Help with Radian 65 in a Honda Ridgeline

[Unregistered]

Hi,

We just bought a new Honda Ridgeline. We have our son, 3.5 yo, 37#, 41", in a Radian 65.

I can get a good install with Latch, but Honda confirmed over the phone that the weight limit for the child AND carseat is 48#. So now I need to install using the seatbelt.

The problem I am having is the the stalk on the female end of the seat belt is pretty tall, and rigid so I can not twist it.

I know you can use noodles to help get the correct angle on a RF seat, but I was wondering if I could use one to lift the Radian up enough to get it installed tightly, or is that a big No-No?

I am frustrated! I have a SafeSeat Booster that I can put him in, but I would rather that he be harnessed a bit longer and he is too tall for my other harness seats.

Thanks so much for any help!

[UlrikeDG]

I think you got an ignorant CSR on the phone. Honda allows LATCH anchors to be used until the child weighs 40 lb. The FMVSS minimum testing requirement is 65 lb combined weight of child and seat, so 40 lb is a very conservative limit on Honda's part, but you should still follow that recommendation.

You cannot use a noodle under a front facing seat. The seat may just plain be incompatible with a seatbelt install in the Ridgeline, but you should try taking it to a tech first to see if they can find a trick. Otherwise, you can continue using the seat with the LATCH install until your child reaches 40 lb, and then go from there, maybe buying a new seat if he's not ready for a booster (most 4 year olds aren't). If you know you're going to need a new seat at 40 lb, you can start watching for deals now, and maybe get a bargain on a seat that will fit better, like the Britax Marathon or Fisher Price Safe Voyage.

[ashinn]

Thanks! I will go ahead with the latch for a while. DS does really well in the booster for sort trips, but for anything longer then about 20 minutes he gets fidgety and I have to constantly remind him to sit correctly.

Hopefully I can find a tech to help get it installed with the seatbelt. I would hate to have to spend another 250 on a carseat....

[lorib12]

I was unable to get a tight install in my honda odyssey using just the seat belt also. With the seat belt AND the top tether though it is solid. I would think it would be OK to use the top tether and latch along with the seat belt if that gives you a solid install and you are using both rather than just relying on the latch alone.

[spokaneCPST]

I was unable to get a tight install in my honda odyssey using just the seat belt also. With the seat belt AND the top tether though it is solid. I would think it would be OK to use the top tether and latch along with the seat belt if that gives you a solid install and you are using both rather than just relying on the latch alone.

No, it is NOT safe to use both the LATCH and the seatbelt!

The upper tether can (and should) be used with the seatbelt, but the lower anchors cannot be used at the same time as the seatbelt. Carseat and vehicle manufacturers have not approved this installation method and using both will be making the child a crash test dummy.

Renee

[spokaneCPST]

Hi,

We just bought a new Honda Ridgeline. We have our son, 3.5 yo, 37#, 41", in a Radian 65.

I can get a good install with Latch, but Honda confirmed over the phone that the weight limit for the child AND carseat is 48#. So now I need to install using the seatbelt.

The problem I am having is the the stalk on the female end of the seat belt is pretty tall, and rigid so I can not twist it.

I know you can use noodles to help get the correct angle on a RF seat, but I was wondering if I could use one to lift the Radian up enough to get it installed tightly, or is that a big No-No?

I am frustrated! I have a SafeSeat Booster that I can put him in, but I would rather that he be harnessed a bit longer and he is too tall for my other harness seats.

Thanks so much for any help!

I am not familiar with your vehicle, but one "trick" I use for installing the Radian is to recline the vehicle seat, get the seatbelt as tight as I can, then pull the vehicle seat into the upright position. Sometimes this takes up just enough space and seatbelt slack to get the seat in tight.
Hope that helps!
Renee

[Jeanum]

I have one suggestion to add for the Radian that might help-extend the built-in forward facing only recline foot at the bottom of the Radian (there are brief and easily overlooked instructions for it in the Radian manual). This was what helped me to achieve a tight FF seatbelt installation in our '02 Saturn L100 sedan, and maybe it will help in the Ridgeline, too.

[Patriot201]

one "trick" I use for installing the Radian is to recline the vehicle seat

I wish you could do that in all vehicles. That would make life a lot easier!

[spokaneCPST]

I wish you could do that in all vehicles. That would make life a lot easier!


It sure would!!

I also second the suggestion to try putting the recline foot in the outer position (not the removeable piece). That may give you just enough of an angle to hold the seat tight.
Renee

[lorib12]

Why is it unsafe to use LATCH and the seat belt? I am not doing that with the Radian b/c I do not have LATCH in those seat - I just have them in with the seat belt and top tethers. However I do have my 3 yo in a convertible seat FF and I did use the seat belt the top tether and the lower anchors for it - I just figured it was all the more safe - It is rock solid in there. Just trying to figure out why that is a bad thing. I will sure change it if that is true! Thanks-

[Defrost]

Why is it unsafe to use LATCH and the seat belt? I am not doing that with the Radian b/c I do not have LATCH in those seat - I just have them in with the seat belt and top tethers. However I do have my 3 yo in a convertible seat FF and I did use the seat belt the top tether and the lower anchors for it - I just figured it was all the more safe - It is rock solid in there. Just trying to figure out why that is a bad thing. I will sure change it if that is true! Thanks-

There are several reasons - the main one being no one really knows if it truly works "even better" in a crash because it's never been tested.

Another issue that I've personally seen is that two belts can interfere with each other - depending on the seat and the vehicle, the get in each other's way.

And in this particular situation, a seat that is not tight enough with LATCH alone, and isn't tight enough with the seat belt alone, but that SEEMS tight with both is not tight. The systems are not designed to work together, and while we really can't know for sure because, again, it's never been tested, it's quite possible that both systems will still be too loose in a crash even if they semmed tight beforehand.

[lorib12]

Hmm - that makes sense - Which is safer then? I have installed the seat with LATCH alone and the seat belt alone and with the seat belt and just the top tether and every way it does not budge. I am guessing LATCH is the safer b/c there is no way it is going to come undone right? And a seat belt might. Thanks for the advice - - A lot has changed along the 11 years I have had kids in car seats! I am glad that I found this site.

[Defrost]

Hmm - that makes sense - Which is safer then? I have installed the seat with LATCH alone and the seat belt alone and with the seat belt and just the top tether and every way it does not budge. I am guessing LATCH is the safer b/c there is no way it is going to come undone right? And a seat belt might. Thanks for the advice - - A lot has changed along the 11 years I have had kids in car seats! I am glad that I found this site.

In general, they are equally safe - both meet the crash-test requirements. The safest is the one you can get the best installaion. Theoretically (and quite often) you can get the seat equally well installed using either method, but some carseat/vehicle combinations work better with one method over the other.

I'm glad you found us, too! It's so confusing, isn't it? :)

[singingpond]

I was unable to get a tight install in my honda odyssey using just the seat belt also. With the seat belt AND the top tether though it is solid. I would think it would be OK to use the top tether and latch along with the seat belt if that gives you a solid install and you are using both rather than just relying on the latch alone.

Another thing struck me in this description -- it's my understanding that the install should be tight even before you add the tether. This is separate from the issue that others have already pointed out -- that LATCH straps and seatbelt should not be used simultaneously.

Katrin

[Defrost]

Another thing struck me in this description -- it's my understanding that the install should be tight even before you add the tether. This is separate from the issue that others have already pointed out -- that LATCH straps and seatbelt should not be used simultaneously.

Katrin

Oh, yeah - I totally missed that! That's definitely important - the tether doesn't make up for the seat not being tight at the belt path. It is true that the seat will move less once the tether is connected, though, so it depends on what the OP means when she says it's "solid" with the tether. If it's tight with less than an inch of movement at the belt path, but she can wiggle it at the top, then yes, adding the tether would make it "tighter" and still be a correct install. If the only thing preventing less than an inch of movement at the belt path is the tether, however, that would need to be fixed.