No third row access when car seats installed in second row!

[Xtatic]

I have a 4 and a 6 year old and since they are both over 45lbs. I cannot use the latches to install their car seats and have to use the seat belts instead. It is quite a chore to have to install car seats so I was very excited when I found these ones

http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Frontier-Clicktight-Harness-2-Booster-Kaleidoscope/dp/B00OTXUNYW?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

They are a breeze to install with the seat belt method and keep the car seat extra secure. After taking delivery of our White MX on April I installed both seats in the second row's outer seats. It was awesome to see how easy it was to access the 3rd row with the car seats in the second row, no problem at all. The seats would move and tilt forward effortlessly, it made for quite a sales pitch when showing it to other parents with fancy SUV's that wouldn't allow them to access the third row seat without having to remove the car seats from the second row. Everything was bliss until we got our first update. After that, the seats won't move AT ALL if the seats are installed. The buttons that move the seats are rendered useless as soon as the car seat is installed which means we cannot even force the seats to move to allow access to the 3rd row. That was with version 2.17.95. Last night (05/27) we received an update which added the flexibility to make the second row seats move from the screen and it even states that by pressing the screen button and holding one can make the seat move as desired in the case of child seats in the seat. However, that still doesn't work for our setup. If we unbuckle the car seat the seat moves properly, if we remove the car seat and buckle the belt (with the seat now empty) the seat moves. However, when you buckle the seat and secure it, it seems that the combination of buckle and weight is what renders the seat unmovable. I understand that it is a safety issue to allow the seat to move while the seat is occupied and it may be hard to discern whether the occupant of the seat is an object or a real person. However, there should be a way of letting the user determine whether the seat should be allowed to move or not. The way things are right now, we have to get creative with the car seat setup when having visitors. It is an inconvenience and if, by any chance, I needed to carry around extra people on a short notice it would be a hassle to have to be rearraging car seats on the fly. Needless to say the ease of access to the third row while car seats are installed is one of the main features that make the car parent-of-small-kids friendly (that was even demonstrated at the reveal) so it is quite frustrating not to have that functionality.

I'd love to know if people with the kids that have the car seats installed with the seat belts are having the same problem. I brought it up to the SC and they told me the foreman had raised the issue to the engineers but I'm still waiting for a response/fix and I had high hopes for the latest update. I'm hoping that if there's many people having this issue we'll make enough noise that they'll pay attention. I'll talk to the SC again but would love to hear from owners that are in the same situation.

Thanks!

 

[Jon]

I agree with the frustration you describe. We have four kids in four car seats. While we don't have our Sig X yet, we are really looking forward to getting a car that will take us all and with the ease of access as described.

We have one saving point in that I have ordered a six seat version, but should it be easier to move the seat forward rather than cut across, it would be much better if that can be done without taking out the car seat each time.

This is simple enough to correct. If they are concerned there is a possibility of the seat moving while someone is sitting in it, have the screen prompt to allow the seat to move when the belt is buckled. Problem solved.

Hopefully this one can be resolved without much effort all around.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[proven]

At first I was confused as we use seat belts and it works fine, but then I realized your seats attach via seat belts and then you use the five point harness to secure the kids. We use the seat belt to secure both the seat and the kid.

One note that you may try: We have seat belt extenders to make it easier for the kids to latch themselves in (since the seat belt receptacle on the X and S are down in the seat and hard to reach). With the seat belt extenders in, the car still allows the seats to move. Maybe you could get very short extenders and then it will work until the software addresses the problem?

 

[Xtatic]

At first I was confused as we use seat belts and it works fine, but then I realized your seats attach via seat belts and then you use the five point harness to secure the kids. We use the seat belt to secure both the seat and the kid.

One note that you may try: We have seat belt extenders to make it easier for the kids to latch themselves in (since the seat belt receptacle on the X and S are down in the seat and hard to reach). With the seat belt extenders in, the car still allows the seats to move. Maybe you could get very short extenders and then it will work until the software addresses the problem?

Hi proven,

From what you say I reckon you are using booster seats. We want to kids to have the 5-point harness for as long as possible so we have convertible seats that must be secured fully before the child is in it. Since our kids are over the weight limit to use latches we must secure the seats with the seat belt. Just like this:

These seats can act as high back boosters in which case we could do what you recommend but the little one is too young for that and my 6-year old is not very good at staying put, hence the former method is the safest for us.

Thanks for the advice and taking the time to reply!

 

[proven]

Hi proven,

From what you say I reckon you are using booster seats. We want to kids to have the 5-point harness for as long as possible so we have convertible seats that must be secured fully before the child is in it. Since our kids are over the weight limit to use latches we must secure the seats with the seat belt. Just like this:

These seats can act as high back boosters in which case we could do what you recommend but the little one is too young for that and my 6-year old is not very good at staying put, hence the former method is the safest for us.

Thanks for the advice and taking the time to reply!

I decided to go out to the garage and test a few scenarios with the seats and seat belts. Our seats seem to move forward even with the seat belts fastened (without the extenders). We have the latest version, 7.1 (2.20.45), but it hasn't ever stopped working through the variety of updates we've had. I thought it was related to the seat belt extenders but after testing it with the seat belts straight in to the latch I'm more confused. We can even move the seats forward with our kids in the seats--they fold up their legs and get within a couple of inches of the front seats.

 

[proven]

It still might be worth trying something like this to see if it tricks the car:
Amazon.com: E4 SAFETY CERTIFIED 7" Car Seat Belt Extender 2-Pack (7/8" wide metal tongue): Automotive

 

[Xtatic]

Oh dear, now I'm very confused indeed. Tomorrow I'll put my son in the booster to see if it moves then. As I mentioned in the post I've tried the seat empty with the seat belt fastened as well as the car seat on the seat with the seatbelt fastened but not tightened and they work fine in both cases. My problem arises the minute I tighten the seatbelt to secure the car seat

It gives me hope to know that yours works well. Maybe my seats are malfunctioning and it would be more straightforward to fix.

I'll post an update tomorrow once I do a couple of tests with the kids.

Thanks again!

 

[vandacca]

I wonder if you are securing the child seats so tightly, it's setting off the seat's pressure sensor? If that is the case, the car may thing someone is present in that seat and preventing motion. Try putting a little less tension to see if that works.

 

[Xtatic]

I decided to go out to the garage and test a few scenarios with the seats and seat belts. Our seats seem to move forward even with the seat belts fastened (without the extenders). We have the latest version, 7.1 (2.20.45), but it hasn't ever stopped working through the variety of updates we've had. I thought it was related to the seat belt extenders but after testing it with the seat belts straight in to the latch I'm more confused. We can even move the seats forward with our kids in the seats--they fold up their legs and get within a couple of inches of the front seats.

Ok, I tried having my son sit in the seat and, just as with my previous experience, the seat doesn't budge. The button in the screen gets greyed out and the physical button is just dead I'm preparing an email with a list of issues I've encountered with the car and I'll let them know some MXs don't seem to have that problem.

 

[Xtatic]

I wonder if you are securing the child seats so tightly, it's setting off the seat's pressure sensor? If that is the case, the car may thing someone is present in that seat and preventing motion. Try putting a little less tension to see if that works.

Hi vandacca, unfortunately there's no way to control the tension with which the car seat is secured (see video above) The most frustrating part is that they were working beautifully before the last couple of updates

 

[proven]

Ok, I tried having my son sit in the seat and, just as with my previous experience, the seat doesn't budge. The button in the screen gets greyed out and the physical button is just dead I'm preparing an email with a list of issues I've encountered with the car and I'll let them know some MXs don't seem to have that problem.

Maybe yours is working as intended and mine is the one with the problem....

 

[ccutrer]

Maybe yours is working as intended and mine is the one with the problem....

I don't have my X yet, but I have read the manual and tried this on a test drive - when you buckle in a car seat, if you pull the seat belt all the way out, it goes into a mode where it will only tighten and not loosen. I doubt they have sensors for the computer to know this, but it's worth buckling the car seat both ways to see if one or the other does not disable moving the seat forward. My only thought at this point is that the software is designed to allow you to move the seat with a car seat and/or child buckled in, but not an adult. And your car seat is tensioning so tight that the car feels an adult. So maybe pulling the belt all the way out, if you're not already doing so, would be a hint to the car that regardless of weight, it is not an adult in the seat.

Tangentially - my three year old tries to sneak into my seven year old's booster and buckles himself in with the regular seat ALL THE TIME. Seriously, he could do that before he could buckle his own five point harness.

 

[Infinite]

I'll be curious to know the final verdict here. Even though I don't have my X yet I will be in a similar situation to @Xtatic as we have two convertible front facing car seats that we latch through seat belts. Maybe I can use the latch mechanism instead of seat belts but not sure of the safety implications for an older / heavier child with those. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Xtatic]

I'll be curious to know the final verdict here. Even though I don't have my X yet I will be in a similar situation to @Xtatic as we have two convertible front facing car seats that we latch through seat belts. Maybe I can use the latch mechanism instead of seat belts but not sure of the safety implications for an older / heavier child with those. Anyone have any thoughts?

Unfortunately our car seats cannot be installed that way. The go 'clicktighted' or just used as a booster. I've reached out to my SC again and emailed Tesla as suggested by proven, Will keep you posted!