Two child car seats fail stricter crash test
ANWB and Consumentenbond warn about the Axkid Minikid Core and a Britax Römer combination.
Two child car seats showed serious defects in a new crash test by ANWB and Consumentenbond. The advice for the Axkid Minikid Core is to stop using the seat; the Britax Römer Baby-Safe Pro is safe only in certain installation positions.
The warning concerns the Axkid Minikid Core and the Britax Römer Baby-Safe Pro combined with the Vario Base 5Z. The organisations announced the results before the full child car seat test is published at the end of October, because they consider the possible safety risks serious enough to warrant an interim warning.
During a frontal crash test involving the Britax Römer, the belt buckle opened when the seat was rearward-facing and in the reclined position on the Vario Base 5Z. Consumentenbond advises owners to use the seat temporarily only in the upright position on the base, or to secure it with the car’s seat belt. According to the test, the problem did not occur in those two situations.
With the Axkid Minikid Core, the support leg collapsed during the test. As a result, the seat lost an important point of support and could move more than intended. In the reclined position, the harness buckle also came loose from the seat shell. The organisations therefore advise stopping use of the seat until the manufacturer has provided a solution.
Axkid has stopped selling the Minikid Core and launched a voluntary recall. According to Consumentenbond, owners can have the seat replaced free of charge with an Axkid Minikid 4 Pro. According to the same source, Britax Römer is still investigating how the harness buckle could open.
The test is not a statutory type-approval test. ANWB and Consumentenbond use more demanding frontal crash tests than the minimum European type-approval requirements. A seat can therefore meet the statutory standard and still perform poorly in an independent consumer test. This difference also explains why a warning does not automatically mean that all units sold will be formally recalled.
The organisations will publish the full results at the end of October, including assessments of safety, ease of use, ergonomics and harmful substances. Until then, the advice specifically concerns the two models and installation methods mentioned. According to the testing organisations, consumers should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, respond to the recall and not improvise with the installation.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Two models failed in specific parts of a stricter consumer test.
- Statutory approval and the consumer test use different testing levels.
- Axkid has launched a recall; Britax Römer is investigating the cause.
Left
Arguments Children’s safety should weigh more heavily than freedom of choice or low prices. The government should enforce stricter minimum tests and intervene more quickly when safety problems arise.
Values Collective protection, prevention and equal safety for families.
Consequences Stricter rules may make products more expensive, but under this approach they reduce the chance that consumers have to assess complex safety information themselves.
Centre
Arguments A combination of statutory approval, independent consumer tests and voluntary recalls can work, provided warnings state precisely which use is unsafe.
Values Proportionality, transparency and workable regulation.
Consequences A targeted warning prevents unnecessary panic, while manufacturers must still quickly demonstrate that a product is safe.
Right
Arguments Manufacturers should bear primary responsibility for the quality of their products, and consumers should retain several independent choices. Additional government rules are needed only if existing standards demonstrably fall short.
Values Personal responsibility, market forces and limited government intervention.
Consequences Excessive regulation can hamper innovation and affordability; under this approach, liability and clear information should provide the main incentives.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key findings correspond with the publications by ANWB and Consumentenbond. The text clearly distinguishes between the independent consumer test and statutory approval.
- confirmed The Axkid Minikid Core and the Britax Römer Baby-Safe Pro with Vario Base 5Z showed serious defects. — Confirmed by both testing organisations. source
- confirmed Axkid launched a voluntary recall and is offering replacement with the Minikid 4 Pro. — Mentioned by ANWB and Consumentenbond. source
- confirmed The crash tests are more demanding than the statutory approval test. — Explained by both organisations. source
Editor's note
The test findings and advice were published independently by ANWB and Consumentenbond. The full test results and the cause of the problem at Britax Römer were not yet available by the deadline.Sources
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- NU.nl — „autostoeltjes veiligheid”
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