Insurance saying I don't need new seats

Unregistered · Aug 28, 2009

I was in a fender bender a couple of weeks ago. It was an extremely low speed (5 mph at most) collision. I was the offender, unfortunately. Other car started to turn right and stopped and, well, I couldn't stop in time. Anyway, the bumper on my Pilot took the brunt of the damage. Mostly in the center and driver's side. The body shop says there was some damage "underneath" - pretty sure they mean underneath the bumper & grill. Nobody was hurt. Police did not need to be called. Kids were NOT with me at the time. What do you think? Insurance is saying it wouldn't meet the NHTSA requirements of seat replacement.

TIA!

carseatcoach · Aug 28, 2009

What brand of carseats?

ceruti82 · Aug 28, 2009

first~ i am not a tech~~~ but i was recently told by a tech at a car seat safety event ~that if the child is not in the carseat at the time of the accident, and as long as it was a small, no damage accident, the car seat is ok to still use..

she said that when a child is in a carseat during an accident, the pressure that is put on the harness straps (securing the child) can get tiny tears unseen to the naked eye that *could possibly* hinder the ability to work next time. that is why you can no longer use the seat after an accident.
BUT, if the harness did not get pressure on them to secure a child, then there was no tiny tear damage done to the straps..

again, this was told to me by a tech at a car seat event, not my own words

Gina,
mom of Bella Rae
22 mos RF in a MA

Defrost · Aug 29, 2009

ceruti82 said:
she said that when a child is in a carseat during an accident, the pressure that is put on the harness straps (securing the child) can get tiny tears unseen to the naked eye that *could possibly* hinder the ability to work next time. that is why you can no longer use the seat after an accident.
BUT, if the harness did not get pressure on them to secure a child, then there was no tiny tear damage done to the straps..

This is not exactly correct. There is also stress placed on the carseat at the belt path, where it is attached to the vehicle. I don't know what kind of forces would be required to cause such damage, but there is definitely more to it than just considering the damage to the harness area.

In any case, we should always defer to the manufacturer, many of whom require that the seat be replaced after any accident, regardless of whether it was in use.

Unregistered · Sep 1, 2009

I'm the OP -- sorry for not getting back quickly. Anyway, the seats are a Truefit and a Vivo.

Insurance saying I don't need new seats

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