Additional Seats were installed wrongly, what can I expect?

mily on 10/03/2014 - 14:13

Hi All,

Due to the increase of family members, my 5 seater wagon is not enough, so I decide to install two additional seats at the back for the kid. However, when I picked up my car I found the seat does not look like what appears on the brochure, they are installed too far backwards and are directly pushed on my rear gate. I think this is a big safety issue especially in case of rear-end collision, but the technician insisted he followed all the standards.

Later I did some measurements myself and found the floor space behind the seats is only 20 ~ 40 mm, rather than 150 mm claimed on the brochure, and the head rests stick out of the car body when the rear gate is open. Apparently it is not designed like this as there is more than enough space in front for the seats to be folded up. I sent some pictures to the manufacturer and ask their opinion, and although I haven't got any feedback formally, the girl on the phone told me their technician also think it's not installed on the right position.

Now I need to get this fixed, but I am worrying if the extra holes they drilled on my car will have any negative effects to the structure/strength of the chassis? Should I be happy if they just get the job re-done correctly?

Thanks for your advice.

cheers,
Mily

Automotive

Comments

  • Malarkey on 10/03/2014 - 17:33

    Hi,
    I'm no structural engineer but I'd say that as long as the holes aren't too close together that it shouldn't be a problem.

    • mily on 10/03/2014 - 20:52

      Thanks Malarkey, I guess there will be about 10 to 12 cm between the new and old holes, not sure if that's close or not. And I reckon the hole need to be protected from rust and other stuff once the seats goes forward.

      Damn it, I don't like holes on my car at all.

  • Geewhizz on 11/03/2014 - 06:32

    Wow! That's a fairly serious stuff-up. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do a few online reviews of the installer, so that others don't make the mistake of going there. I'd be waiting until you have this sorted first though. lol

    I'd be taking it to the vehicle inspector at the Dept Transport (or whatever it is called in your state) for an opinion - safest option. If it's not going to be safe with the holes being that close together then the installer will need to remedy it.

    I'm assuming you're aware that you need a permit to have extra seats installed? It's modifications to the vehicle.

    • mily on 11/03/2014 - 07:20

      Thanks Geewhizz,

      I will do some research and find out who is the closest vehicle inspector near me (Wollongong, NSW), and get at least some advice from there.

      Yes, I am aware of that, and that's the reason I bought the seats new with warranty and get it done in the authorised installer, cost me 2400 dollars. It would be a lot cheaper to get them from ebay or wreckler, but this still happened. The blue slip has been done and my car is now 7 seater in RTA, I'm not sure why the blue slip guy wasn't aware of this issue, he should ensure the car is safe for road, isn't he?

      Cheers,
      Mily

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