three carseats in a 2003 Corolla

[Katherine]

Hello,

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but now that I'm trying to get three in, I have some specific questions.

I have a 2002 Corolla. I own 2 radians. One radian needs to rear face a little longer and one will be forward facing. I want to buy an infant seat to put in there as well.

Idealy, I'd like the two radians on the outboard and drivers side and put the infant seat in the middle.

Well, I'm having a really hard time installing the radians using the seat belts. I get a really great install using the UAS. The problem is, when I use the UAS clips, the radians are pushed closer to the middle seat so I'm not able to fit a Graco snugride seat in the middle. I have to replace the snugride anyway, but I'm really hoping to find a seat that has a base that is narrower at the end where you attach the base to the carseat. The graco seat base flares out where you attach it.

Right now, I have the radian installed rf in the middle (very tight) with the seatbelt and the other radian beside it on the drivers side using the clips. My daughter will probably need to turn around soon since she's about 26 lbs (I'm waiting until 30lbs). So I don't know where I'll fit her when she has to forward face, unless I can get a tight install ff using a seatbelt or idealy, find a more streamlined infant base.

Any ideas??

Thanks so much,

Katherine

[babychild taxi]

Hi-I don't know if this will be of much help, but I drive ans 02 Echo. I too have found it impossible to get a tight install of a Radian with a seatbelt. Latch works great but does pull the seat in. The car works great with two seats (car) and possibly 2 narrow boosters which I'll be using for my little friends over 40 lbs (although I want to keep them harnessed as long as possible!).

You may want to visit a Tech and see what advice they can give you.

Hope this helps

[LuvBug03]

is yours an 03 model or an 02 model? I have an 03 and have installed the radian with the seatbelt both RFing and FFing. There is also a member on here who has multiple radians in her 03 or 04 corolla.

[Katherine]

Yeah, I believe it's a 2002. My mom has a 2003 and they are the same model. I think mine was the first year they changed the style.

Any tips for getting it tight with the seatbelt? I found it just kept slipping forward. Rf was easier, but I wasn't happy with ff.

Thanks!

[featherhead]

Did you lower the forward-facing recline foot? Just look on the bottom of the seat, by the front. Also, when you tighten the seatbelt, pull on the shoulderbelt through the cover. There are slits in the cover, secured with velcro. Open it up on the side where the buckle is and pull on the seatbelt through the slit.

[LuvBug03]

yours would be an 03 if it is the new model(well not the NEW new model since they just redesigned them again for 09)
I have an 03, but it was made in Jan 2002 and bought in March 2002. It is still an 03 model.

Anyway, now that we have that cleared up I can help some.

What I did to get a decent install forward facing with the seatbelt was. I put it in recline made, twisted the seatbelt stalk, and got in the seat on my knees. I pulled the seatbelt out, but didn't lock it yet and pulled the slack out of the lapbelt with the shoulder portion still on the same side as the buckle. Once I got it nice and tight I eased the shoulderbelt slack to the other side and locked the seatbelt. If you press into the cushion while feeding the slack into the retractor you can get it really snug. I then top tethered it, and pulled all the slack out. It was a real pain in the rear forward facing in the outboard seats for me. Center it wasn't as hard. If you have 1 RFing and 1 FFing you could try the FFing center and the RFing outboard.

[Katherine]

Thanks for the tips! I've tried again and done much better. Could probably get it a little tighter.....I'm picky;) but for now my knees have to heal!

Anybody know of an infant carseat base that is narrower at the back than a graco snugride? The way I have my seats now, I'd probably be ok....but still looking for something narrower at the back where the seat attaches.

thanks!

Katherine

[featherhead]

I think the Keyfit base is narrower at the end than the snugride, but I'm not positive. I've ordered one, and am waiting for it to come. Once I get it I can tell you.

If you decide to buy a Keyfit, the cheapest place in Canada is at www.tummiestotots.com.

[QuassEE]

I had an '03 Corolla.. it's not as wide as the Echo, and although I admit I did manage to get three across in there for a short period of time, it's not a good permanent solution. It's a bit like getting a square peg through a round hole most of the time, and I suspect that after a month or two you'll probably just want to replace the whole car... IME, anyways.. :) Rarely do I say that, but the Corolla has one of the most narrow back seats of any 5-seater vehicle. I'd also hazard a guess that you'll probably want to put your infant seat outboard and you'll likely have to give up on the idea of using a base, completely.. Just preparing you for the worst so that you can look into finding infant seats that install easily with the belt.

The good news is that the Radian WILL install with the seatbelt in the '03 Corolla... Whether or not you can get independent tight installs of two outboard Radians with an infant seat centre is questionable. You may want to see if one of the Ontario techs here are near you.

BTW--it's definitely an '03. New body style, LATCH anchors. '02 is a completely different car, with different interior seating.

-Nicole.

[Katherine]

Hey, thanks for the information. Yeah it is a really tight fit. If I can't use the infant base, which infant seat would you say is the easiest to install?

Katherine