Joie stages dissapointment!

[Em91]

Hi all I don't post often now but felt I should inform you all of this
We have a britax dualfix as Os main car seat as I'm very pro ERF (how could anyone not be )
. But needed a second seat for the in-laws /childminders car but didn't want to spend another £340 for an occasional use carseat so having looked at several we settled on the Joie stages. For £150 we couldn't complain thinking brilliant it will last for 7 years until shes in a high back booster as the box states "Born to grow from birth to seven years". On returning home I got the manual out of the box to ensure we knew how to fit it fully as again the company recommends. Was horrified when it said on page 11 with the huge list of warnings "DO NOT use this carseat for more than 5 years after the date of purchase, as parts may degrade over time, or from exposure to sunlight, and may not perform adequately in a crash!! " I'm sorry but all over the box and advertisements they state this car seat lasts my baby for 7 years! Yet the small print states it becomes inadequate after only 5 years! I'm thoroughly dissapointed with this as the whole reason for purchasing was because it would last!!
So thought I'd share with you lovely ladies as a warning! Shame really as it seems a lovely seat!

 

[Mum2betash]

Sorry you've been disappointed with your car seat, it's difficult to chose as there are so many out there! X

 

[Rachel80]

Do you mind me asking what is ERF? Does it mean the child will be rear facing for longer? How do you get round not being able to see them whilst driving? I hate not being able to see my son whilst he's driving but wonder if it'll be more of a distraction when he's forward facing. I know they do mirrors but I can't seem to find one that fits in my car. Is it a safety thing to have them rear facing for longer?x

 

[Em91]

I love our Dualfix. Just a shame Joie don't make it clear its only supposed to last 5yrs!

Rachel yep it's erf we have one of those £10 mirrors which go on the headrest from mothercare. It is 5x safer to keep your child rear facing in the event of a collision... there's lots of info around on it. Finally shops like mother care and babies r us are starting to stock erfs and the big company's (Maxi cosi etc) have clocked on and started making them! So the prices are slowly coming down there's a few seats for less than £200 around now
In most parts of Europe it's illegal to turn a child forward facing until age 4! We are just very behind the times in the UK!
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/faqs.php

Search extended rear facing crash test on YouTube and the videos speak for themselves !

 

[Jajis]

ERF seats keep children rear facing until either 18kg or 25kg (approx. 4 - 6 years) depending on the seat. There's lots of info on the safety and reasoning etc. on www.rearfacing.co.uk, and I've joined a few groups on facebook that have been helpful and informative.

We have a mirror that attaches to the headrest so that my OH can see our son if I'm not in the car. Also, as long as you can disable your airbag and the seat fits, there's nothing to stop you having your ERF seat in the front next to you - I've read it's just as safe (if not safer) than having them in the back...

 

[inky]

Hi, there is a recall associated with this car seat - you should see this x

http://www.recalluk.com/recalls/product/toys-r-us-joie-stages-car-seat-recall-2013.aspx

 

[Em91]

Thanks inky I was aware of the recall. It's on the older models

 

[hellywelly]

We have a dualfix - the price was ouchy but I LOVE the carseat - so glad we got it. I'm sure the joie got horrendous reviews on which? as well...

 

[Jajis]

Apparently a lot of ERF seats get bad reviews on Which? because they seem to think they are complicated to install properly, and they think people will install them incorrectly, which obviously would be dangerous.

Also, if the issue is that the parts might degrade over time then it would be the same for all car seats? I'm sure I read somewhere that in other countries all car seats come with 'expiry dates'.

 

[Pixel]

I also thought this was all car seats

 

[Violet]

Wow I never thought about car seats degrading over time. Very disappointing and how can a car seat not be exposed to sunlight in a car!

Last week I bought a new car seat, the Axkid Kidzofix, and didn't notice any of these warnings, but am going to have to have another look through the paperwork. So far tho, I'm really pleased with it, altho I need to find a good neck support for D as he falls asleep in it and then his head flops forwards n looks really uncomfortable.

Any one got any recommendations? (Sorry if I've hijacked your thread Em) x

 

[Em91]

My point was they are advertising it for over 7 years of use yet putting in their own manual only to use for 5 . All ERF seats get shocking which results because they focus on completely the wrong things! (I. E, space in the car! Ease of fitting etc) Meaning FF get better results. I love our dualfix but I couldn't justify another £340 for a car seat we only use maybe once or twice a week!
Violet I'm not sure about that can it not recline anymore? We looked at the kidzofix and thought it was lovely but only caved and went for the dualfix because the swivel is so convenient! Lol

 

[Violet]

Violet I'm not sure about that can it not recline anymore? We looked at the kidzofix and thought it was lovely but only caved and went for the dualfix because the swivel is so convenient! Lol

I'd have loved the dualfix, but I needed a carseat that could be fitted without isofix. I was going to have the kidzone, but they were doing the seats for the same price, so thought why not. I know what u mean about justifying the cost for a second seat. My family all think I'm potty buying him this one .

It's on max recline unfortunately. Apparently I can put a wedge under the front of the seat to raise it a bit, but I'm not sure about that. All the neck pillow/braces seem to be a U shape, quite bulky at the back n nothing at the front which would make things worse.

Rachel80 what car do u have? I just got a nice big one that clips around the headrest. Seems to be fairly universal, but can see that if u don't have headrests it would be hard to install a mirror.

 

[Jajis]

Last week I bought a new car seat, the Axkid Kidzofix, and didn't notice any of these warnings, but am going to have to have another look through the paperwork. So far tho, I'm really pleased with it, altho I need to find a good neck support for D as he falls asleep in it and then his head flops forwards n looks really uncomfortable.

We have a Kidzofix for our car too and think it's a lovely seat, it's on full recline and we haven't had the head flopping problem, but then there's nobody in the front seat so it doesn't matter that our seat has to be quite far forward.

We got a Minikid for my parents' cars, but I felt we could justify it as A spends one whole day a fortnight with my Mum, is picked up from nursery by her once a week, and she or my dad quite often takes me and A places at the weekend etc., so it will get a lot of use!

EDIT: Also meant to say that I saw some lovely animal neck rests made by Skip Hop, but I don't know what age you can use them from!

 

[Em91]

Had an Email back
Emma afternoon, Many thanks for your email as directed through the Joie website relating to the age suitability as quoted in the instructions for the Stages.
Our apologies for this error which appeared in an earlier version of the Stages instruction booklet. This has since been amended to read