MX5 & child seat

[AJ]

Easy. Wife goes in the boot every time.


Jules

*spits bourbon all over the monitor*........BAHAHAHAHA

[Nark]

Thread necro...

So it's a no no for the NB8B due to lack of airbag disable switch.

Anyone wired a switch or a fuse in since this thread popped up? Otherwise I'll have to have a look at some wiring diagrams.

[Ted]

Hey Max, I looked into this while we had the 10AE. US market cars actually do have a switch for it, and its a pressure pad that is hidden over in the Aus spec cars. I didn't go further because we sold the car instead, but with yours you could get the top tether added to the rollbar and see if you can find the pressure switch. From memory, it was on the left hand side of the steering wheel (right on the US market) at just above knee height. Important to note that you don't want to disable both airbags, and of course I don't need to tell you about all that legal stuff.

[Guran]

I did some research into this last year when the new national child restraint laws were introduced. Read on ...

viewtopic.php?p=547010#p547010

Summary:
Child restraint and no airbag ... legal (but you need to install a top tether hook)
Child restraint and passenger airbag ... illegal
Child booster is legal regardless of airbags

Young children (12 months to 4 years) should use a forward-facing restraint unless they're too big or heavy for it's specification. Booster seats typically are suitable for ages 4 to 7 years.

Disabling an airbag is illegal.

[dave2221]

i disagree....

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/children/childrestraints/childrestraintlaws_faqs.html

Can my child sit in the front seat?

This depends on whether there is more than one row of seats in the car and the age of the child.

Where there are two or more rows of seats:

* A child under four years of age cannot sit in the front row of a car if there is more than one row of seats, even if they are large enough to fit in a booster seat.
* A child between four years of age and under seven years of age cannot sit in the front row of a vehicle that has more than one row of seats unless the other rows are occupied by younger children in an approved child restraint.

Note: you can only fit a booster seat in the front row of a vehicle if that booster seat does not require a top tether strap.

If the car has one row of seats (for example a single cab ute or sports car with a front anchorage point) a child of any age can sit in the front seat provided they are properly restrained. However, most car manufacturers recommend against the use of rearward facing restraints in front passenger seats.

A child in a rearward facing restraint should not be placed in the front seat of a vehicle where there is an air bag.

that basically says yes, you can sit in the front if its the ONLY option, and the booster does not require a top teather strap......
but you cant use a rear facing restraint.

[Nark]

Hi Ted, thanks for the tip! I'll have to look for that pressure switch. My seat has a foot prop, so no need for top tether. Although driving around without a top tether with the roof down will just scream "illegal".

Guran, that's a fantastic post! My reading of that is that a properly fitted forward-facing seat is fine even with an airbag? Except that the NRMA link contradicts that?

But of course, legality and a child's safety don't always intersect (as evidenced by my use of ISOFIX seats). My issue is that with the seat fitted, my daughter's feet can touch the dash. Obviously, her safety in a crash has to be weighed against whether it's safer with the airbag and broken legs or not and the answer to that would be dependant upon the force of the accident. It's a hard one to call but I think most of my driving will be to local parks along 50km/h zones so I'd probably lean toward disabling the air bag.

Obviously, the MX-5 won't be the first choice for carting the children around (that's why I bought a wagon with ISOFIX mounting points) but I'd like to know that I have the option if it's required. Doing it as safely as possible is important. Doing it legally would be a bonus but not at the sake of what I can percieve as safety.

[rascal]

In Vic its a similar story.

Rear facing is illegal with a pass airbag, and its illegal to disable the airbag which would make the rear facing one legal...

Front facing is legal with or without pass airbag, so long as a tether strap is used. However, if you don't have a mount point for the tether strap , then its illegal to have one fitted if you have a pass airbag, even if you only plan to use it forward facing...

My wife's dearly loved previous car (2seat convertible) had pass airbag, as well as electronics built into the car to disable the airbag if the seat weight wasn't reached, (you could even buy a transponder from the dealer to disable it as well) as well as a light built into the console to show when the bag was disabled.
However it didn't have the tether mount point that Aus law dictates so couldn't fit a baby seat without it, and couldn't get a mount point fitted as its illegal to fit one when an airbag is there ... sigh...
We ended up having to trade it for a sedan with rear seats. Much tears when she had to say goodbye to her beloved car..

[RobH]

I take my son in the car regularly. Top tether strap goes onto the BD roll bar.

I have been through breathelisers and had no comment.

[red63sprint]

I put a pst on this thread in 06. Was irresponsible tthe, so no change - just a different Clubman.

I put the 4 year old in a booster seat in the car, she loves to go fast...

[Nark]

I take my son in the car regularly. Top tether strap goes onto the BD roll bar.

I have been through breathelisers and had no comment.

Do you have a photo of how you attached it?

I've managed to get an ADM seat and a trail fit shows that it fits well. Just gotta figure out how to attach the top tether.

The top of my seat is round, so I'm not sure how it's going to work.

[RobH]

I'll try to get a photo of it next weekend. My baby seat has a top tether that comes from each side of the top of the seat so therefore goes around the top of the mx5 seat, not over it.

[CaptainNate]

Thread Resurrection!

So the inevitable time has come, the missus wants the five gone for the fact that I can't drop/pick up the child from day-care if we're on dodgy shifts (I do a lot of night work, she works 3 days a week sometime starting at 5am...we have swapped cars in the past but we've been saved a few times simply because we're living with the parents at the moment so they've been able to do the run. We're moving out again soon, so that luxury won't be there anymore.)

Before people start throwing the 'don't be dumb' card at me - My daughters life comes first before anything, there is no way in hell I'd be a dick with her in the car and frankly i'd be insulted if you thought so. Secondly, the trip from home to the daycare is literally about 5 minutes, if that, all on quiet suburban streets. I wouldn't be carting her halfway across the country through twisty mountains and high-speed roads.

From what I understand, because my NA6 doesn't have airbags I can get a mounting point/clip installed, unless the law has changed since 2011 - the last post in this thread. The plan is to have a roll bar installed before installing the mounting point...any idea if you could install a mounting point ON the roll bar? The big issue for me is, I have a Sparco Sprint V as my passenger seat. Is anyone running a babyseat in their MX these days (Stock or Aftermarket seats)? Is anyone running a babyseat with a bucket seat, or have they in the past? If this isn't doable, I'm willing to get a second pair of rails so I can do quick swaps back to stock if it's needed.

Any info would be great, it would be sad to see the 5 go....but I won't be giving up without a fight, especially seeing as the baby seat will only be used a few times a month!

[mazmad]

Thought about giving up my daily for another mx5 and putting a child seat in, but didn't. I think Guran may have so he may know the details, pm him.

[YanMa YatTai]

How old is your kid? I only bought another mx5 this year six years after selling my much loved 10AE when my son was born.
He is now 6.5 and my daughter is 5. She only recently got to ride in the mx5 after her 5th birthday (she is incredibly short!).
I only put them in when they could use a booster seat, and one with a top tether. I didn't feel comfortable putting them in a child seat and in the car at a younger age. Buying another mx5 was a very considered purchase for this reason and only finally bought one when I thought they would be ok riding in it.
For me, The tether goes to an anchor point bolted through the rollbar harness mounting hole behind the passenger. Mine is an NA, so no airbags.
Like your intent, mine only go for short trips in the local area when absolutely required. Having said that, they love the car to bits and regularly join in playing the "spot the mx5" on car trips. They too have the obsession!

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[meanmx]

Is your daughter in a booster seat or a baby seat? Booster seat happily goes in my 5 and they don't always need a bolt down point in the back. The only problems in having a child in a 5 is making sure the bolt down point in the back is suitable and that the baby seat fits in the seat. Not sure any baby seat will fit in an aftermarket bucket.