Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 in a 2006 Civic Sedan

[Abe's Dad]

I am trying to install this seat, rear-facing, in the center of the rear seat. I follow all instructions that come with the seat and the car itself and find that when I'm done with the install, I can just push the seat right over until it slams into the passenger side door. It can not be pushed over towards the passenger door. The car's lap/shoulder belt locks so that it can not be extended once it is retracted. The car's instructions and the seat's state that no locking clip is necessary with this kind of belt. The trouble is that tipping toward the passenger side actually makes the belt path shorter, which is allowed by the belt. It seems to me that I still need a locking clip to prevent this. Is there any reason not to use both the locking clip and the locking belt? Or, is the locking belt irrelevant if the clip is used (the belt can be made to move freely except under sudden acceleration). I can't figure out what I'm missing. I definitely pulled out all the slack (put my whole 190 lbs into it). I would appreciate any help with this. If you have installed with the same method I am trying, I would suggest checking to see if your seat will tip towards the passenger door.

[joolsplus3]

You're on the right track...use the locking clip and then do NOT lock the shoulderbelt. That will keep the lapbelt tight (all that is really necessary), and keep the shoulderbelt from exerting force on the side of the seat. www.carseatsite.com has a plethora of videos including how to use a locking clip, and pictures of how to use rolled towels or a pool noodle to install the seat to a proper recline level, and it might help a lot. Mainly you need to go for that tight seatbelt, and the seat should be tight at the belt path, but then the top of the seat is always going to be quite wobbly, that's just the nature of that seat in the rearfacing position :)

[snowbird25ca]

The other thing you can try that may improve the installation, is removing the base. It's quite easy to remove and the instructions are in the manual. I've often found taking the base off improves the installation a great deal.

Also, when checking for movement, you only want to be using one hand at the belt path and looking for no more than 1" side to side or front to back. The top of the shell is always going to have some movement and will be able to be pushed side to side or up towards the back of the vehicle. It's just the nature of a rf'ing restraint.