Honda Ody vs. Nautilus. I am ready to throw the thing out!

[Golden]

Please help!

My son was in a car accident two days ago in someone else's car. That carseat (Britax) obviously is being destroyed. I moved my Britax into their car and just bought a Nautilus, hoping insurance will pay for it, but that's another story.

I have an '04 Honda Ody. I am trying to install a brand new Graco Nautilus into the Captain's chair. My son is 4 yrs old, 42 pounds. Oh man, this seat is a beast. :mad: I have spent no less than an hour and half over three different attempts (it's freezing here!) and I still cannot get the stinking thing to get as secure as my lovely britax/LATCH ever was.

Yes, the carseat itself is NOT reclined.
Yes, I reclined the Honda seat way back and had my 220lb DH jamb the CS into the crease and then force the seat back up.
Yes, I ratched out the seatbelt and had DH pull back to return the seatbelt down into the wall of the car.
Yes, it is tethered extremely tightly.

It doesn't move a millimeter front to back. If I grab onto the armrests and forcefully shimmy it back and forth, it loosens to about 6 in in each direction. :mad:

Is this as good as it gets? Any suggestions?

[Jeanum]

How hard are you trying to move it side to side? During child passenger safety technician training, we were taught to use our non-dominant hand to test for movement to be sure there's less than 1 inch of movement at the child restraint's belt path, and not to try to move the child restraint with all our might as though it's a football practice tackle block (which is what my husband used to try to do when he would test my installations for movement). :) If it still moves more than 1 inch when you reinstall it and test for movement at the belt path with a non-dominant hand by tugging, then hopefully some of our Ody owners/experienced techs can give you some pointers for the Nauti. :)

[canmom]

Where are you located? Maybe someone here could find a tech in your area to take a look. We just got this seat in Canada and I tested it out in my 2006 Grand Caravan... what you are doing seems similar to what I was doing to test for tightness. I found it was ok side to side at the belt path but if I tried to reaf on it back and forth I could loosen it. Another tech on here told me basicaly by doing that much you are simulating a really severe collision. I think you are probably pulling to hard on it. Honestly though, I wasn't a fan of being able to pull it out like that. I would find a tech to take a look just to make sure :thumbsup:.

[tanyaandallie]

It does sounds like perhaps you are trying too hard to move the seat. You do want less than 1 inch of movement at the belt path but you should not be pushing and yanking as hard as you can. Any seat will move if you do that.

So I guess the question is, how hard are you tugging?

[NannyMom]

We have a Nautilus in the captain's chair in my boss' 2006 Odyssey. Did you put the vehicle seatback upright after you tightened the seatbelt all the way, or before?

[Defrost]

How do the seatbelts lock?

If you have locking latchplates, then there's probably nothing wrong with your install - the nice, hefty armrests are just giving you better leverage than you could get on the Britax. If the latchplate is loosening, you can flip it over and buckle it "upside down" and it will stay locked.

If you have locking retractors, then you might have a "gap between clicks" (that's just what I call it.)

But I suspect you're actually just getting too much leverage, and that's allowing you to work it loose, even if you have locking retractors. Keep in mind that one of the things holding your carseat tight is compressed foam - if you jerk on it enough, you're going to push that foam out of place and loosen your install.

[MustangMama]

My Nautilus was the same way until I used LATCH.

It was fine left to right and at the belt path, it didn't move at all.

But when I grabbed the arm rests and pulled it kind of up and forward, it moved about 6" as well....

[Kat_Momof3]

I would also try putting the Nautilus in recline... and, since the base is so smooth, if you have leather, try a single layer of rubber shelf liner or a thin towel to decrease slipping due to the leather.

one trick to tightening the belt... pull back the cover on the side nearest the buckle... for a lightweight locking latchplate, you would just pull there...

for locking retractors, I'd go further... put a knee in the seat... push your weight down into that knee... use one hand to tighten at the buckle... put your other hand where the belt is coming out of the beltpath and use that to help move the slack into the retractor.

Before you do this, since locking retractors are sometimes a problem with getting just the right amount retracted, recline the seat about 1/4 of the way and leave it like that until the seat is installed... then snap it back up.

It should not take the force you are describing.

Also, make sure there are no little plastic buttons on your seatbelt preventing all the slack from being pulled through the latchplate.

[Judi]

How do the seatbelts lock?

It will have switchable retractors.

[Blondie87]

I couldn't get mine tight enough with the seatbelt either, but I got it rock solid when I used latch. It was super easy. Do you have latch?

[2 blueberry eye girls]

I am glad to here your 4yr old child was in a 5point harness and not a booster, so congrats to you for looking out for your childs safety. I also had a hard time installing this seat in both my vehicles, pilot, passat. But I have found my tricks to GN and can install it in any position in the pilot. You need to check at the belt path for movement and not at the armrest. If I check for movement at the arm rest, then yes it will move, but checking it at the belt path, it does not. I to was not use to that as I am a die hard britax fan. I know installing in the cold makes it harder because things are stiff from being cold.

olivia 4.26.04 40lb 45in regent/gn
makayla 9.16.06 27lb 30in rf wizard

[BookMama]

Honda's LATCH limit is 40 lbs, so she can't use it because her DS is 42 lbs.

I've never had much problem installing our Nautilus in the captain's chair of my Dad's Odyssey. I've never had to recline the vehicle seatback while doing it, either. For me, I think the main tricks are these:


when tightening the seatbelt, use your knees to push down and back on the base of the Nautilus
when tightening the seatbelt, pull the seatbelt from just above the latchplate - don't pull from the retractor side
be sure that you're pulling the seatbelt all the way through the belt path. I thought I had the seat tight when intalling it the other night, and it moved when I tugged it - I hadn't pulled the seatbelt all the way through before tightening, and the shoulder portion had tightened over the lap portion, making it feel like it was tight until I tested it.


I know it's easier said than done, but I really think you can do it. :thumbsup: And as others said, you don't want to use all your strength to see if you can make the car seat move. Just give it a tug at the belt path to make sure it doesn't move more than 1". The Nautilus armrests really do give you leverage to move it in ways that you don't need to worry about. (Though 6" does sound like too much.)

[Blondie87]

Honda's LATCH limit is 40 lbs, so she can't use it because her DS is 42 lbs.

Ah.. yeah.. that sucks.

[NannyMom]

Can you try having you or DH put your foot in the back of the carseat and push down while tightening the seatbelt? I had to do that when installing my Nautilus last night.

[Kat_Momof3]

Can you try having you or DH put your foot in the back of the carseat and push down while tightening the seatbelt? I had to do that when installing my Nautilus last night.

am I weird?? the most I've had to do with the Nautilus is put my hand in it... though I have locking latchplates, so that's why... in a vehicle with locking retractors (my friend's ford windstar), all I had to do was use my knee instead...

and I always get it rock solid.

[NannyMom]

am I weird?? the most I've had to do with the Nautilus is put my hand in it... though I have locking latchplates, so that's why... in a vehicle with locking retractors (my friend's ford windstar), all I had to do was use my knee instead...

and I always get it rock solid.

I've never had to use my foot until yesterday in the impala. THe seats are just so squishy. And As I recall, the seats in the Odyssey are really squishy too. Moreso than my Sienna. I didn't install the GN in my boss' Odyssey (this was before I was a tech) and I know the woman stood on it (that's her thing).

[BookMama]

I didn't install the GN in my boss' Odyssey (this was before I was a tech) and I know the woman stood on it (that's her thing).

I really, really don't think you need to stand on the car seat to install a Nautilus in an Odyssey.

And, quite frankly, if I was a parent and a tech stood in my car seat, I would be appalled and upset. :twocents:

[Kat_Momof3]

relieved to know it's the vehicle.... that I'm not crazy or weird for finding this seat typically super easy to install.

(but I agree about the standing in the seat thing... I don't even think most adults COULD do that)

[Golden]

well, for some reason, I never got any emails with any responses and I think my acct was stuck in moderation/waiting for approval for awhile.

Unfortunately I needed to make a decision quickly so I returned the Nautilus and got the Frontier.

Perhaps the biggest thing that I am hearing from you all though it that brute force on the armrests is not how to test whether it is in tight, but the check movement at the belt path. Now it makes me wonder....

Someone else recommended a sheet of shelf liner. I had this on a carseat a million years ago...maybe 3 or 4 years ago? When i went through a car seat tech check, they chastised me for using it. As is I was using it to protect my leather seats or something! So has the thinking changed on this recently?
I just installed the frontier in the captain's chair and had to use the long belt method. It moves about an inch, but that is with heavy, heavy force with hands on either side of the front of the seat (not the armrests as they pivot and are not as sturdy). So I think it's in there well.

And another question...the locking seatbelt retractor. Am I understanding this correctly that there are different kinds? Some with no play and some with play between ratchet points? Mine gives a tiny bit.

I will finally be able to sleep at night. It's been a long week dealing with the accident and about a dozen car seat installations trying to get the Nautilus, then the frontier a few times, and then my Britax into the neighbor's car. It's frustrating that to have so many people around me who think I'm nuts and overreacting about installing a carseat!

Thank you everyone!

[Defrost]

well, for some reason, I never got any emails with any responses and I think my acct was stuck in moderation/waiting for approval for awhile.

Unfortunately I needed to make a decision quickly so I returned the Nautilus and got the Frontier.

Sorry you didn't get answers when you needed them. It does that to me, too, sometimes, and I've been here nearly two years. :(

Someone else recommended a sheet of shelf liner. I had this on a carseat a million years ago...maybe 3 or 4 years ago? When i went through a car seat tech check, they chastised me for using it. As is I was using it to protect my leather seats or something! So has the thinking changed on this recently?

Yes, it has. It was once recommended to provide some traction to leather seats or for parents who were worried about damaging the vehicle seat, but it was found that it was often disguising a poor install, and there have been reports of the liners melting in hot weather. They are no longer recommended.

And another question...the locking seatbelt retractor. Am I understanding this correctly that there are different kinds? Some with no play and some with play between ratchet points? Mine gives a tiny bit.

Yes, there are different types of retractors. Some go like "clickclickclick," but others are more like "click-click-click," and the gap between the places it will lock is larger. But once it gets to the point where it's locked, it shouldn't slip at all.

[Kat_Momof3]

Sorry you didn't get answers when you needed them. It does that to me, too, sometimes, and I've been here nearly two years. :(



Yes, it has. It was once recommended to provide some traction to leather seats or for parents who were worried about damaging the vehicle seat, but it was found that it was often disguising a poor install, and there have been reports of the liners melting in hot weather. They are no longer recommended.

I must have missed when they became no longer recommended... that's my mistake!

but a single layer thin towel might also work... though since she now has the frontier, I suppose we'll never know.



Yes, there are different types of retractors. Some go like "clickclickclick," but others are more like "click-click-click," and the gap between the places it will lock is larger. But once it gets to the point where it's locked, it shouldn't slip at all.


I know what you mean... the kia sedona we had as a rental once was the second type... and dh's chevy cobalt is the first... clicks so fast you almost aren't sure it's not just some very quiet woodpecker or me typing on an older keyboard.