Vehicle seat covers?

I'm sorry, I know this has to have been discussed before but I'm only finding threads on after market covers for child seats. Are seat covers for vehicles okay to use with child restraints?

We have a brand new Jeep Unlimited so my husband wants covers to protect our seats from the dog.

I was just going to ask the same thing! We have an 06 equinox (the back seat is a bench).

after searching and searching I did finally find an answer. vehicle seat covers are NOT safe to use with carseats UNLESS they are just simply a thin sheet, or the same thickness as a thin sheet. the ones with padding or thicker than a bedsheet are not safe to use.

I also discovered that the seat protector car seat pads are not safe! I've been using one for a year, thinking it was ok. :thumbsdown:

What makes them unsafe? We are using the prince lionheart.

that's the same one I was using. when I was searching in the thread something came up about them being unsafe because they give the impression of a tight install when the seat is not actually installed tight at all. they're also not safety tested in any way.

Here's a great article from carseatblog that discusses the problems with vehicle seat covers/protectors and reviews some of the more 'popular' versions - http://carseatblog.com/3275/seat-protectors-safe-for-use-or-vile-evil-predators-against-our-innocent-children/

Vehicle seat covers, if used in vehicles with airbags/sensors, are not safe. Even though they may be "custom made" or "crash tested", they have not been tested with the vehicle by the manufacturer and approved for use. In fact, many vehicles specifically prohibit anything from touching front seats. In a crash, the likelihood of your sensors and/or airbags NOT working properly is pretty good.

As far as seat protectors, generally speaking, you do not want anything in between the vehicle seat and the child seat. Aftermarket products are not allowed for use with most (if not all) child seats. Again, they are not tested with the seat by the manufacturer and approved for use. They often give a "false" security as far as acceptable installs. Meaning, if you were to remove the seat protector, your child seat would have several inches of movement it did not have when the seat protector was there. If you MUST have something in between the vehicle seat and the child seat, a very thin towel can be used (unless the child seat manual says otherwise).

Here's another recent thread touching on the same subject: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=183865

What confuses me (and I'm not trying to start anything, but am rather genuinely confused) is;

Why does it matter if the install wouldn't be as tight if it weren't there? It IS present and therefore creating a tight install. The seat cover doesn't move as the car does.

Mrs.Wicks said:

What confuses me (and I'm not trying to start anything, but am rather genuinely confused) is;

Why does it matter if the install wouldn't be as tight if it weren't there? It IS present and therefore creating a tight install. The seat cover doesn't move as the car does.

Click to expand...

The forces of a crash will introduce slack to the belt (seat belt or LATCH strap) that would not have been there if there weren't an artificial tightness created by a seat cover.

Seatbelt and LATCH strap webbing are designed to stretch in a crash. So, say you have what you think is an acceptable installation with 1" or less of movement at the belt path of your child seat. Only you have a seat protector, that in the process of the crash, gets shuffled. Now your 1" or less of movement at the belt path has become 2" or more of movement on one side and/or both sides and/or front to back. Then your 2" or more of movement multiplies when the belt system you used for installation stretches. Imagine what your child seat, and your child IN your child seat, are doing on impact and afterwards with all that belt movement. It's pretty scary.

Seat protectors are bulky and rubbery and can interfere with proper installation, or the assumption that you have a proper installation.

They are not approved for use with child seats due to the fact that they are not crash tested with the child seat in that vehicle by the manufacturer(s). How it would respond in a crash is unpredictable. Maybe nothing would happen. Who knows. But unless you're comfortable enough to make one of those "parental decisions", which, essentially, leaves your child playing the role of a crash test dummy, you probably shouldn't use one.

I don't mean for that to sound as harsh as it probably does, but, ultimately, that's what it comes down to. It's just not approved for use with the child seat and, really, that's good enough reason for *me* not to use one.

Our Jeep doesn't have the airbags in the seats.

For the record, I'm talking about something like these which are just a stretchy swimsuit like fabric with no padding.


Not about the things that just sit on the seat between it and the child restraint.

If hubby is persistent about having to have seat covers and the ones like I posted aren't safe, I will direct him to the ones that Quadratec (authorized jeep accessories) sells. But those things are $150-300 per cover so yah, I'd rather just re-upolster the seats if the dog somehow ruins them.