2002 Trailblazer - graco infant base

[irebollar]

Hi all,

I have my daughter in a front facing seat and son in a graco infant seat (using base) in our 2002 focus using the latch. The seats are very secure. Our 2002 trailblazer does not have the latch system, and the seat belts appear not to 'lock'. Before we knew about the latch we used the belts in the focus, and they locked into place. With the trailblazer I can not figure how to put the seats in securely. The grace base especially.

Can anyone with a 2002 Trailblazer give me any insight on securing their car seats?

Thanks,
Mom to 2

[emntheboys]

The belt should lock at the retractor. You will need to pull it all of the way out & then it will ratchet back in & you won't be able to pull it out.
Buckle the seatbelt, pull it out all the way & ratchet it until it is tight.
If you notice that the base is tipping, you may want to use a locking clip on the belt instead of locking the belt at the retractor. Hopefully a tech can chime in on how to do that as I'm not the best at describing it.

[purplemama]

I don't understand why your trailblazer doesn't have latch, mine does and it is also 2002. And my seatbelts lock by pulling all the way out.

[MustangMama]

I'm pretty sure LATCH was standard as of 2002 and all cars must have it :twocents:

Maybe it is buried in the seat bight like mine are? (I don't drive a TrailBlazer but I have to dig for my anchors!)

I would go out there and double check.......

[crunchierthanthou]

I'm pretty sure LATCH was standard as of 2002 and all cars must have it :twocents:

no, it became standard in September 2002. Most 2003 vehicles have it, but it's hit and miss before that. According to the LATCH manual, only late MY 2002s have it.

Maybe it is buried in the seat bight like mine are? (I don't drive a TrailBlazer but I have to dig for my anchors!)

It's possible. those that do have it have a fabric flap in front of the anchors. You might have to flip the seat bottom forward to access it.

[MustangMama]

no, it became standard in September 2002. Most 2003 vehicles have it, but it's hit and miss before that. According to the LATCH manual, only late MY 2002s have it.

Good to know :thumbsup:

[irebollar]

Thank you all. I checked again last night and dug right in by the belts - no latch. Someone said they were under velcro flaps - no flaps. I also heard not all 2002s have them - ours must be one of those. I wish I'd known all this when we bought it. We bough it in 2006 when I was pregnant with my first because we had a 2-door. Oh well - you live and learn.

Thankfully I checked the belts again too and the retractor does work. That is so strange because both my husband and I checked them some time back and thought they didn't. We checked again when we got our 2nd car (2002 focus) last year and it's manual mentioned how to do it.

Well at least it's figured out now. I've fixed the belts, but I want to get clips to secure it more before the kids go in it again. It freaks me out to think I had my first in there on the expressway without even the retractor set on the belt. :eek: Next car we buy will have the latch (well they all do now anyway right)

[Stretchy Glue]

Can you fold the bottom of the seat forward? My LATCH anchors are only accessible if I fold the bottom forward, then pull the flap up. Regardless, the seatbelts lock if you pull the seatbelt all the way out, then let it go back in, just as emandtheboys said.

[unityco]

My sister's '02 Trailblazer also does not have LATCH - just to back you up. ;)

[ketchupqueen]

Obviously it may not-- but I was installing in an 03 and like Stretchy said, I had to flip the seat forward to access the flap, they are WAY down there.

[SusanMae]

Well at least it's figured out now. I've fixed the belts, but I want to get clips to secure it more before the kids go in it again.

You either use a locking clip OR lock the seat belt---you can't use both on 1 install.

Susan