Baby Seats for the rear of the 129?

[LeaUK]

As the Easter bunny will bring me twins very shorty (March), I'm wondering if there is a baby seat combination for the rear to accommodate?

Not having much experience in this area (yet!!) I believe that the two point fixing in the rear is not suitable for seats, but just thought I'd ask the wider audience before committing the youngsters to the Estate forever - well at least until they're around 4-5.

Also - is there anyway of turning the passenger airbag off?


Cheers
Lea

[jjrodger]

The passenger airbag is deactivated if you use a babyseat with a special transponder in it. Available from your dealer, naturally; probably costs a million pounds.

I don't know anything about putting child seats on the rear seats. I remember when I was 14 or 15 and my sister was a little less than 2, my dad had a w124 300D saloon. For long journeys five-up (I have a younger brother) we put the baby seat in the middle, using the lap belt, strapped down really, really tightly. It was never quite satisfactory but it was a valid compromise between risk and comfort. No doubt these days my mum and dad would get ten years in jail for even thinking about it.

You can have shoulder straps fitted in the rear of the 129 which might assist in a safer installation of child seats. There are ads for this in the back of Mercedes Enthusiast. I always thought they looked a bit ugly, but they certainly look tough. I'll look it up now.

Presumably you'll be having that charming teddy-bear babyseat finish custom re-trimmed in mushroom leather (all the better to wipe the sick off)?

[jjrodger]

This is the company I was thinking of:

http://www.quickfitsbs.co.uk/

Unfortunately their website is under reconstruction. However, there is an ad on page 103 of Mercedes Enthusiast August 2003 which includes a picture of pretty beefy looking harnesses fitted in the rear of a 129.

The ad states as follows:

QUICKFIT SAFETY SEAT BELT SERVICE LTD

Suppliers and fitters of seatbelts and child safety seats and harnesses to all Mercedes-Benz cars.

lap belts converted to 3 point static L/D belts using original fittings for SL models and commercial vehicles.

Centre lap and diagonal; seat belts for all models including E Class cabriolets.

Tel: 020 8206 0101

I have nothing to do with the company; usual disclaimers...

[G-Benz]

Hope you have another vehicle to fall back on. I wouldn't consider putting a child back there for ANY reason.

And I don't trust the retrofits...and I doubt the insurance company would either if you had an accident and your child was injured.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but as tempting as it was to order up the rear seats so my kid could ride along with the both of us, I chose the alternative to tote her along in the 300E or the ML320.

So if she's in the SL, either my wife or myself are also in the car, but not the both of us...

You might want to consider another car. The car was made for two people and that is about it. I think about how much room is in the back and there is NO WAY I would cram a baby seat back there. But if you do decide that you can use the sl for a baby carrier, You will need to have the roll bar up at all times when a child is in the back area. Also my 97 has a button on the side of the passenger seat which slides from baby to adult. I know when it is on baby the seat belt will not adjust when you click the belt in. This may override the air bags. Just remember that there are airbags in the door as well.

good luck.

[LeaUK]

Thanks for all your comments - but I think I have formed the 'best not' opinion too. However JJ, I will take a look at quickfitsbs just for reference - cheers.

So it's going to have to be the good ol trusty estate - anyway at least I will be able to fit all the gubbins in the back! Bet I couldn't even fit the toys in the SL let alone the double pram/buggy


Cheers
Lea

[jjrodger]

I'd second the comments of other members about not making a habit of using the SL as baby transport, but for occasional use I'm sure it would be fine. This probably doesn't justify the expense of fitting belts. You must put the roll bar up, too.

I've had four adult passengers in mine on one occasion, and three adults on a couple of occasions. You need to have the roof down for this though and I was pretty concerned about their comfort and safety (especially five up--that was pretty irresponsible, I suppose, but the alternative was a long walk, and three of them were very pretty). I often put a second adult passenger in the back. They sit sideways on. They can't use the seatbelt like this, though.

[G-Benz]

I have had my daughter (and friends) sit back there "parade-style"...but it was ONLY at very low speeds in the neighborhood if I happened to be driving the SL and I had to hunt down my kid somewhere...