Cybex s2 i-size - straps came loose whilst driving

carlybrook12 · 2022-08-04T19:26:53+00:00

Hey, Just to ask others experiences and if this has happened to them. My 15 month olds new car seat turned up this morning (cybex s2 i-size). All was fine, I took him to his Nana’s house in it with no issue. However, when I picked him up later on today and drove home I was horrified when I opened the car door and saw that the straps were completely loose. My sons arms aren’t long enough to reach under the seat and manually press the button to loosen them. He’s small for his age anyway and he’s not a Houdini type toddler. I’ve put him back in the seat since and watched what he does to see if they came loose again and they didn’t. I’ve pulled on them hard to see if they loosen and they don’t. I honestly can’t fathom how it happened, or if the seat is just faulty. I know the straps were tight when we set off because I worry about it so stood making sure they were tight enough but not too tight. I feel really worried about the safety of it now and feel like I’ve made a bad purchase. Anyone had a similar experience? Thanks

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himyname · 04/08/2022 20:57

I've had a number of cybex seats and loved them. Could the button you press to loosen the straps maybe have gotten jammed? Some crumbs or something inside it?

Original poster

carlybrook12 · 04/08/2022 21:18

It doesn’t appear to be jammed, and it’s brand new I only installed it today so definitely no crumbs, perhaps I’ll have to play around with it and see if the push in strap adjuster does get jammed. So worried about putting my son in it now.

OP posts:

himyname · 04/08/2022 21:58

If it's brand new I would contact the retailer that you bought it from and tell them about the issue. Could the strap itself have been caught under the release button meaning that it wasn't fully locked maybe?

BertieBotts · 08/08/2022 22:10

You definitely need to go back to your retailer if they are not securing. I would try tightening and loosening the straps a few times to check the mechanism is working properly. When they are done up and tightened you should be able to lift the whole seat using them without the straps lengthening at all, that's what they do in the industry, and these spin seats aren't light!

I would definitely double check he's not doing it himself though, can you get someone to travel in the back with him a few times and watch him? You might think he can't reach but sometimes they can wriggle more than we would think, or he might even be pressing it with his foot or a toy. At 15 months old it's unlikely he would make the connection that the button loosens the straps, so he could possibly just be poking around out of curiosity and just happened to have pressed on that button. It seems unlikely, but it's possible.

The only other thing I can think is have you changed from a 3 point harness to 5 point in moving to this seat? That's common as a lot of infant seats use a 3 point harness. There can be a bit of a learning curve in tightening a 5 point adequately, you should completely loosen the straps, fasten the buckle, position straps on child's shoulders and pull to tighten. Then ensure that the waist straps are not caught on baby's thighs or clothing or the inserts in the seat, position them snug on the hips and even pull through just above the buckle any slack from these side straps, then tighten once more using the strap at the bottom, which will again pull the slack from the shoulder straps. Then it should be snug. What sometimes happens is that parents strap in the child, tighten the straps, see the shoulder straps are snug and think that's right, then click the seat into place and drive off but if there is slack left in the hip straps, it will work around and loosen and the whole harness will be pretty loose by the time you stop.

Original poster

carlybrook12 · 09/08/2022 10:12

BertieBotts · 08/08/2022 22:10

You definitely need to go back to your retailer if they are not securing. I would try tightening and loosening the straps a few times to check the mechanism is working properly. When they are done up and tightened you should be able to lift the whole seat using them without the straps lengthening at all, that's what they do in the industry, and these spin seats aren't light!

I would definitely double check he's not doing it himself though, can you get someone to travel in the back with him a few times and watch him? You might think he can't reach but sometimes they can wriggle more than we would think, or he might even be pressing it with his foot or a toy. At 15 months old it's unlikely he would make the connection that the button loosens the straps, so he could possibly just be poking around out of curiosity and just happened to have pressed on that button. It seems unlikely, but it's possible.

The only other thing I can think is have you changed from a 3 point harness to 5 point in moving to this seat? That's common as a lot of infant seats use a 3 point harness. There can be a bit of a learning curve in tightening a 5 point adequately, you should completely loosen the straps, fasten the buckle, position straps on child's shoulders and pull to tighten. Then ensure that the waist straps are not caught on baby's thighs or clothing or the inserts in the seat, position them snug on the hips and even pull through just above the buckle any slack from these side straps, then tighten once more using the strap at the bottom, which will again pull the slack from the shoulder straps. Then it should be snug. What sometimes happens is that parents strap in the child, tighten the straps, see the shoulder straps are snug and think that's right, then click the seat into place and drive off but if there is slack left in the hip straps, it will work around and loosen and the whole harness will be pretty loose by the time you stop.

Thanks for the reply.

I have been back to the retailer who offered a refund or exchange so I’m swapping to the Maxi Cosi Mica Pro Eco.
I had a look at various seats over the weekend and a guy who worked at John Lewis said that the straps coming loose is a manufacturing fault as the button can get jammed, and ‘it happens’. He highly recommend Maxi Cosi instead.

My MIL sat in the back with him to see if it happened again and it didn’t. He just sat there chatting away as he does.
We have swapped to a five point harness so I can see exactly what your saying, I can’t 100% rule it out but I’m very cautious with the straps and I spent a few minutes pulling on them and adjusting them and making sure everything was sitting right and they weren’t too tight. The amount of slack on the straps once we arrived home would either be my son touching the button himself and loosening them, or a general fault where the button did become jammed.

Either way, we’ve swapped seats now as I wouldn’t feel comfortable travelling with him after that.

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 09/08/2022 20:11

Yeah, fair enough. To be honest I worked in a baby shop for a very short time, and Cybex was the only seat we got returned as faulty in that time and there were two of them. It's a shame as they are nice seats. I thought possibly a one off and they should replace it, but you're right, you need to be able to trust it. The Maxi Cosi Mica is a lovely seat too.