Question Help! Car seats and boosters don't fit in Jeep Commander and Jeep doesn't care!

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lamay99

Guest
Hi Anyone Who Will Listen!
My husband and I purchased a 2008 Jeep Commander in October 2007, just as our first child was born. We were told it was a "family vehicle" and we trusted Jeep as a big name. Well, what a mistake! Not only is the vehicle a piece of junk that is falling apart at 57,000 miles, we also recently learned that the ridiculous, non-adjustable head rests in the 2nd row do not permit my daughter's booster seat back to sit flush against the Jeep seat. We can remove the headrest, but it leaves behind to poles that stick about 8" out of the top of the seat! They do NOT come out and are even more dangerous than the headrest itself. We also recently tried to put one of our brand new car seats for my second child in that Jeep and it does not sit flush against the seat back either because of the headrest.
We took the Jeep into our local dealership back in the Fall of 2010 so they could look at the headrests. The service dept. agreed that the headrests posed a risk to our kids and that they had no idea how to resolve the problem. Since then I have been in contact with the NYTSA. I filed a request for a recall investigation on the Commander's 2nd row headrests based on the risk they pose to children. They investigated and found that there were not enough complaints to warrant a recall. They recommended I contact the Federal Trade Commission, which I did. They took a complaint, and because they were appalled at Jeep's lack of interest in keeping children safe, they recommended I contact the Dept. of Transportation in D.C. and the NY Consumer Protection Agency. If that did not get Jeep's attention, the FTC recommended I contact the media. I then contacted Jeep to give then a chance to resolve this before I take it to the media. Jeep "assigned" me a case manager through Jeep's Customer Service "Case Management" Dept. who basically told me that everything I was doing was right, and that the only way Jeep would pay attention to me and my fear for my children's safety was to push the issue through the media. She would not provide me with any other phone numbers or contacts, and neither would the Jeep dealership that we purchased the vehicle from. It is so sad that the only way Jeep will listen to a valid children's safety issue is after months of me pushing and contacting the media.
I am asking for your help in two ways....First, has anyone else experienced this issue. If so, please let me know so I can build my case that this is a genuine issue and not my imagination. Second, please spread the word that Jeep deliberately permits their vehicles to endanger children! Thank you!
 
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henrietta

Well-known member
It's been my personal experience, many years ago, that Jeep doesn't care all that much about safety. Jeep Cherokees had a very similar issue to the Toyota accelerator issues of the past few years. My friend died in his Jeep Cherokee-the accident was a one vehicle accident in which the accelerator basically "locked down" and he lost control and hit a tree. The Jeep then caught fire. He and the 2 narcotics dogs he had riding w/him all died. He wasn't speeding (until he lost control from the accelerator problem). He was young, and it was his first day on the job as a narcotics agent. He was headed home and died in front of the elementary school, while school was letting out, less than a mile from his home. Jeep didn't care. They never officially launched a recall--only sent out letters of warning or special note. They offered my friend's mother a settlement w/a gag order, which she refused.

Granted, this was many years ago...but that's just my experience (and that of others--I've known 2 others who had accidents related to that same issue in a Jeep Cherokee from those years).

Best of luck!!!!

henrietta
 

babyherder

Well-known member
How old are your children and how much do they weigh? I can't solve your jeep issues but I have a volvo that has similar head rest issues so maybe I can recommend some car seats/booster seats that don't need to be flush with the back of the vehicle seat.
 

hrice

New member
I used to have a Jeep Commander. There is nothing you can do about those headrests unfortunately. What are the ages and sizes of your children? Maybe you can put the booster in the center and rear face your younger child outboard? That is of course assuming your child still fits RF.
 

NatesMamma

New member
Sorry you're having such a tough time. That sucks!

I did a quick search on the forums and came up with a few threads you might be interested in. It looks like you're definitely right about the Commander being a BEAST to fit a FF car seat in, but there are some seats/options that work better than others. HTH!

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=61810
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=40846
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=31963

Also, you might find that this is just one more great reason to switch your car seat(s) back to RF, depending on your children's ages and size. The AAP recently clarified that they want kids to RF at least until age 2, and the NHTSA recommends that all kids ride RF through age 3. RF is much safer than FF, especially for little kids. Let us know if you're interested in more info or recommendations for car seats that can keep kids RF for a good, long time.
 
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Ruby76

Guest
We have the same issue with our 2006 Jeep Commander. The only convertible car seat we were able to install FF was the Maxi Cosi Priori. But it has a 40 lb weight limit and my oldest will outgrow it in a few months. I have no idea what we will do since we haven't found anything else that will fit with the headrests. Please let me know if I can help in any way to get Jeep to take action on this issue.
 

luckyclov

New member
Frankly, it's been my personal experience that Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep just doesn't care about safety in general.:thumbsdown:

I'm sorry you're going through this. I know how frustrating it can be to KNOW you have a legitimate concern and to have someone basically wave you off until it becomes more widespread.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
To resolve immediate problems, I'd rear-face any child under 45# and put any child over 45# in a backless booster or RSTV.
 
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durkinma

Guest
One fix is to recline the 2nd row rear seat until the car seat fits better. Its a slight recline, but enough to get the headrest out of the way and have the seat sit flush. This has worked for me with 2 graco 3-1's. To recline: Pull lever as if you were going to fold seat, but push back on seat and it will recline a few degrees. Let me know if this works for you. Other options are to remove the headrest (leaving the plastic spikes), or even removing the plastic spikes which requires taking apart the enitire seat (quite a bit of work). Recline is your best option. Matt
 

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