Radian installed FF on reclined vehicle seat - OK?

[Alison's Mom]

Yesterday I had trouble installing my Radian FF behind the driver's seat in my 07 Honda CRV. . . it was moving front/back a lot - I tried latch and shoulder belt installation. After I read a bunch of tips on here (which were great by the way!), I tried it again today.

So my question is. . . . after reclining the vehicle's seat and tightening the Radian in place (using LATCH), before I tightened the top tether, I couldn't force the seat back into position. Our car being parked on a snowy hill probably didn't help. I *could* probably get DH to do it, but right now with the vehicle's seat reclined, the Radian is in there pretty solid, with less than 1 inch of movement side/side and front/back. I'm wondering if there's a safety issue with the vehicle's seat being reclined all the time? It's one of those 60/40 splits, so my other radian, which is RF on the other side is not affected.

Thanks!

[CDNTech]

I'm generally okay with the vehicle seat being reclined one to two notches, but nothing more.

How reclined is it?

Did you recline the foot?

[Alison's Mom]

Wow, that was fast!!!!!

It's not *that* reclined.. . . there are only two recline levels, the regular one, and the reclined one, and it's only a difference of 2 inches (the split where the reclined and non reclined seat meet).

I did pull out the reclined foot of the Radian which made it fit better.

I have an appointment for BCAA to check the seat but it's not for a couple of weeks. I've installed all our car seats well (according to BCAA) so far, but they were all RF. My DD is still within the weight limit for RF, but now at the age of 3 (she's REALLY REALLY tiny), her legs are getting too long to be RF.

[CDNTech]

Does your vehicle manual say anything about not being allowed to recline it?

Can you post a photo of the install?

Instead of reclining the vehicle seat, have you tried any of the tips/tricks from this thread...http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=28939

I can't remember if the headrests are removable on the CR-V, but I would start with removing them if you can.

[Alison's Mom]

Thanks. I had removed the headrest originally, which did help with the install. I also have read your tip sheet. . . I was going to try twisting the seat belt, but I used latch and got a good fit (but with seat reclined) so didn't try that. I did pull for tightness through the velcro opening of the seat, and also did kneel on the seat to get it tighter.

I'm not sure what the manual says (I'll take a look later when DH is home) but do remember that a BCAA tech told me I could recline the seat to give my DD more legroom when rear-facing. . . .

Here are photos, keeping in mind our car is parked on a 10% grade:
From outside
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t148/elainehw/P1270015.jpg
Showing difference in recline from above (which is more like 3.5 inches, not 2 as I'd said earlier)
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t148/elainehw/P1270017.jpg
From inside
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t148/elainehw/P1270014.jpg

[CDNTech]

When you install with LATCH, start with the seat about one inch away from the vehicle seat bight and kneel straight *down* (not back) when tightening it up... does that make any difference?

It's a little hard to tell with the pictures just how reclined your daughter would be in the seat. If the vehicle manual does not prohibit the seat being reclined, I would probably be fine with it.

[scatterbunny]

Can you take a level photo from the outside of the vehicle?

[Alison's Mom]

When you install with LATCH, start with the seat about one inch away from the vehicle seat bight and kneel straight *down* (not back) when tightening it up... does that make any difference?
Well, I tried installing a couple of inches in front of the bight, but there was a lot of forward/back movement when I test it - it just seemed to want to go back toward the bight.

It's a little hard to tell with the pictures just how reclined your daughter would be in the seat. If the vehicle manual does not prohibit the seat being reclined, I would probably be fine with it.
Yes, to scatterbunny and aidensmom02, I'll try to take pic on level ground in the next couple of days.

Thanks so much!

[Defrost]

I'm on a laptop computer, so I can turn my computer to "level" your picture based on the window frame in the background. :D

That angle looks similar to what you get in sedans, like this:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i301/alunatic_photos/Civic/IMG_1698.jpg

Based on that, I think as long as your vehicle manual doesn't prohibit it, it should be fine.

[Alison's Mom]

Thanks so much for all your help, Debbie, Jenny and Jen! I'll get DH to try pushing the vehicle seat back into place but won't worry about it if it doesn't. You guys are awesome - I've referred several people to this site because you're so helpful!