latch my sons everytime after car pickup because he is unable to get it into the latching mechanism, so frustrating for a booster seat

 

[towndrunk]

Why are the seat belt clips so deep ? i have to get out fo the car and latch my sons everytime after car pickup because he is unable to get it into the latching mechanism, so frustrating for a booster seat

I have to do the same for my 80 yo mother. She can only latch the ones in the back seat maybe 50% of the time.

 

[Mike7564]

Wonder if this was fixed on the new model 3.

 

[MY2021f]

Is there any way to buckle the seat belts with the middle seat folded down? My kids can't seem to get their seats buckled.

 

[Mike7564]

Why are the seat belt clips so deep ? i have to get out fo the car and latch my sons everytime after car pickup because he is unable to get it into the latching mechanism, so frustrating for a booster seat

I agree!

 

[Rc786147]

I agreed, it seems like Tesla engineers never put too much thought into safety when it comes to seat belt. both my Y and X 2nd and 3rd row had the worst seat belt buckle design I ever seen in any car. almost seems like they are looking for art piece rather then safety in mind.

 

[Mike7564]

Funny thing is that it wouldn’t affect the look at all to have a bit of flex to pull up the belt if you needed it.

 

[SpicyCh33tos]

New here... having dealt with having to help my kid for a week now being unable to buckle herself in w/ a high back booster and not seeing any easy "and safe" fixes... I've resorted to shoving a small rubber piece in front of the buckle itself (there's no room around it otherwise). The hope is minimizing the forward and backward play of the buckle will keep it stationary... and hopefully makes it a bit more predictable for my kid knowing the buckle should "always" be where it was last time... fingers crossed.

 

[Mike7564]

Hope some Tesla engineers are listening here!