Marathon in my Volvo 960

[Unregistered]

I need advice please. I have two Britax Marathon seats for my two kids (33 and 27 lbs), both forward facing. These seats were great in my Subaru Outback, but now I have them in a Volvo 960 wagon with leather seats and they do not fit. They tilt easily to the sides and the neckrests of the backseats make the Marathons not snug against the back. Is it the leather (I did not have that in the Subaru) that make them slide or am I missing something big. If anyone has any suggestions I would be so thankful. I have called Volvo but they could not help me.
Thank you so much!
Petra

[Mom to a few]

Can the vehicle headrests be removed? Check your vehicle manual to make sure removal is allowed, and how to do so if it is.

The fact that the seats are leather shouldn't be causing the seats to tilt, slide, etc. I would remove the headrests if you are allowed, check your vehicle manual to make sure that your vehicle seatback is set to the proper degree of recline (some vehicles are very specific about what seatback angle is allowed), and then review your carseat manual to make sure that you are using the LATCH (or seatbelt), and top tether correctly. Good luck!

And in case you didn't know, the Marathon can be rear-facing to 33 lbs, if you'd like to consider that for your smaller child.

[emars002]

our marathons were sliding in my husbands truck and he has leather - it was doing it rear facing also - I put the rubber mats in an was able to get a much tighter fit - especially rear facing -

[Unregistered]

Thanks for your reply and ideas. We have tried to remove the headrests but it does not seem to be possible without removing them permanently... I think that maybe we should switch to LATCH instead of seatbelts? They did work better rearfacing but my 15 month, 27 lbs daughter is so car sick (vomits all the time in the car) and seem to feel a bit better facing forward... Maybe we need to switch cars or carseats? Any idea what seats would work better? Maybe some with a smaller base?
Thanks again,
Petra

[Mom to a few]

Can you take pictures of what your seats look like installed?? Maybe someone here will be able to spot a problem, or offer other help if they can really see what's happening:thumbsup:

[emars002]

I'm not sure but I think with a kid who is prone to car sickness, the type of carseat is not going to matter much, nor the type of car - I know if they can see out the windshield they sometimes don't feel as sick - when she is large enough to be forward facing she would probably be the least sick in the middle where she could see straight out to the front - I think when you are moving but your eyes cannot see you moving that creates a much worse motion sickness feeling. As far as rear facing goes, I guess she will just have to be carsick until she is a little bit older. I've been told to use the rear facing unitl they meet the limits of the seat but until at least age 2 at a minuimum due to the size of their heads and their spinal cords.

[KristiD761]

I used to have a 940...and i'm thinking those headrests are permanently part of the seat...your dealer may be ablr to help you; often there is a certified mechanic there who deals with safety stuff. You may even inquire if there is a certified CPS tech there...our dealership used to keep a list of techs to give to owners who needed help
I would use whichever system (LATCH or seatbelts) that allowed you to get the best correct fit. And put a thin mat under the child seat to help you some....although make sure it is truly snug.

[crunchierthanthou]

I wouldn't recommend either shelf liner or a thin mat. The liner only gives the impression of a snug install. If you can't get an acceptable install without it, then it's likely still not tight enough. The grippy liner won't hold the seat in place in a crash. As for the mat, aftermarket unregulated products are almost never a good idea. They're not crash tested with the seats (no matter what the manufacturers say). The mats can again, give a false sense of a tight install, interfere with the installation and possibly slip in a crash. I can get solid installations on my leather seats without anything between the base and the vehicle seat.

What does your vehicle owner's manual say about reclining a seat with a carseat installed? If not prohibited by Vovlo, it sometimes helps to recline the seatback a notch or two- especially if the headrest is interfering. If you've not tried LATCH, I would give that a shot. It will possibly help with the tilting.