Regent installation in 2002 Toyota Sienna

[2maples]

Can anyone tell me how to install the Britax Regent in a captains chair behind the driver seat in my 2002 Toyota Sienna Van XLE??? My daughter is 32lbs and I know I must use the lap belt installation - long route, but I can't get the seatbelt to reach the clasp (it isn't long enough). What am I doing wrong???:confused:

[heathernick06]

I had the same problem installing our regent with a lap belt in our 99 silverado, and I was told to thread the belt under the cover rather than over it. It works really well, it gave me enough seatbelt to get a tight install.

[2maples]

Ok sounds great! Do I take the cover off or just lift it up??? You may have saved my sanity!!!

[scatterbunny]

Have you tried LATCH? What is the date of manufacture of your Regent? If it was part of the recent advisory, you might need to have them send you a longer LATCH strap to use the long LATCH routing.

Trying to install with the seatbelt under the cover is a good tip, though it can be a bit difficult with a lap/shoulderbelt. Sometimes the shoulderbelt wants to pull the cover up.

Is your captain's chair slid all the way back, closest to where the seatbelt is anchored/closest to the shoulderbelt retractor? If not, do that, it can gain the precious inches needed to reach the buckle.

[2maples]

My 2002 doesn't have the latch system!! Yes and it is a Toyota. I can't believe it, but it doesn't. Do I take the shoulder strap still up & over the top or down where the lap belt is? I had no idea it would be such a hassle. It is also disappointing that there is no hot line for questions like these.

[2maples]

Does yours pull the cover up?

[Jeanum]

I was going to ask if you had tried a LATCH install, too, but Scatterbunny beat me to it. :) The LATCH manual actually lists the '02 Sienna as having LATCH (lower anchors in the bight or crease of the vehicle seat, and a top tether anchor behind the vehicle seat) in the second row driver's side seating position where you're installing the Regent, and also in the third row passenger side. LATCH was included in the Sienna starting in the 2001 model year. I would double check for lower LATCH anchors in your van because it sounds like they really should be there. :twocents:

You could lift up the cover just enough to route the seatbelt underneath it on the seatbelt buckle side to see if that buys you more seatbelt length to work with. You could try something similar on the shoulder belt side to route the belt underneath the cover there as well, but it may only be necessary on the buckle side. :twocents:

It can also help immensely to have a second person help out with the install to push the Regent down into the vehicle seat while buckling the seatbelt, kind of like a tag team approach. :)

[2maples]

I was going to ask if you had tried a LATCH install, too, but Scatterbunny beat me to it. :) The LATCH manual actually lists the '02 Sienna as having LATCH (lower anchors in the bight or crease of the vehicle seat, and a top tether anchor behind the vehicle seat) in the second row driver's side seating position where you're installing the Regent, and also in the third row passenger side. LATCH was included in the Sienna starting in the 2001 model year. I would double check for lower LATCH anchors in your van because it sounds like they really should be there. :twocents:

You could lift up the cover just enough to route the seatbelt underneath it on the seatbelt buckle side to see if that buys you more seatbelt length to work with. You could try something similar on the shoulder belt side to route the belt underneath the cover there as well, but it may only be necessary on the buckle side. :twocents:

It can also help immensely to have a second person help out with the install to push the Regent down into the vehicle seat while buckling the seatbelt, kind of like a tag team approach. :)


I think I am confused. What does the LATCH look like? Where is it? How does it work? Is it in the 2nd row captains chair?

If I run the belt under the cover do I run the shoulder strap over the top and around the belt??

My husband and I have been out there in the car trying to do this 5 times since 7:00 tonight. DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

[Jeanum]

Aww, hang in there. The Regent can seem like a beast at first, I know the feeling. DH and I really worked up a sweat the first time we installed ours last year. You'll soon get the hang of it. :)

The lower LATCH anchors are supposed to be in the second row captain's chair on the driver's side in your Sienna (and the third row passenger side, too). They're two small metal bars located in the crease of the vehicle seat where the vehicle seatback and the vehicle seat cushion meet (this crease is technically called the bight). They might be easily visible, or they might be buried a bit more in the crease where you can feel them with your hands/fingers. My '05 Sienna is a different version than the '02 model and I can't say for certain how visible the anchors would be in yours. Your owner's manual might also have a diagram picturing the anchors for reference. In my '05 model, there is a velcro flap in the seat crease that lifts up to access the lower anchors.

If you do indeed really have lower LATCH anchors, you could follow the Regent's instructions for installing using LATCH long route if you're not able to do a long belt path seatbelt installation. You would thread the Regent's LATCH strap using the long route (very similar to the long route for the seatbelt) and then clip the Regent's LATCH anchors onto the corresponding lower LATCH anchor in the vehicle seat. You would also use the Regent's top tether strap and clip it to the top tether anchor located behind the Sienna's second row driver's side captain's chair.

Here is a link to some Regent online installation videos: http://www.carseatsite.com/videos.htm#forward-facing If you scroll down the linked page a bit, you'll see a link for a video showing how to install using a long belt path seatbelt installation. The vehicle in the video is an '05 Sienna. There's also a link for a LATCH installation but I think it's a short route LATCH install video instead of the long route LATCH install you would need to do now, but still a good one to help you see lower anchors as a visual aid.

Ideally you would also use the top tether if you install the Regent using the vehicle seatbelt because it can help reduce head excursion (how much a child's head moves forward/outside of the carseat during a crash). Top tethering is required in any event for the Regent once a child reaches 50 lbs.