gusmom
10-28-2008, 02:13 AM
i thought it couldn't hurt to ask here in case the techs have seen it all :D The grandparents have our Uptown in their Avalon. I don't know the exact year of the vehicle, but just before LATCH was standard so that's not an option. The seat is currently RF in the center position.
The problem we keep having is this (and despite my attempts to run to the nearest checkpoint or tech with the town, FIL is an engineer and they have been less than enthusiastic/willing): the seatbelt seems to have automatic preferred 'locking' positions when it retracts. When we get the seat tight enough and in the correct angle, it seems to be between locking points -- the seatbelt on the car will retract a tiny bit more, which pulls the seat sideways a bit. A little bit looser (even with a noodle & towel) and it is not secure. If it matters, all belts in the car are shoulder/lap belts, including the center.
Also, i have noticed on more than a few occasions (to my horror) that when DS sits in the seat, his weight sometimes causes it to recline much more than the acceptable angle (I assume in these instances, that the seat has not been installed tight enough or has loosed somewhat due to the slack issue). FIL says he "knows what the problem is" and supposedly has configured his own mechanism (which sounds a lot like the premise of locking clips - i know you're not supposed to use them with this belt style so i have not encouraged the issue) to fix it. I have never seen these & don't know whether they have actually been used consistently, but both my husband & I have told them that it really needs to be checked by a pro who would be familiar with how to adapt to the vehicle and not use homemade parts (in gentler terms of course).
since that still hasn't happened, have any of you seen a similar situation with retractable belts &/or have suggestions as to how to deal with them? When we are with them, we can try to use our car, tighten the installation as best we can, but i know they are not nearly as persistent about it when we are not so i'd REALLY like to find a solution.
Thanks in advance.
The problem we keep having is this (and despite my attempts to run to the nearest checkpoint or tech with the town, FIL is an engineer and they have been less than enthusiastic/willing): the seatbelt seems to have automatic preferred 'locking' positions when it retracts. When we get the seat tight enough and in the correct angle, it seems to be between locking points -- the seatbelt on the car will retract a tiny bit more, which pulls the seat sideways a bit. A little bit looser (even with a noodle & towel) and it is not secure. If it matters, all belts in the car are shoulder/lap belts, including the center.
Also, i have noticed on more than a few occasions (to my horror) that when DS sits in the seat, his weight sometimes causes it to recline much more than the acceptable angle (I assume in these instances, that the seat has not been installed tight enough or has loosed somewhat due to the slack issue). FIL says he "knows what the problem is" and supposedly has configured his own mechanism (which sounds a lot like the premise of locking clips - i know you're not supposed to use them with this belt style so i have not encouraged the issue) to fix it. I have never seen these & don't know whether they have actually been used consistently, but both my husband & I have told them that it really needs to be checked by a pro who would be familiar with how to adapt to the vehicle and not use homemade parts (in gentler terms of course).
since that still hasn't happened, have any of you seen a similar situation with retractable belts &/or have suggestions as to how to deal with them? When we are with them, we can try to use our car, tighten the installation as best we can, but i know they are not nearly as persistent about it when we are not so i'd REALLY like to find a solution.
Thanks in advance.