Anybody retrofitted Isofix?

[arthurfuxake]

With our 1st baby due in June, I've been looking into fitting the Isofix bars to the rear seats of my car. I've got the part no's from doing a search on here, but have concerns regarding the plastic "slots". Does the rear seat base need "cut-outs" for the isofix setup, or does the seat bend/fold around the plastic channels that the bars are inside?

 

[JohnboyC]

Hi there Arthur....

I have retrofitted ISOFIX brackets in the back of my 2.5 TDI Q Sport Avant.....really easy.....pop up back seat base.....locate brackets - two torx bolts..job done....there is clearance between the back seat and base ....(I have leather back seats)..

 

[arthurfuxake]

Thanks Johnboy, is the clearance enough to fit the plastic sleeves(circled red). On the factory fitted cars it looks like the seat base is shaped to accomodate the plastic bits.

 

[samuelt]

I have also done this on my 02 TDI and it is very easy, i use the black plastic locators as well and there is no clearance issues.

three points to note though

1. do you need to buy both brackets? I bought only one (passanger side) and my daughter is now 1 year old and has never sat behind me isofix or not.

2 Are you going for the Recoro baby seats? if so it is a great system and recomended by Audi. But when you buy the second size seat and put it on the recaro base it is just to big for an A4.

3 I ditched the recaro base (for the 2nd seat) as VW/Audi cars have a great feture as standard. If you pull the rear seat belt fully out and feed them back in, they then ratchet tie (clicking noise) until the are fully retracted again. I now clamp my daughters seat in using this and it feels much more secure then the isofix ever felt.

Good luck

Toby

 

[arthurfuxake]

Cheers Toby, that's great advice. I didn't know about the ratchet feature of the seatbelts.

Did the black plastic locators come with the isofix bar, or are they an extra?

 

[samuelt]

extra, mine came with the recaro base they were stamped audi/wv/seat/skoda so you shold be able to get them from a stealer.

 

[technics100]

Do you know how much the isofix parts are for the car? We too have a baby coming in August and may need to fit this option. We have just had to change our mini cooper to a 5 door BMW 1 series to make the new arrival a bit easier to get in and out of the car..

 

[MattS5]

Cost me £35 for 1 bracket + £2 for the bolts

(I only fitted one side due to just having 1 toddler at the moment)

 

[boltona]

Due to time restraints & also the fact that my missus does not trust my DIY at the best of times (and with a toddler anyway time is a precious commodity) I actually got Hatfield Audi to do this for me and while it is undoubtedly more expensive than diy c.£180 it could have been worse. I use a Britax isofix seat for my 1year old and this really is rock solid compared to seatbelt installation - even with it ratcheted back. I did pull the seat base up to see whether the mountings were there and this was easy so do not doubt that it is something you could do quite simply.

I do not have any experience with seats which use a base to clip on or off - my view is that the fixing becomes more important as the baby / toddler weight increases and especially changing from rear to front facing. An interesting point is that baby / toddler injuries in the rear of vehicles in scandinavia are much lower than in the UK because they stick with rear facing until age 3 (not sure how it works but there you go!).

I do not think you can doubt the increased safety of ISOFIX over seatbelts when you read the which reports etc. and also the ease of fixing and inability to fix incorrectly makes this a no brainer.


Cheers

 

[SimonP]

Due to time restraints & also the fact that my missus does not trust my DIY at the best of times (and with a toddler anyway time is a precious commodity) I actually got Hatfield Audi to do this for me and while it is undoubtedly more expensive than diy c.£180 it could have been worse. I use a Britax isofix seat for my 1year old and this really is rock solid compared to seatbelt installation - even with it ratcheted back. I did pull the seat base up to see whether the mountings were there and this was easy so do not doubt that it is something you could do quite simply.

Was the £180 for both sides or just the one?

thanks.

 

[boltona]

figure that the car may well still be around when we go for the next one - and also while it was being done.... in for a penny!

 

[henry74]

Does anyone have the part numbers for the bits needed including the plastic locators? Only need the one side as it's not twins - although everyone had the missus worried that it was going to be!

cheers

Richard :thumbsup:

 

[arthurfuxake]

8E0 813 545 Left Isofix Bar
8E0 813 546 Right Isofix Bar
8L0 837 453 Torx Bolt, need 2 per isofix bar

I haven't got a part no. for the plastic guides.

 

[JohnboyC]

£180 for two ISOFIX bars installed by a main stealer - thats a complete and utter blatent rip off......do it yourself and save £115.....or get an independant garage to do it if you cannot do up two Torx bolts per ISOFIX bar....

 

[arthurfuxake]

Sam/John/Matt,

Where did you get your isofix brackets from? I've been quoted £70 each by my local audi dealer!!!!!

 

[MattS5]

I've just replied to your PM.

Make sure they are quoting for a single bar, not the pair.
Mine came from Norwich Audi. (£37 or thereabouts I think I said previously)

I'd be happy to go buy you one and post it to you for £40 if you're still struggling to get a reasonable price.

 

[mitch78]

:thumbsup:

 

[samuelt]

i just felt that the space left to get my daughter out of the rear door was very restricted when the seat was on the base. As you take your daughter out of a much larger door you may not see the same problem as i found.

 

[mitch78]

:thumbsup:

 

[arthurfuxake]

Ok, finally got around to buying the bits, 2 guys in the parts dept at manchester audi were really helpfull, they even managed to dig up a set of the plastic guides. Just a case of fitting them now. The parts guys said it was dead easy, the seat base pulls up in the front, and then comes out from the back. Do the brackets fit in like the picture, with the "loops" facing downwards?
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/lwpautz/Audi/Isofixgif.gif

Also, the plastic guides look quite big with one side being flat, and the other side has a curved lip, anybody know which is top and which is bottom?

What are the torque settings for the bolts?

PS, sorry about the crap pics, they're from my phone.

 

[NOLOGY]

Guys can i install an Isofix in my 2003 a4 cab? I am really interested in doing it cause my baby is now 20 days old and i need one.

 

[arthurfuxake]

I've had a look at my plastic guides, and I'm not convinced that they're right! They have a part no. begining with 8L, I'm sure they're for the A3 rather than the A4. Samuelt - could you please unclip one of yours and check the part number please.

 

[arthurfuxake]

Ok, I've now fitted them, it was pretty obvious which way around the bars went once I had the seat base lifted out and could see the mounting points. Only problem is the plastic guides. I'm now almost convinced that they have given me the guides for an A3, rather than for an A4. The part no for the plastic guides I've been given is: 8L0887233. I think the guides for the A4 should start 8E0xxxxxx. Anybody got any info on this?? This is what they look like, which is a bit odd.

Does this look right, or am I right in thinking it's a bit odd?

 

[NOLOGY]

does anyone knows if it fits on my a4 cab 2003?

 

[mitch78]

:thumbsup:

 

[arthurfuxake]

I'm worried about what damage the metal isofix clips on the baby seat will do to the leather. We've decided on the maxi-cosy cabrio, and even that seems to have a very rough edged isofix claw.Sorry Nology, I don't know what is available on the cab. Best bet is to have a look for the mounting holes. Just stick your hand in-between the seat base and the back-rest and have a look for the two mounting holes. On my previous A4 the holes were covered with tape, but on this A4 the holes were uncovered.

 

[NOLOGY]

oh god now that you mentioned rough edges i ma having second thoughts. will this be a threat to my alcantara interior>

 

[MattS5]

they will mark the seats slightly, but nothing major.

ISOFIX is the best way of securing the seat. I'll happily mark my seats for the safety of my son :O)

 

[NOLOGY]

I have searced in the back seat between the seat and the seat base and i found out there are 2 brackets at left and right of the right part of the seat but i dont know what they are. is there any chance to be ISOFIX part already or is it something else?

 

[NOLOGY]

I have searced in the back seat between the seat and the seat base and i found out there are 2 brackets at left and right of the right part of the seat but i dont know what they are. is there any chance to be ISOFIX part already or is it something else?

 

[sage33e]

I have always used the guides, as the claws on the britax isofix seat that i've got would rip the leather in an instant. NOLOGY, I have isofix on all three possible seats in my A4 2003 cab, so I assume a retrofit would be possible.

 

[arthurfuxake]

Been out looking at baby seats this weekend, and am happy to say I was wrong about the isofix claws on the maxi-cosy. They are nice and box-like, and are coated in a yellow rubberish coating, so I'm happy that I can take off the guides and my seats won't suffer any damage.

 

[NOLOGY]

OH YEAH!!! just went to check my a4 2003 cab with the isofix base of peg perego, and found out that the car has already installed in 2 spots at the rear seat already fitted the Isofix so the base just clicked on and its so easy and also does not have any chances of leaving a mark as i saw it. photos to follow

 

[NOLOGY]

ah and arthur it doesnt need any plastic guiders as i saw now, at least on my car. the claws of the base just go under the seat and click on the brackets.

 

[arthurfuxake]

Nice one!

 

[antheawad]

Hi everyone

have just been reading this thread, and have found it all really interesting.

For those of you who have retro fitted your own bracket, would you please advise if it was necessary to drill any holes under the seats, and if so, what did you use to do so. How did you know where to drill the holes?

Thanks in advance...

anthea

 

[antheawad]

by the way I have an Audi A6 Avant 2003 2.5 TDI Quattro Sport

 

[MattS5]

No need to drill holes on the A4, the threaded holes were already there.

Put your fingers between the back of the seats and have a feel around for them.

 

[antheawad]

yes, I too have located the holes at the rear. How easy are the brackets to fit? How does the bracket fix without you having to get underneath the car to fit a nut?

Thanks

Anthea

 

[arthurfuxake]

The holes are threaded, so no need for a nut. Lift up the rear seat base from the front edge - it requires quiet a violent tug to release the clips holding it down. The seat base then comes out of the car and the holes can be accessed. Easy job, took me about 15 minutes.

By the by, I've removed the plastic guides as they were crumpling the leather, and after testing it with the maxi-cosi seat, they're not needed anyway.

Where are you located Anthea?