Baby-fying the LX (1 Viewer)

[ouzo12]

When I found out my wife was pregnant, one of the first things that came to mind -outside of a healthy happy baby - was taking him on a road trip in the 100 series.

I have a 2000 470 that is finally a reliable, mechanically sound gas guzzling beast. Unfortunately, I just can't get the car seat base to sit secure in it. The 2000s didn't have the anchor points in the cargo area so you are only using the seat belt. When attaching the base, I can't get it to sit within the level line and no matter how much I tighten the belt the base still has a decent amount of lateral motion.

The wifey says no more cruising until this is resolved. Any ideas or tips that I am missing? Covid has suspended the local Charlotte inspection points.

 

[Ca lc]

Had the exact same issue! I have a 2000 lc.

we brought my daughter home in my wife’s Mazda 3 because we didn’t feel comfortable with the car seat in the cruiser. I know... shame!!

I found the trick to getting the base in is to use a partner. Have one person pull from the inside to take up slack. Then have the other person pull from the outside. Repeat a few times until you get tension. It also helps to push down on the base while doing this. It really does take a little practice.

With this we were able to get enough tension to where we were happy with it.

We were in a fender binder right before we turned my daughter forward facing. When the lady rear ended us my daughter giggled and said what happened. Makes me feel safer knowing she is in a 6500 pound tank.

 

[ouzo12]

Had the exact same issue! I have a 2000 lc.

we brought my daughter home in my wife’s Mazda 3 because we didn’t feel comfortable with the car seat in the cruiser. I know... shame!!

I found the trick to getting the base in is to use a partner. Have one person pull from the inside to take up slack. Then have the other person pull from the outside. Repeat a few times until you get tension. It also helps to push down on the base while doing this. It really does take a little practice.

With this we were able to get enough tension to where we were happy with it.

We were in a fender binder right before we turned my daughter forward facing. When the lady rear ended us my daughter giggled and said what happened. Makes me feel safer knowing she is in a 6500 pound tank.

Yeah he is relegated to Volvo for now : )

So you buckled it and then had someone help with putting tension one the belt with locking down? Did you still have lateral movement after that?

 

[Ca lc]

Yeah he is relegated to Volvo for now : )

So you buckled it and then had someone help with putting tension one the belt with locking down? Did you still have lateral movement after that?

To get it right I would do the following:

1. Pull seatbelt out all the way and hold using a small pair of locking pliers.
2. Route through base and lock in buckle.
3. Pull tension from the inside of car and funnel seat belt back through the base.
4. Have person outside of the car then pull up the slack.
5. repeat pulling this time pushing down on the base.
6. Once tight lock in the base and release the seat belt.

There was still a slight amount of side motion but within the guidelines of one inch that our car seat stated.

Also isn’t it funny how much we worry about these things when my dad used to buckle my brother and I both up in the front seat of our blazer my entire childhood. Haha.

 

[jLB]

The easiest way to deal with this on a pre LATCH vehicle, is the metal clip shown in this post:

Latch System Alternatives?

I searched and found a few old threads but it seems the fixes were never done thoroughly. I have a 2000 LC that does not have the latch system. It has a d-ring on the floor on each side behind the middle row of seats, but the latch will not attach to it. If I use the seat belt the car seat is...

forum.ih8mud.com

Amazon product ASIN B005PK1D1A

 

[trdcorolla]

It's funny, before buying my LX with tethers, I found and and passed on a clean LC because it didn't have the child tethers. Fast forward to now, I have an infant and don't even use the tethers, haha. I use a Chicco KeyFit30 in the 2nd row center seat and it's nice and secure and level using the seat belt.

 

[oakback]

On any car, my method was to press my knee into the baby seat, and shove my back against the roof to compress the factory seat as much as possible while tightening the belt. Honestly it can leave a permanent impression in the seat (especially if you leave it in a long time), but that sucker isn't budging.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Take it to your local fire station - they’re trained to install car seats. FWIW, both my kids, including a 7 month-old, ride in car seats in my 2000 with just the seat belts. Minimal side to side movement if you kneel in the car seat, pull the belt out all the way, pull it tight on the car seat, and then let it lock-retract (should hear clicking).

 

[aging fleet]

A more difficult and expensive solution may be to swap in a second row from a later model LX? The anchors are integrated into the seat on my '06 so that theoretically could be an option if you were able to find one.

Edit...I just did a search on car-part.com and there is a salvage yard in Hamptonville NC (21 motors) that has a 2004 LX (black/tan) and they have the second row listed for $100.

 

[Shortpencils]

Sliders before car seats.

 

[fjcruising]

I get the "value" of the base when they are new borns and i really don't have a solution for that, however, as our little one got older (they don't have to be older/heavier for this car seat) we upgraded to a non-snap-in carseat and that sits a lot better on the cruiser with the existing belt. Also... when she was old enough to get turned around, i did strap it to the anchor in the back of the car and that made it pretty sturdy.

You will lose the convenience of the snap in car seat but if you are talking long road trips, you may not need it (as long as that isn't your daily for the kid)

Amazon product ASIN B07MP6VXS3​

Side note, i really like the idea of buying the later model rear seats as mentioned above - somehow it seems cheaper than those darn carseats.

 

[trdcorolla]

I get the "value" of the base when they are new borns and i really don't have a solution for that, however, as our little one got older (they don't have to be older/heavier for this car seat) we upgraded to a non-snap-in carseat and that sits a lot better on the cruiser with the existing belt. Also... when she was old enough to get turned around, i did strap it to the anchor in the back of the car and that made it pretty sturdy.

You will lose the convenience of the snap in car seat but if you are talking long road trips, you may not need it (as long as that isn't your daily for the kid)

Amazon product ASIN B07MP6VXS3​

Side note, i really like the idea of buying the later model rear seats as mentioned above - somehow it seems cheaper than those darn carseats.

My daughter is getting close to outgrowing her KeyFit 30, can you still access the 3rd row with that seat you bought? I'm assuming you have it installed in the middle seat.

 

[nukegoat]

Take it to your local fire station - they’re trained to install car seats. FWIW, both my kids, including a 7 month-old, ride in car seats in my 2000 with just the seat belts. Minimal side to side movement if you kneel in the car seat, pull the belt out all the way, pull it tight on the car seat, and then let it lock-retract (should hear clicking).

Why not just have your wife's boyfriend do it? Fire station... Sheesh.


J/k not bad idea kthxbye

 

[TrillyPop]

I also put all of my body weight onto the car seat (and did the same with bases when we used the removable carrier bases) and then pull the belt tight. Never had an issue and it's quick and easy to do. Pull it out all the way first to engage the locking mechanism. With the regular car seats, there is always going to be some side-to-side motion because they are anchored at the bottom only with the belt. The seat base for a carrier should be pretty dang snug. I also put a blanket between the seats to protect the car leather. The other thing I do with a full size rear facing seat is move the passenger seat backwards and wedge the top of the baby seat against the headrest poles, which helps with that side-to-side motion.

 

[fjcruising]

My daughter is getting close to outgrowing her KeyFit 30, can you still access the 3rd row with that seat you bought? I'm assuming you have it installed in the middle seat.

We did not have it on the middle, we did the passenger side all throughout. It is a “large” seat, when you fold down the center/left seat, it rubs the car seat but clears just fine. Is it one of the safest out there, yes. If we had a smaller car would it have fit comfortably, no. Is it safer than other cars seats? No idea, glad we never put it to the test.

Some may call me a dinosaur in my thinking because the Lc100 is probably not rated as safe as most cars are today (that focus on accident prevention) but I still believe in size. If you are larger than 75% of the fleet out there, you are already making a safe decision (for yourself) on the road; that maybe hard to explain over a Volvo and 5 star crash rating but it’s worth something.

 

[tshandonay]

On any car, my method was to press my knee into the baby seat, and shove my back against the roof to compress the factory seat as much as possible while tightening the belt. Honestly it can leave it permanent impression in the seat (especially if you leave it in a long time), but that sucker isn't budging.

Exactly what I used to do

 

[JOSHD]

 

[ouzo12]

Why not just have your wife's boyfriend do it? Fire station... Sheesh.


J/k not bad idea kthxbye

So I understand, you are saying I stay home and drink beers while someone else figures this out?? Perfect! : )

So the fire\police stations no longer offer this service. They have these clinics now which are suspended cause of the Rona.

Thank you all, great ideas and instructions here. Definitely going to try some of tips and may end up taking a quick trip up i77 to look at those seats as a last resort.

I'll post my update when I get it sorted

 

[Exiled]

Congratulations on the new addition to your family and future adventure buddy!

I'm not as trusting of "safety ratings" as I am of 32 consecutive years driving Land Cruisers and surviving two roll over accidents (including one high speed) in them. Both of my boys (now teenagers) came home in a Land Cruiser and they've been riding in Land Cruisers ever since. My wife drives a 200, I drive a 100 and my oldest son drives MY other 100 (that he thinks is his)!

 

[ouzo12]

Wanted to thank everyone for your input. Used my entire body weight and a friend yanking on the belt to get that sucker tight.

Finally getting the LX into baby duty : )