TA install help

[wildeyes]

yeah its me again lol.
"02 elantra, cant get seat belt to stay tight. (RF) the male end of the buckle just moves itself along the belt, nothing holds it down. the seat belt itself says to just pull it all the way out to lock for use with cr's. but the TA manual says if the latchplate on the seatbelt slides freely to use a locking clip. i dont have the manual for my car. stupid previous owner took out part of it, i am missing 25 or 30 pages, of course the carseat/seatbelt section is in there...

otherwise it looks like its gonna go in fairly easy. i tried the latch (preferred) and the stupid thing must be stuck or something, cause it wouldnt tighten, even tho i had slack in the belt i needed to pull up.

ugh. my hands are freezing...

[joolsplus3]

Rearfacing or Forward facing? If RF, then yeah, a locking clip, instead of the switchable seatbelt retractor, will prevent the seat from getting tippy as the shoulderbelt pulls up over time (it's still not *necessary*...locking the belt is safe, it just might make the seat tip). If FF, no worries, just lock the seatbelt.
The LATCH might work better if you 'undress the seat'...pull the cover up and off so you can work with just LATCH belt and seat shell, try pulling it tight from inside the seat, instead of outside (pull the latch tail up in the rearfacing belt path, instead of outside of the seat) (that's for RF, of course)

[wildeyes]

when i tried the latch, i did pull off the cover, in fact the TA instructions tell you to do that. i think the adjuster side of the latch belt is jammed, cause when i put it back into the storage area on the seat, and took out the extra slack, and i got to that same spot, it hung up a little.
my hands are warm enough now to attempt the locking clip (it is rf) so i will report back in a few to tell you what happened.

[wildeyes]

oh when i put the locking clip n i wouldnt lock the seat belt, i would let the locking clip do that instead right? i would just buckle it in, tighten, then put the clip on? i think thats how i had to do it on my dd1's seat years ago.

[joolsplus3]

Wow, how annoying about the LATCH strap...

Yeah, you're right, just put the LC on, don't lock the belt... here's a refresher page if you need it (scroll down a bit) http://www.carseatsite.com/lockingclips.htm

[wildeyes]

ok, well, i got it in with less than one inch, but i would like it in tighter. i called a tech (actually an instuctor) and am waiting on a callback, so it will have to do till then.

[snowbird25ca]

i think the adjuster side of the latch belt is jammed, cause when i put it back into the storage area on the seat, and took out the extra slack, and i got to that same spot, it hung up a little.


Are you able to work with the latch belt a bit so it slides better? Just tighten it and loosen it in the house? Sometimes what happens is when the belt is tightened on an angle it gets jammed into the locking plate on the latch belt. If you can get it sliding a bit better when the seat isn't installed, then hopefully it would work for you in the car too.

I always have the best luck tightening latch belts if I thread the tail up through the rf'ing belt path or somewhere over and above so that the tail is parallel to the belt itself and running lengthwise - that way it doesn't jam in the latchplate. :)

Hopefully you hear back from the tech soon. If you weren't having tilting problems and could get a tighter installation, then locking the seatbelt is perfectly fine. They're really more referring to seatbelts that can't be locked when they say to use a locking clip if the vehicle has free sliding latchplates. I have a strong preference to not use locking clips if not required - mainly to minimize the projectile risk, but also because there's more room for error.

One thing you can try to get the seat installed tighter, is unbuckling the seatbelt and adjusting the locking clip so that you take a tiny bit of slack out of the lap portion and feed the extra through the locking clip so that it's in the shoulder portion - provided you can still get it rebuckled anyways. :thumbsup: You'd probably want to start by removing about 1/4" to 1/2" from the lap section - it usually doesn't take much to make a difference. (Hopefully you can figure out what I'm talking about... you could just remove the locking clip and slide the latchplate a little in order to shorten the lap section and then put the locking clip back on, but I prefer to just slide the belts within the locking clip to make sure that I don't accidentally lose how I had it adjusted and then just slide the locking clip back into the right distance from the latchplate.)

[wildeyes]

Are you able to work with the latch belt a bit so it slides better? Just tighten it and loosen it in the house? Sometimes what happens is when the belt is tightened on an angle it gets jammed into the locking plate on the latch belt. If you can get it sliding a bit better when the seat isn't installed, then hopefully it would work for you in the car too.

I always have the best luck tightening latch belts if I thread the tail up through the rf'ing belt path or somewhere over and above so that the tail is parallel to the belt itself and running lengthwise - that way it doesn't jam in the latchplate. :)

Hopefully you hear back from the tech soon. If you weren't having tilting problems and could get a tighter installation, then locking the seatbelt is perfectly fine. They're really more referring to seatbelts that can't be locked when they say to use a locking clip if the vehicle has free sliding latchplates. I have a strong preference to not use locking clips if not required - mainly to minimize the projectile risk, but also because there's more room for error.

One thing you can try to get the seat installed tighter, is unbuckling the seatbelt and adjusting the locking clip so that you take a tiny bit of slack out of the lap portion and feed the extra through the locking clip so that it's in the shoulder portion - provided you can still get it rebuckled anyways. :thumbsup: You'd probably want to start by removing about 1/4" to 1/2" from the lap section - it usually doesn't take much to make a difference. (Hopefully you can figure out what I'm talking about... you could just remove the locking clip and slide the latchplate a little in order to shorten the lap section and then put the locking clip back on, but I prefer to just slide the belts within the locking clip to make sure that I don't accidentally lose how I had it adjusted and then just slide the locking clip back into the right distance from the latchplate.)

latch belt.. unfortunatly its attached to the seat. you spin it around from the ff belt path to the rf belt path. kinda handy if you think about it, cant lose it.

i tried to pull at the very least parralell to the belt, the way the seat is shaped you really cant pull the latch belt up through the belt path. its kinda hard. i was doing that with the scenera tho, so i know what you are tallking about.

i didnt think of doing that with the locking clip... i will have to try that in the am, its dark out already lol.
i have a noodle being sent to me from my mil in florida (im in ny) and i will try again to get it in there when that arrives. i kinda hope the tech waits till after that to call me so i dont have to undo his install. she sent it yesterday, so i should get it by the end of the week. i want my towel back, it is one of my "good" ones lol.

[snowbird25ca]

latch belt.. unfortunatly its attached to the seat. you spin it around from the ff belt path to the rf belt path. kinda handy if you think about it, cant lose it.


i didnt think of doing that with the locking clip... i will have to try that in the am, its dark out already lol.
i have a noodle being sent to me from my mil in florida (im in ny) and i will try again to get it in there when that arrives. i kinda hope the tech waits till after that to call me so i dont have to undo his install. she sent it yesterday, so i should get it by the end of the week. i want my towel back, it is one of my "good" ones lol.

I didn't know that about the LATCH belt. I'm anxiously awaiting the Canadian triumph advance to show up. It's supposed to be here sometime in the next month last I heard. :)

But I was really just replying to say that any good tech is going to show you how to install the seat, and then remove it and make you do it yourself. Once you know how to do it with the towel, it'll be straight forward to replicate it with the pool noodles. Or you could always go to a discount store and buy a cheap old raggy towel to use for the carseat. ;)

But it's important that you're comfy redoing the install as needed. Parents should never feel like they can't do as good a job as a tech and be afraid to remove a seat. The tech's job is to teach and assist, not to do the installation for you. :thumbsup:

[wildeyes]

yeah i know its supposed to be a teaching thing.... but i am still recovering from a c-section and a week in the hospital. so i kinda dont want to do toooo much atm.. i got the seat in, with less than an inch movement. it will have to stay that way till the tech can get it tighter. if that is with the towel, then it will stay that way till i feel able enough to really get in there and do a really great job with the noodle. right now the back of the cs digging into my belly is killer. lol i hate to play the weak woman card, but right now it really does apply. i need a big strong man... lol :D

[Mom to a few]

i tried to pull at the very least parralell to the belt, the way the seat is shaped you really cant pull the latch belt up through the belt path. its kinda hard.

I actually helped a very pregnant relative install the TA (for her older child) last week, and I know what you mean about the LATCH strap. My 1st thought was that it was really too short. I found it a little difficult to get the strap reach far enough to click onto the lower anchors, and then you don't have much slack to grab onto, so it's hard to get a good grip on the end of it. I'm used to the seats that have a large loop at the end that you can hook your hand through--and the TA LATCH strap only has a loop large enough to fit ONE finger through :mad:. Overall, I REALLY like the seat, but I just wish they could've made the strap longer, and given it a decent loop on the end to hold onto....Anyway, just wanted to let you know that you aren't the only one who had trouble with that part of it! I hope your belly feels better soon, and that the tech can get it tight for you!