leather seat protectors

kimarino13

I admit that we use these.  I don't want to, because I hear they void the warranty of the car seat (is that true?) and are considered unsafe, but the Marathons dig SO deep into the leather seats on my Pilot that I am afraid they are going to ruin the seats. The girls' car seats are tightened really well and don't slip, and I don't see how the seat protectors are making anything unsafe.  Am I missing something here?

What's your take on these?  Use them?  Don't use them?  Has anyone ever had leather seats ruined by car seats?  Do the really deep creases/dents ever come out?

fallbride110406

Every fire station and police station I called around here to find someone to inspect ours (MI sucks, no one does them) told me that they wouldn't inspect them, but they tell people absolutely nothing under the seat and no after market add ons not approved by the manf.  When I asked the state cop why, he said it voids the warranty and can cause the seat to move in a collision enough to cause injury to the child.  Another fire station said a very, very thin towel or receiving blanket was okay, but not recommended for the same reason. 

We have cloth seats but I've heard that the grooves usually come out of leather after a while.

smeyer

We also use seat protectors.  I know many inspectors frown upon them but, surprisingly, no one said a word when we had our installation checked.  We just installed our convertibles (Britax Boulevard CSs) and need to have them double checked by a pro.  I'll be curious to hear what our next inspector says about the seat protectors.

Chickandtaco

I've been wondering the exact same thing.  We just bought a minivan and it has leather seats.  We never had a problem with carseats leaving a mark on our cloth seats.  My hubby ended up putting a towel under the carseat for now but I was thinking they'd probably say it's "unsafe" or voids the warranty.  UhhH!     I was thinking of buying these:

 https://www.target.com/Prince-Lionheart-Gray-Two-Stage-Seatsaver/dp/B0001WAO9O/ref=sr_fkmr_1_2?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=prince%20lionheart%20seat&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-2&qid=1298397830&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Prince%20Lionheart%20Gray%20Two-Stage%20Seatsaver&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0'

 

Should I not?

Chickandtaco

I just went to my carseat manufacturs website (chicco) and sent them a message about using these.  I will let you know what they respond.

Chickandtaco

I just called Britax (that's the other carseat we have for DS) and they said they do not reccomened using any of those because the carseats are not tested with those. She said if you HAVE to use something under it the only thing they reccomend is a VERY THIN layer of shelf liners, like those rubbery ones you can buy.  Not sure that that would do anything to protect your leather?  Hmmmmm, I dunno.

thiswillbe

We are using the Prince Lionheart ones. They seem hard enough to protect the seats (they did with our infant seats; haven't seen yet how they hold up with our Marathons) and the non-slip stuff on the bottom seems to hold well. We have the seats connected via the latch system really tightly.

I have to say when we were car shopping we saw some used minivans with deep dents in the leather which were obviously from carseats. So I do think it's possible to get marks that don't come out.

Young100904

I used the Eddie Bauer seat protector with my DD's infant seat and her Marathon in our Equinox. I used to take the seat out, clean everything and condition the leather to try to keep it from being damaged but it ruined the seat anyway. I dont think anything is going to prevent the leather from being stretched out of shape so we didnt use anything in our new car.

veronicacorningstone

I'm glad you asked.  We just bought a new car today and were looking seat protectors, but I've read a lot about them not being safe.  I guess we will buy shelf liner or use a towel and cross our fingers.

Chickandtaco

Here's what chicco wrote me back:

 

Thank you for your inquiry. Chicco does not allow the use of any accessories, pads, or products not included with the car seat, unless specifically approved by Chicco. Doing so will void the warranty of the Child Restraint.

Add-on products can interfere with the proper performance of the car seat. It is critical for your child?s safety that add-on products manufactured by other companies not be used without approval from Chicco