Toyota releases app update to make every parent a car seat installation pro

Toyota is all about safety and making sure you and your family arrive alive. The one thing Toyota can’t do for families to keep them safe, however, is properly install child safety seats. We all want to keep our kids safe on the road, but with different models, vehicles and buckle systems, the process for installing a child safety seat can be confusing for many, even Toyota engineers.

Helping Toyota customers properly install child safety seats so children can have full advantage of Toyota safety systems in the event of a crash in the idea behind the new digital tool Toyota released this month that includes detailed car seat installation instructions and videos for all Toyota models, helping every parent install their kid’s seat like a pro.

Called Toyota for Families, the app was developed by Toyota engineers Jennifer Pleky and Lindsay Babian, both of whom are parents. While having lunch together at Toyota’s Michigan R&D Facility in 2019, Babian and Pleky began commiserating about the difficulty of installing different types of car seats. Then they realized there was plenty they could do to help parents feel more confident about this crucial and often confusing chore.

“I designed the parts for securely attaching a car seat myself, yet there is still some confusion about proper car seat installation, which can become a real problem,” Babian said. “When Jen approached me with this, I saw the need for a solution. Now, parents, caregivers and grandparents who find it a challenge will have a tool to help them succeed.”

How it Works

At the Toyota website or while using the downloadable Toyota Users App, Toyota owners select their vehicle or enter their vehicle’s unique Vehicle Identification Number. Users can then select where in the vehicle they want to install the car seat, and the type of seat they need to install: forward-facing, rear-facing or booster seat.

If users are unsure which kind of seat they have or where they should install it, the system includes a “help me choose” guide that allows them to choose by their child’s age, weight and other factors.

Next, the system shows users a detail custom video for installing that kind of seat in the exact model of Toyota they own, along with step-by-step written instructions. If there’s an issue with their type of seat, or the place they want to install it in the vehicle, the system will flag their choice and prompt them to learn more.

In addition to walking users through the process of installing the seat, the system also demonstrates how to overcome challenges that might keep them from easily installing a seat in that particular model, including how to pull off the seat headrest in some models.

The Toyota For Families seat-installation toolkit is currently live for owners of late-model Toyota Sienna minivans, though Toyota plans to roll it out for more Toyota vehicles in the coming year.

Here at Landers Toyota of Little Rock, we’re proud to sell quality Toyota vehicles that are always on the cutting edge of keeping our customers safe. If Toyota is thinking this hard about installing car seats properly, just imagine how much effort they’re putting into everything else they do to keep your family secure on the road. Stop in today for a test drive, or check out our full selection of safe Toyota vehicles at our website right now.