Locking Latch plate lap belts flipping the male end over?

[mburks26]

I have locking latch plate in my car I havent had a problem with it loosening used it 2 times in and its still tight and about every other day i check it to make sure its still tight i am worried bout it not being at the right angle so I tried to twist the female end can only do 1 twist and it still sits the same on the seat so someone suggested i flip the male end 1 time 180 degrees so its backwards from the instructions below but when I do that it will not click into the female part it that makes sense the male part comes right out of the female part like i was using the wrong female part it wouldnt fit right does this mean my belts are locked and I shouldnt worry too much about it.

Lock the latchplate: Buckle the seat in; apply weight to seat while pulling on tail or shoulder portion to tighten the belt. If the belt loosens after tightening, flip the latchplate over once (backwards) to keep it from slipping. It may also work to twist the webbing on the female part of the buckle to shorten it so the latchplate is further away and lower from the child restraint belt path. Either "fix" is designed to put the latchplate at the correct angle to lock it

[crunchierthanthou]

It doesn't sound like you really need to flip either side if it is staying tight. However, if you are concerned about it loosening, then you need to twist the female end either one half turn more or one half turn less. The male end must only fit in the buckle one way, so they both have to be backward in relation to the carseat.

[mburks26]

It doesn't sound like you really need to flip either side if it is staying tight. However, if you are concerned about it loosening, then you need to twist the female end one half turn more or less. The male end must only fit in the buckle one way, so they both have to be backward in relation to the carseat.

ok so they both have to be backwards then.

would the same thing apply to a light weight locking latch plate. i think my sil dodge has light weight ones and she cant keep anything tight she really doesnt try we are hopping to get her a new seat and want to be prepard. i read someowhere that dodge has to have locking clip on it and then someone else said just flip the male end over i need to flip both over. her car is a 2001 or 2002 dodge stratus and i know for a 2004 it has light weight locking latch plate

[crunchierthanthou]

It's likely that her car has a locking latchplate, as other Chrysler vehicles of that era do. Yes, it should help to flip the male end if it isn't properly aligned to lock. Again, they both need to be backward if it won't buckle, but I haven't experienced that problem in other Chrysler vehicles.

[mburks26]

It's likely that her car has a locking latchplate, as other Chrysler vehicles of that era do. Yes, it should help to flip the male end if it isn't properly aligned to lock. Again, they both need to be backward if it won't buckle, but I haven't experienced that problem in other Chrysler vehicles.


ok she needs a new car lol ill do that when we get the new seat as of now she has a seat fisher price safe embrace that has the lockoffs at the top of the seat so thats ok right and just tell her dont take it out at all. if she comes here for a weekend again and she can use my extra til her dd is over 40 which hopefully she'll slow down on weight.

[snowbird25ca]

ok she needs a new car lol ill do that when we get the new seat as of now she has a seat fisher price safe embrace that has the lockoffs at the top of the seat so thats ok right and just tell her dont take it out at all. if she comes here for a weekend again and she can use my extra til her dd is over 40 which hopefully she'll slow down on weight.

Don't hate the lightweight locking latchplates. ;) They're a thing of beauty for rf'ing carseats as you rarely need a locking clip and never have a problem with seats tilting the same way as ALR belts can.

I actually love installing seats with these type of latchplates. Easier to get a tighter install and no having to unbuckle & start from scratch if you needed to loosen the belt to work with it. :thumbsup:

[papooses]

Ditto snowbird -- they're actually my favorite type of belt for certain seats, but everything has its own kindof learning curve ;) I do prefer ALR belts (with ratcheting retractors) for some kids in boosters....

I wish I had my Civic here with me (it's with my daughter's stepdaddy in another state for now) to take some pictures for you :o Basically, the fabric webbing portions of the seatbelt must be parallel to the locking plate to stay locked: if they're perpendicular to the plate then the carseat will most likely not remain locked during the force of a crash.

The best fix for this is to put it upside down :)

[mburks26]

Don't hate the lightweight locking latchplates. ;) They're a thing of beauty for rf'ing carseats as you rarely need a locking clip and never have a problem with seats tilting the same way as ALR belts can.

I actually love installing seats with these type of latchplates. Easier to get a tighter install and no having to unbuckle & start from scratch if you needed to loosen the belt to work with it. :thumbsup:

this is forward facing and we are going hopefully get an apex 65 in it

[mburks26]

Ditto snowbird -- they're actually my favorite type of belt for certain seats, but everything has its own kindof learning curve ;) I do prefer ALR belts (with ratcheting retractors) for some kids in boosters....

I wish I had my Civic here with me (it's with my daughter's stepdaddy in another state for now) to take some pictures for you :o Basically, the fabric webbing portions of the seatbelt must be parallel to the locking plate to stay locked: if they're perpendicular to the plate then the carseat will most likely not remain locked during the force of a crash.

The best fix for this is to put it upside down :)

it will always work if its upside down?

[papooses]

"Always" is a tricky word in the world of child passenger safety :o but, generally speaking, yes -- because simply by flipping it upside down the webbing is forced to lie parallel to the locking mechanism in the plate.... As I said before, it's kind of a last resort option, but preferable to adding a locking clip :twocents: (locking clips should not be used on these type of belts)

The Apex is the seat I had in our '97 Civic 2 door & I did need to flip the belt upside down for it to stay in the locked position.

[crunchierthanthou]

It's necessary for correct function that both belt portions are parallel to each other and to the buckle tongue. Flipping the male end generally aligns all three so that it will lock properly.