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Purpose of seat icons in driver info screen (analogue dash)

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Anyone know what the purpose of the seat icons is when you start the car up? They appear at the bottom of the dashboard info window on my analogue dash. The manual doesn’t mention it, and I can’t work out what value it offers so far…

They show you when the seat belts are in use.

  • Author

Hmm. What’s the point of it? Is the idea To try to somehow tell who is or is not wearing a belt before you set off? 
 

If so - doesn’t the car whinge and beep when you drive without belts on anyway? 

20 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

They show you when the seat belts are in use.

 

I might be wrong but I thought the opposite - they tell you when a seat belt isn't in use.

 

2 minutes ago, Doombar said:

Hmm. What’s the point of it? Is the idea To try to somehow tell who is or is not wearing a belt before you set off? 
 

If so - doesn’t the car whinge and beep when you drive without belts on anyway? 

 

The point is you know when someone in the rear doesn't have their belt buckled. And it's law - all new cars must be fitted with some sort of seatbelt indication. Only the front seats have sensors, the rears do not.

 

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  • Author

Interesting. I must test it again, because I think all the icons were the same before I drove off. I thought it might show one person - ie me. Or a belted up indication - nope. I just had 5 similar icons, none with a belt symbol and me in the car with a belt on. Seemed bizarre, I couldn’t see the point of it.

16 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

 

I might be wrong but I thought the opposite - they tell you when a seat belt isn't in use.

 

 

 

 

 

My Kodiaq definitely shows which rear seat belt has been applied.

The new facelift Kodiaq now has icons for the 6th and 7th seats as well as the middle row.

Edited by Kenny R

7 minutes ago, Doombar said:

Interesting. I must test it again, because I think all the icons were the same before I drove off. I thought it might show one person - ie me. Or a belted up indication - nope. I just had 5 similar icons, none with a belt symbol and me in the car with a belt on. Seemed bizarre, I couldn’t see the point of it.

The 5 icons in the latest Kodiaq are for the middle and rear seats. If the driver or passenger do not put their seatbelts on you get an audible warning and a red icon on the dash.

Edited by Kenny R

  • Author

Aha. The icons couldn’t be any less clear that is the case. Glad I asked!!!!

 

So it’s all about visibility of who in the back hasn’t belted up. 
 

any idea which icon is which seat? 

3 minutes ago, Doombar said:

any idea which icon is which seat?

Don't know this for sure, but I think they're logically ordered; RHF icon will be the belt behind you assuming an RHD car.

You can see in this picture the seat icons 1,3 and 5 depict the 3 seats in the second row, seat icons 2 and 4 ar set slightly lower to depict the rearmost two seats.

A40BC864-07A6-4D34-9A0B-6FD1EA627C10.jpeg

Edited by Kenny R

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@Doombar  It’s not only at start of journey, it’s anytime a rear seatbelt is clipped in or released.  If one of your passengers in the back buckles up, or releases their seatbelt during the journey, then the display will reappear to show you what belts are in use.

 

Useful if you have brought up disobedient children or know people who might undo their seatbelt during the journey.   The law says it’s the drivers responsibility to ensure children are fastened (adults are responsible for themselves).

 

There is no indication for front seats as driver can see if seatbelts are in use fairly easily.

 

 

Edited by SurreyJohn

  • Author

Anyone know how the logic works around this if you have baby seats plugged into isofix? Or heavy bags on a seat?

8 minutes ago, Doombar said:

Anyone know how the logic works around this if you have baby seats plugged into isofix? Or heavy bags on a seat?

The rear seats don’t have weight sensors in them like the front two, just contacts on the seat belt buckles.

1 hour ago, Doombar said:

Anyone know how the logic works around this if you have baby seats plugged into isofix? Or heavy bags on a seat?

All they show is seatbelt (un)fastened; not seat in use.

If i have heavy non living stuff on seat i have the seat belts plugged in but if able to i put the plugged in seat belts around the heavy stuff.

It might just keep it where it is of there was an accident / heavy braking. 

On 26/12/2021 at 20:49, kodiaqsportline said:

 

I might be wrong but I thought the opposite - they tell you when a seat belt isn't in use.

 

 

The point is you know when someone in the rear doesn't have their belt buckled. And it's law - all new cars must be fitted with some sort of seatbelt indication. Only the front seats have sensors, the rears do not.

 

Article

 

 

 

Seat Belt Reminders are now a legal requirement on all seats, (with a few exceptions), for cars registered from the start of September 2021.  There are measures in place to allow limited numbers of vehicles manufactured before that deadline but not registered before it, to continue to be registered for another year.

That will make Varioflex removable rear seats or whatever they are called hugely complicated, they probably wont continue.

 

I dont know if its one or two decades since I learned of a new development or requirement that made me think "I really should consider a new or newer car", nowadays scarcely a week goes by before I read of yet another feature or characteristic that furthers my resolve to not buy anything newer than what I have, in fact my EU5 vahicle is a dissapointment in so many ways that I would buy the best example of an older non afflicted vehicle.

2 minutes ago, J.R. said:

That will make Varioflex removable rear seats or whatever they are called hugely complicated, they probably wont continue.

 

I dont know if its one or two decades since I learned of a new development or requirement that made me think "I really should consider a new or newer car", nowadays scarcely a week goes by before I read of yet another feature or characteristic that furthers my resolve to not buy anything newer than what I have, in fact my EU5 vahicle is a dissapointment in so many ways that I would buy the best example of an older non afflicted vehicle.

There will be ways round it, I'm sure.  Simplest, would be to leave the belt buckle bolted to the car, rather than the seat - or maybe do something smart-arsed with wireless?  I'm torn over the issue you describe though.  I have a foot in both camps, as it were.  A 1980s "toy" car and a virtually new company car.  I love the lack of "nannying", the driver involvement and the simplicity of my '80s car, but like the creature comforts, fuel efficiency, safety and environmental performance of my company car!   We have massive extra "nannying" in the pipeline, over the next few years though, mandated by regulation.  It will be interesting to see whether the UK adopts those same regs, post-Brexit...

On 31/12/2021 at 11:06, J.R. said:

That will make Varioflex removable rear seats or whatever they are called hugely complicated, they probably wont continue.

 

 

Perhaps not.  My 2016 Yeti has the icons and Varioflex seats. 

Edited by Schtum
Typo

But I bet your rear seats & seat belt buckles are not monitored, mine certainly are not.

On 31/12/2021 at 11:47, Schtum said:

 

Perhaps not.  My 2016 Yeti has the icons and Varioflex seats. 

 

I lied.  The Yeti doesn't have the icons.  I've clearly been spending too much time behind the wheel of my wife's Karoq.  However it does have the icons and Varioflex seats.  

Assuming the seats have the buckle retainers fixed to them, have you ever completely removed the seats and were there wiring connectors to remove?

 

Or I could ask the question in another way, do the icons light up when the rear seat belts are clipped in and out of the retainers? Again on the assumption that the retainers are fixed to the seats like the Yeti.

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Assuming the seats have the buckle retainers fixed to them, have you ever completely removed the seats and were there wiring connectors to remove?

 

Or I could ask the question in another way, do the icons light up when the rear seat belts are clipped in and out of the retainers? Again on the assumption that the retainers are fixed to the seats like the Yeti.

 

That would require further investigation.  I don't think in the 2 years we've had it we've ever removed the Karoq's rear seats.  That because the Yeti rears live in the garage almost all the time and it's used as our van.  

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