What's the reason for the signs on the seat? What are the risks of folding the seat while having a 3y kid in the back?

 

The thing is that folding the seat offers the kid a great view - makes it much more interesting.

Not sure but I suspect it might be something to do with deployment of the airbags. They could possibly fire towards any child in the rear where as with the seat back up it would stop that.

I wonder if the seat isn’t secured down sufficiently in a crash and could go back upright and then back onto the child. 

The seat contains an airbag which if triggered would without doubt launch the backrest so violently it could do serious damage.  Additionally the front seat provides protection from the front passenger airbag which if triggered would strike the seatback and could burst - again launching debris into the rear.

 

I would have expected the car to switch both airbags off if the seat was folded but perhaps not, or they could still fire in a severe enough collision.

I wonder if by folding the seat forward the bar at the bottom of the seat back is now prominent - and a potential hazard - on an old VW Touran we had when the seat folded the unpadded bar was very easy to feel..

Well there is an airbag in the front seat but it's not clear where it opens. It could open behind (lack of protection for passenger in the backseat) or in front (risk of kicking the front seat back up or backwards). Still a mistery ...

The bottom line is that the warnings are there for a reason what ever that reason may be. Is it worth risking harm to your child by ignoring the warning and finding out the reason when it is too late.

3 hours ago, ionelmc said:

Well there is an airbag in the front seat but it's not clear where it opens.

 

It is in the outer part of the backrest closest to the side of the car, emerges directly forwards and will come past your shoulder and upper rib cage.  Perfectly capable of 'blasting' the backrest upwards very violently as even if it missed the folded seat base it would hit the floor or side trim.

 

It is designed to increase the protected area provided by the roof airbag system down the side of the seat to keep your upper thorax, arm and shoulder away from the edge of the car in the event of a side impact or rollover.

Edited 22 July, 20178 yr by FelisBengalensis

Finally, an answer from Skoda: