danacoe

For someone who would like to be able to use a child's or infant car seat *other* than one of the Porsche-branded ones... I removed the male buckle from an old, expired Porsche car seat.

L741_993

Hey,

I have been baby seat shopping, and looks like the Recaro ProSport will work the best in our Audi... But not sure if it will fit in the back of the 993 (from the pictures it's too wide). How does the deactivation bar work? I may need it if I have to put the seat up front. Do you know if it's the only way to turn the airbag off. I need to read my manual, I know the Audi tells you the airbag is off. I have not seen any indication on the 993. Thanks for the insight.

danacoe

We had a Porsche Boxster and we are *not* DIY people, so my experience is limited to that scenario.

-Installing Porsche's deactivation bar was, indeed, the *only* way to deactivate the passenger airbag in our Boxster for safe and proper use with a car seat.

-We could *not* find a mechanic who would install the deactivation bar for us unless we had possession of a Porsche-branded car seat for use with it. Porsche Corporate forbids it.

-So, we grudgingly bought a Porsche car seat (we found a used one--the "Junior") and we used it, even though we *hated it.* Here's a picture of it: http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...y_Code=986seat.

-The only thing that is "special" about a Porsche car seat--other than the logo, excessive price, and horrendous design--is that it has an odd-shaped buckle dangling down beneath. This buckle clicks into a receiver, which will be installed in your car as part of the airbag deactivation system. Clicking the buckle into the receiver is how the airbag deactivator will "know" that a child seat is present.

This buckle, cut away from our old, now-expired child's car seat, is what I am now offering for free to anyone who wants it. With it, one could safely use *any* proper car seat in their Porsche vehicle.

So... Did I mention how much we **hated** the Porsche seat? Let me emphasize that point... Prepare yourself for a bit of rant...

Porsche's Junior car seat is god-awful... and you must pay through the nose for it (>$500 new). Until your child reaches about 40lb, she would have to sit with a cumbersome, uncomfortable "impact table" belted across her lap. When not in use, the impact table is an awkward, separate piece that you will have knocking around loose in your car... but that is the least of my complaints about it. At age 18 mos (25 lbs), our son appeared to be practically buried underneath the stupid horrible thing, which came up as high as his armpits. He literally had to ride with his arms extended straight out in front or to the sides. Once the child is finally large enough for the size of the impact table to be less problematic... well, he doesn't need it by then anymore anyway. At that point, the seat can be used as a belt-positioning booster for bigger kids. (So, why? Why? WHY must the f*#%ing impact table be so f*#%ing BIG, I wonder?) Also, the seat puts a toddler very low in the car, so he can't see out the windows or over the dash. Yeah. So. Now. Here you have a toddler who cannot properly use his arms to entertain himself with toys/snacks, nor can he see out the windows. That sounds like one very happy toddler, doesn't it? Brilliant! Let's put the top down and go on a road trip! Woohoo!

So, anyway. If I only could have had a spare buckle, I would have freed my kid from the idiotic Porsche car seat (by selling it 2nd-hand to the next sucker down the line) and I would have just used some well-designed, perfectly suitable, run-of-the-mill, off-the-shelf car seat instead. The opportunity to do just that is what I'm offering to someone else...

9972RS

I'll take it off your hands. Looking to put a carseat in the pcar in a couple of months.

Greg Funke

doubt you still have it but i would give you some compensation for it -

Regards,
Greg

greg.funke@gmail.com