Any tricks to a good install for a ff radian in an MPV? [Archive] - Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums

augustgirl69

02-28-2008, 08:36 AM

I have my radian 80 ff in the outboard position in my 2001 mazda MPV. My dd is 4.5 and 42 lbs. It doesn't move move than recommended BUT it's not rock solid like my BV's with the latch in the middle row. Any tricks? Should I use the locking clip? Also it's kind of slanted to one side? I'll get pics in a bit if that helps
TIA
Melynda

scatterbunny

02-28-2008, 11:19 AM

Do your seatbelts lock at the latchplate (sliding part), or do they lock at the shoulderbelt retractor (by pulling the shoulderbelt all the way out and letting it feed back in)? Sometimes a locking retractor will get tighter over time and pull a seat at an angle, but that's usually with rear-facing seats, not forward-facing seats. If you place more pressure on one side of the seat more than the other as you're installing you can also end up with a tilt. It usually isn't a safety concern as long as the seat is tightly installed.

Are you using the recline option? I find I get a better FF install in my third row with the recline engaged, but I don't believe it was necessary for the middle row captain's chairs (I'm blanking out right now on the specifics of that install for some reason).

Also, a great trick from Aidensmom (Jen) on this board: don't push the Radian BACK as much as you push DOWN as you're tightening the seatbelt. Leave a small space between the back of the Radian and the vehicle seat at the very bottom, but have it flush at the top, and then push DOWN, hard, as you tighten. It's hard to explain, but I believe there are photos posted by Jen somewhere here, possibly in the Articles section?

The seat the Radian is installed on...does it recline? If so, try reclining the vehicle seat a notch or two as you install, then once you think it's good and tight, raise the vehicle seat back upright. That should tighten it the last bit for a rock-solid install.

I hope that helps some, and I'm looking forward to seeing the photos. :)