Still having problems installing AOE into Santa Fe

[nic073]

Should it seriously be THIS hard?? This is why I love(d) my MT so much because I KNEW it was in tight and was not moving at all. However, it makes me nervous hearing about how bad the MT's are.

I decided to try it RF again (son is 19mo, 25ish lbs and about 32-33in). There was NO way that seat could possibly be safe RF. I had the belt as tight as possible and it still wiggled all over. The "back" of the carseat, if I grabbed the headrest part, flopped up and down off the seat. Can I tether the AOE RF? I drive a Hyundai Santa Fe. I'm nervous now to think about putting Baby #2 in the AOE RF... how will I ever get it tight enough? And, the snugride (ok, ok, I have a good 8+months to worry about this, but STILL!)... I remember before the MT we could not get the Snugride Base in tight at all... it flopped all around.

So... I turned the AOE FF, took the base off, twisted the female end of the buckle twice, kneeled in the seat, rocked, bounced, the whole nine yards. It STILL doesn't seem to be in tight enough. GRRR..

Pics and video:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q214/nic073/IMG_1756.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q214/nic073/IMG_1755.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q214/nic073/th_Stilldoesntseemverytight.jpg (http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q214/nic073/?action=view&current=Stilldoesntseemverytight.flv)

[cpsaddict]

I couldn't watch the video because my computer is being a butt, but for rearfacing, the top of the seat is going to move towards the rear of the car. This is normal and is true even for the Snugride. You cannot tether the AOE rearfacing. You want to test for tightness only at the belt path. The seat should have less than 1" movement side to side. Also, for the Snugride(when the time comes) you will most likely want to skip using the locking seatbelt and just use a regular locking clip. This is because the locking seatbelts tend to want to tilt the base of the Snugride. I have a Ford Escape and always need to use a locking clip.
When installing RF, pull the cover back near the feet. Grab the shoulder portion very close to where the buckle is pull as hard as you can while kneeling in the seat.
This works for forward facing as well. Also, how hard are you shaking the seat? I couldn't see the video. You don't need to put all your weight into shaking the seat. I learned this at tech training. For instance, I can have the seat in perfectly and then by shoving on it, I can loosen it. You don't need to shove that hard. :D

[Defrost]

Remember you want to the LAP portion of the belt as tight as possible - this means that sometimes what works best is to tighten the belt at the latchplate. On the video, I noticed you were trying to pull on the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten it. That doesn't always give you enough.

Put your right hand in the seat (or your knee, whichever is more comfortable), push it down and back, and then pull on the seat belt with your left hand, close to the latchplate. If you can reach through the cover and pull from that direction it may help. You will probably need to start over, as you'll need some slack in the shoulder portion of the belt to pull that way.

Once you've got it pulled as tight as you can, hold it there (at the latchplate), and then lock the belt and pull all the slack out of the shoulder portion.

[nic073]

Remember you want to the LAP portion of the belt as tight as possible - this means that sometimes what works best is to tighten the belt at the latchplate. On the video, I noticed you were trying to pull on the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten it. That doesn't always give you enough.

Put your right hand in the seat (or your knee, whichever is more comfortable), push it down and back, and then pull on the seat belt with your left hand, close to the latchplate. If you can reach through the cover and pull from that direction it may help. You will probably need to start over, as you'll need some slack in the shoulder portion of the belt to pull that way.

Once you've got it pulled as tight as you can, hold it there (at the latchplate), and then lock the belt and pull all the slack out of the shoulder portion.

Yes, I definitely pulled on the belt near the latchplate (buckle.. right?). In the video, I was just tugging on it to show any give/slack.

Maybe I am shoving on the seat too hard to make it wiggle.... I have no idea. I've contacted someone in my area to try to set up a time next week to have them help me install the seat.

[jen_nah]

While I agree from the video it is not tight enough. Just remember when checking for tightness you want to check at the belt path (where the seatbelt comes through the car seat) and not up at the head area (when rear facing).

Yes, The AO and Snugride will be floppy up at the head area. This is normal. What occurs in a crash is called rebound/cocooning. The seats rock up in a C shape to help distribute the crash forces across the child's entire body. The only seats that allow rear face tethering is the Britax & Radian seats.

No one has asked these questions. What type of seatbelt is in the center position? Also where is the seatbelt location (where on the vehicle is the seatbelt coming out of) in the current position your installing it in? Have you tried another seating position? We recommend the center b/c it puts your little guy furtherest from any point of impact.

[nic073]

While I agree from the video it is not tight enough. Just remember when checking for tightness you want to check at the belt path (where the seatbelt comes through the car seat) and not up at the head area (when rear facing).

Yes, The AO and Snugride will be floppy up at the head area. This is normal. What occurs in a crash is called rebound/cocooning. The seats rock up in a C shape to help distribute the crash forces across the child's entire body. The only seats that allow rear face tethering is the Britax & Radian seats.

No one has asked these questions. What type of seatbelt is in the center position? Also where is the seatbelt location (where on the vehicle is the seatbelt coming out of) in the current position your installing it in? Have you tried another seating position? We recommend the center b/c it puts your little guy furtherest from any point of impact.

Thanks for the response!! I really appreciate all your advice and help. I wish I could get this seat figured out. Its really stressing me out.

To answer your questions:

-The center seatbelt is just a lap belt.

-The seatbelt I'm using right now is coming out of the sidewall of the car (not sure if thats the correct term LOL...)

-I haven't tried installing it in the center of the seat. If it worked, it would only temporarily resolve the issue, as I'm preganant and due this spring. So sooner or later we'll have a carseat on the outboard. I'd rather figure the issue out now and not when the new baby is here and try to deal with getting 2 seats to fit properly, kwim?

Do you think that its the seat and my car combination? I should try installing the seat in our Durango and see how that works.

***ETA***
I just put the seat FF in my husbands '98 Durango (no latch, no clicking shoulder belts). It installed easily and was tight. So, I'm assuming its my car- that the seat and my car aren't compatible?

[Melizerd]

It IS possible that your seat isn't compatible with your car. It DOES happen, not a lot but it does. :(

I was keeping up with the other thread but I don't know if I saw if there was a reason you're on an outboard and not in the center? Maybe it would install better there? (just looking for any solution for you)

[flipper68]

It looks loose in the video, but you didn't test it at the belt path.

I'd pull the cover back and look at the LATCH strap/attaching strap. The attaching strap pokes out in the video, so I'm wondering if the seatbelt is not flat/smooth in the belt path or is getting hung up on the LATCH and/or the clips are between the CR and seat back rather than drooping down in the "empty space. You can shove the LATCH into the "legs" of the seat or clip them in back like you have it, but make sure the seat belt is flat against the CR in the beltpath.

From there, as the others have said, use your knee to push the CR back and down. Pull out the slack at the buckle, feeding it back to the retractor.

When you think you have it tight, lean your weight in the seat toward the buckle and you should feed at least 2-3 more "clicks" of the retractor. The angles of the vehicle seat and not having leather make me think you should be successful.

FWIW: I don't think I've ever installed an AOE RF with the base. Try it RF'ing w/o the base and a noodle pyramid.

[NZ Child Restraints]

not all seats fit all cars, perhaps this seat is not suited for your car?

[jen_nah]

There are going to be times when car seat just don't work in all vehicles. This might be one of those times. I think seeking the help from another tech might be a good last resort.

Just this past week I had a Baby Trend Flex Latch 22 come into my fitting station in a Ford Taures (pre LATCH vehicle). Myself and another tech worked on it for over 45mins in all different seating postions and using all our tricks. The seat belt anchor points were just spaced to widely apart for this carrier. We had to advise mom & dad to return it and look for another seat. At that point we did recommend seats (Graco Safe Seat 1 or the Chicco KeyFit). They went and got the Key Fit (as that is what mom orginally wanted but dad didn't like the cover). Dad had the seat installed all by himself with me just talking him through it in 2mins flat.

So, Once you see the new tech and your still not able to get a good install (remember up to 1" of side to side movement is an acceptable install) then let us help you pick something that might work better for your vehicle. There are posters on here with a Santa Fe so you can get some good options.

[joolsplus3]

Maybe one of the videos at www.carseatsite.com (http://www.carseatsite.com) might give you some ideas...they really are helpful when you need a tip or trick and need to SEE it in action. :thumbsup:

[ignora]

This may be obvious, but I just wanted to add that you should make sure that you're not 'trapping' the seatbelt under your knee or hand when you put your knee or hand in the seat. If you do that, it will seem tight, but then there will be slack in the belt when you take your hand or knee out of the seat. Not that you're doing this since you got it in your DH's car with no problem... but just wanted to be sure.

[Christi61315]

those are good video's they had no sound for me but good video's...

I had a 2006 danta fe and have installed an AO with no problem.. are you putting your weight in the seat and pulling on the belts...

[singingpond]

I had posted a reply on your other thread, but that one seems to have been abandoned, LOL. Anyway, I'll cut and paste:

+++++++++

One other tip on getting a seat tighter (which I didn't see on my quick scan of the other replies, but I may just have missed it) -- after you get all the slack you can out of the shoulder belt by feeding it into the retractor, there is often still considerable slack in that part of the belt because you can't quite get it to go in to the next click. What works in this case is to unbuckle the belt again (hold onto the belt) and let it go in another one, two, three clicks (depends how ambitious you are ), and then rebuckle. I have my weight on the seat, and lean/rock toward the buckle side as I rebuckle the belt. I often go through a couple of iterations of this, until I decide it's as tight as I can get it. Sometimes you end up letting the seatbelt retract too far, and then you have to start over, of course, which is mildly annoying.

Incidentally, I figured out this technique several years ago; like you, we had been happily using a Mighty Tite to get our AO secure; and then I happened to read something about the hazards of the MT. When I first tried to install the seat without the MT, I was really scratching my head about how to get it tight enough -- no amount of wiggling the seat, kneeling on it, and retracting the seatbelt seemed to get an adequately tight installation. Unbuckling and letting the seatbelt retract further finally got it in tight enough. Later, when I started perusing carseat discussions like this, I found that this is actually one of the standard 'tricks' for installing recalcitrant seats .

I see others have recommended taking the base off the seat; I would recommend this also -- we've always used our AO without the base, and the seat is relatively easy to install that way. Can't comment on how it compares to having the base on, since we ditched the base as soon as we got the seat out of the box (it would not fit RF in our small car with the base on).

++++++++++

Not sure if this suggestion is of any use, since it sounds like you may have a seat/vehicle incompatibility issue, but it may be worth trying...

Katrin