Baby seat won't fit WTF

[redspudder]

My wife gave birth to our 2nd child 5weeks ago.We have a 55plate focus that has isofix all round so we have been using that car for a few weeks,i also have a daughter 3years old so have a isofix seat for her and the base for the rear facing seat all fised in the focus.i do not have isofix in the A4 but can use the rear facing seat without the base and use the seat belts to secure and also have a 2nd child seat for my 3 year old.
We are going on a few long runs this week so decided to use my car i have a forward facing seat for my daughter placed in the rear passenger side of the car.So i have just been out to see in the rear facing seat would fit behind the drivers seat in the rear of the car, as im over 6ft tall i have my drivers seat pushed right back for my driving postion,the baby seat will not fit in the car behind my seat i am not happy,for the seat to fit i had to push the drivers seat very far forward to a position only a midget could drive!
If i swap the seats over then my 3year old will have to sit behind me and im not sure if she'll have much room for her legs and will moan all the way when im driving i am going to give it a shot but im not to confident of it happening i cant be doing with the moaning all journey so looks like we are going to have to take the focusI hate driving that car.It does what it says on the tin but is not a pleasure to drive.
Now ive known since buying the car there was not much leg room in the rear due to the large boot space but this is stupid i have never known anything like it,in the focus the seats are in the same postions and we have no problem what so ever im not a happy chappy Audi what were you thinking when you designed its not as if it's a TT or R8 but migh aswell be a 2 seater for the use it is at the moment

 

[redspudder]

To add to this i have just rang my local dealers and asked how much it would be to turn off the front passenger airbag £117 as it has to be done by diagnostic and if i ever sell the car and want it reversing it will be another £117,i then rang my local indy specialist that i use and they told me only the main delaer can do it does anyone know if this is true?

 

[JohnboyC]

I know what you mean....the rear leg room in the A4 Avant is pretty poor if I have my seat set in the right driving position for me (I am 6' 1") and although we do not use ISOFIX seats, our 2 yr old sits behind me...and it will not be long before she starts moaning about the lack of leg room....and the rear facing seat for No. 2 daughter (3 weeks old) means the wife has to have her front passenger seat well forward (good job she is not 6ft tall eh)....

Will grin and bear if for the next year or so....just means I may have to have my seat slightly further forward than I would like....

My local Audi Dealer informs me that you cannot switch off the passenger airbag, and there are no bypass wiring kits available either....ho hum...(I dunno..for the want of an airbag disable switch on the original build of the car costing 30 quid tops....joke eh...thanks Audi)

 

[redspudder]

I have been thinking of buying a B8 S-line and neraly did a few weeks back,they have isofix allround and didnt for one minute think of this seat not fitting issue,i will have to double check before i buy (if i do get 1)that the seats fit in the isofix points not sure if the leg room in the B8 is any greater to the B6?The leg room in the rear has never been an issue before now i knew it wasnt the best buit i dont sit in the back of the car and hardly ever have rear passengers appart from my 3yearold but now this has arrisen with the baby seat im thinking its not practical but i dont want to have to drive everywhere in the focus when we go out as a family

 

[aragorn]

You can retrofit isofix mounting points to your B6 quite easily and they're not that expensive.

As for the airbag disable, i'm pretty much certain you can do it, and on the B5 at least i'm sure at actually gives you a key to turn it on and off.

I think the leg room issue is because of the A4/A6 split. If you look at the offerings from ford or vauxhall, their mondeo/vectra models are somewhere between the a4 and a6 in size, meaning you get a bit more leg room in the back. Even the passat is similar, being something like 4-5" longer than an A4 in wheelbase.

If i had a family and was considering a newer car, the A6 would definately be in the running.

 

[technics100]

I had similar issues with my A4 and rear space, we used to move the front pass seat forward enough to make the masi cosi seat fit. I have turned the airbag off on a MK4 golf using vag-com, I'm sure its probably the same on the A4. I will get the procedure tonight and post it up.

 

[redspudder]

The verdict is that the solution i came up with will not last for much longer,i swapped the seats round so the baby seat was behind the passenger seat this was all good the Mrs had enough leg room with passenger seat pulled forward.
I put my 3year olds seat behind the drivers seat and had to pull my drivers seat forward a bit, she had a bit of leg room but moaned quite a bit and as she grows this will not be ideal situation,also the driving position is no longer comfortable for me pulled that far forward my knees where acheing when we arried home after only 1 hour of driving,as far as fitting isofix goes i will have the same problem as the base just raises the rear facing seat a little but is stil the same size and will result in the same problem,i have spoken to my local Auid dealer today and i am taking the seats down this week to see if they will fit o.k in a B8(not sure if any bigger)i am on the look out for a new B8 as ive said above and will be gutted if i have to buy a different make car because of this problem.A A6 was mentioned above but is far to big for me and far to costly.

 

[quattrojames]

My daughter is still in a Maxi-Cosi rear facing seat but not for much longer. This is a tight fit behind the passanger seat, but as long as I raise the handle slightly will fit ok. I don't think it would fit behind the drivers seat in the position I have it in.

Within the next month or so we will be upgrading to a front facing isofix seat, so I will have to make double sure that will fit both our cars before shelling out, so thanks for making me aware of this.

 

[technics100]

Info I used to do this on a MK IV Golf, worth a go. no problems with it after a few months..

Check for local regulations before performing any deactivation/reactivation. For example, Germany requires that this must be checked by an authorized test center and entry made in the vehicle documents.

This information is shared for persons working on cars and need to temporarily disable the airbags, or others with a need to do so (e.g. frequently carrying a small child in the front passenger seat). The airbags are there for safety, I recommend that they normally be enabled.

Note: this description is based on using VAG-COM from Ross-Tech and having prior experience using it. If using anything else you will have to adapt the instructions.

1) determine if your car can do this. Use VAG-COM (or equivalent) to access the airbag controller. Look at the Component box in the upper right corner. In the middle of the string you should see 'VWx' where x is a number. This number must be 5 or higher. Anything lower requires a special resistance kit installation (1J0 998 521). An exception to this is VW3 with part number 1J0 909 609. This controller does not require the resistance connector.

2) Click on 10-Adaptation

3) Click up for the channel number to get to channel 01. This is the passenger front airbag channel. The value is 0 (zero) for 'enabled'. Click the up arrow to make it a '1'. Click 'Save' and confirm the prompt. This will disable that airbag.

For the other airbags, disabling them is a matter of choosing a different channel.
1 - passenger front
2 - driver front (steering wheel)
3 - passenger side (seat airbag)
4 - driver side
5 - passenger belt tensioner
6 - driver belt tensioner
7 - passenger head
8 - driver head

Enabling the airbag is just a matter of performing the same steps but decrementing the channel value from 1 to 0.

When an airbag is disabled, the airbag light will light on the cluster for the normal 4 seconds when you first turn the starter key to the on position, then additionally flash for 12 seconds.

 

[redspudder]

The plot thickens!
I've been to my local dealer and tried the seat in the rear of a B8 and it wont fit in there either (with the drivers seat in my driving position)although the saving grace could be that there is a switch in the glove box that de-activates the airbag.
I then tried the seat in the rear of Avant B8 and it just about fit, there seems to be a little extra leg room in the avant,i then got a brochure and have had a look at the diminsions very very simlar in both cars but the boot on a saloon measures(from the lip to the back seat)1067mm and in the avant it is 1027mm this 40mm makes all the diverence for child seats and my driving position also there is 20mm extra head room in the avant,i could just have to change my mind from buying a saloon to buying a B8 avant.
This meaning that the saloon boot is longer but the rear seats are pushed a little further forward to accomodate this, the avant boot length is smaller but obviously has a larger area to it but gives a little more leg room in the rear.Not sure if this is the same on the B6 & B7 Avant/saloons i dont have access to the figures