Black Friday, I bought an infant seat since we have a 10 month old and another one on the way. I put the seat into my 98 using the seatbelt and no matter how tight I make the seat belt, the seat for the life of me doesn't feel secure! So I returned it figuring you get what you pay for, and replaced it with a not on sale seat that my wife says its a very highly rated easy to install seat...But this one is less secure than the first one!
I must be missing something. I wish my truck had LATCH, but that didn't start till 01. Am I missing something with how to install these things?
The infant seat I used was always a little bit loose, but not to the point it felt unsafe. Maybe use fabric of some sorts to protect the leather and hopefully give some cushion so you can tighten it more.
What kind of hook does the cars seat have? Is it seat belt mounted only? Are you pulling your seat belts out so it can lock and retract? Put a couple pics up and I'm sure we can all figure it out!
My son was born before LATCH, so this may not be current and accurate information.
I used a locking clip like this:
to "fix" the length of the seat/shoulder belt a little short and hold the seat correctly (tight). I usually set it to a length where I had to put a knee in the child seat for the belt to "latch".
It's seat belt mount only. I'll take another go at it tomorrow with day light. On the first seat, I tried the reclining trick and it got fairly tight, but still swayed side to side like a mofo.
I have been pulling the seat belt all the way out to set it to lock, then feeding the belt though the holes and while leaning on the seat pulling as tight as I can. Does the location of the belt on the slide on the pillar make a difference?
You're probably doing it right, when I had an older car the base of my rear facing seat never felt as "locked in" compared to my wife's car that had LATCH. If you're unsure, I'm sure there are places around town that will check it for you.
You're in for some fun when #2 arrives (mine are 9, 7, and 2)!
It's seat belt mount only. I'll take another go at it tomorrow with day light. On the first seat, I tried the reclining trick and it got fairly tight, but still swayed side to side like a mofo.
I have been pulling the seat belt all the way out to set it to lock, then feeding the belt though the holes and while leaning on the seat pulling as tight as I can. Does the location of the belt on the slide on the pillar make a difference?
You need the clip. It sucks getting the seat tight, but it's a kid so don't do it "good enough".
Before our Grand daughter was big enough for a booster I dreaded taking the car seat out, actually not so much taking it out as putting it back in.
My protocol:
Use the clip to get the lap belt tight, then take it in another 1" - 1 1/2".
Get your knee inside the car seat and bounce your whole weight up and down while trying to get the seat belt clip in. Once the belt clips in try to rock the car seat back and forth. if it moves more that a fraction of an inch remove the belt tighten the clip and try again.
This was the method an EMT taught me. He had experience working car crash scenes where kids were involved and had two small kids of his own.
This... and put your knee in the seat base and put all your weight on it and squish that seat down til it cracks the leather and get that seat belt latched. Then never ever remove the until it's no longer needed.
And as others have said, you can't do it without the clip or it'll just work itself loose. My Chicco Keyfit base included one.
Take it to a police station and they can verify that it's installed correctly, and if not they can show you how to do it. It's worth the trip.
I always did as others mentioned, cramming my knee in the seat with my back on the roof. Be sure you pull the belt all the way out, so it's clicking (and locking) as it retracts. Downside to a secure seat is your vehicle's seat may end up marked. Be sure to remove the kid's seat occasionally and condition it (and clean all that stuff they drop) regularly.
Is it possible to just find a set of rear 2001+ seats and swap them out so that you have the hardpoints? Might seem a little overboard, but I have a 2.5 year old and two month old...
Which is the best way to install my child’s safety seat – using the vehicle seat belts or the LATCH system?
Both provide equal protection as child safety seats must meet Federal safety standards with either installation method. The most important thing is to be sure that the child safety seat is correctly installed in your vehicle. Be sure to read both the child safety seat instructions and the section in the vehicle owner’s manual on installing child safety seats.
Not sure what I did differently this morning than what I was doing last night, but I got the seat in very tight and very secure without getting the seatbelt locking clip.
I will stop by a local police station on my way home to have it officially checked before I put any kids in it though.
I have been pulling the seat belt all the way out to set it to lock,then feeding the belt though the holes and while leaning on the seat pulling as tight as I can. Does the location of the belt on the slide on the pillar make a difference?
The key is here ^^
After fitting belt around/thru'/etc the safety seat and locking the buckle - pull the belt all the way out. Then, when it retracts, it will not let go again until you undo the buckle and let it rewind completely. This makes it much easier to use your knee to push the seat down, as the belt will lock firmly. Doesn't work on the middle seat tho'.
I have a 99 LX 470 and 89 HJ61 and experience some of the same problems with car seats for my 3 year old and 6 month old. I was quite concerned with the amount of movement of the car seats in the UZJ100 and looked into it further. I am a professional full time city firefighter and we have a children's seat install program at our department.
1. The car seats are designed to have some movement to help absorb the forces of impact in a car accident. The seats should not slide around considerably though. I have used the knee method to compress the seat so as to get the seat belt as tight as possible, along with that I placed a piece of high density foam under the seat to help protect the leather and provide some "friction" on the slippery leather.
2. The rear facing seats are more difficult to secure tightly without the LATCH system. If you have adjustable shoulder restraints, move the restraint to the lowest position (this helps to get a more in-line adjustment).
3. Although not officially recognized as a child seat restraint anchor, I used the rear cargo hard point to serve as a back up anchor to the seat belt in my 3yr old forward facing seat. This helped with the side to side movement. Remember that this anchor was not designed for this and only use as a back up anchor. Take a look at how it is a secured to the vehicle, I felt comfortable using mine as a back up and figured it was better than the current side to side movement.
4. If you are still experiencing some difficulties with the install, call your local fire department to see if they have a child seat install program.
Both are equally safe, but the majority of malfunctions in car seats are due to bad installations. I think what makes LATCH more safe is the fact that it's easier and more convenient to install.
Or try the local fire department. My girlfriend works for our local department, and is trained in how to install the seats. She does this type of thing all the time.
This^^^ On our other vehicles there was no guessing when it was secure, I got the 100 right before we had our 3rd kid and for the life of me I did not trust that stupid car seat and I also replaced it twice thinking there was a problem! I finally took it to be inspected and they where helpful and nice enough to do it in front of me with tips as well! A cover of some sorts over the leather (or a towel) will help a lot to keep the sliding to a minimum! No matter what there will be some movement since it is a back facing seat tho!
