Middle or Outboard? Help please.

[therrling]

My daughter is 2 yrs old, 36lbs and 38" tall. I currently have her FF in an Evenflo Triumph Advance Deluxe in the outboard (behind passenger seat) position. I am driving a 2009 Toyota Camry. My question is...would it be safer to put her in the middle? My car only has outboard latches, so I'd have to use the seatbelt to install it in the middle (it does have a rear tether). I guess I've always been leary about using the seatbelt. I feel that the latches give a much safer and a more snug install than the seat belts. But, after reading more and more about car seat safety, I want to make sure I have her in the safest position. My car does have side curtain air bags, so I'm not sure if the middle position installed with a seat belt would be safer than the outboard position installed with latches.

Also, if everyone thinks I should install in the middle with the seat belt, can someone explain how to do it? Do I need to use the locking clip? Do I pull the seat belt all the way out and let it lock as it goes back into place to make the car seat tight? I've got a coworker who simply pulls the seat belt out and buckles the car seat and the seat moves all over the place. She says it will lock up if in an accident, but that doesn't seem safe to me.

So...middle or outboard and if middle, how to install? Thanks!

[JerseyGirl'sMama]

You are correct, the safest position is the center - provided you get a solid install there. LATCH (or lower anchors) are not any safer than a seatbelt install. They are both equally safe. I would try the install in the center with the seat belt and if you don't get a solid install there go back to your outboard LA install. Also keep in mind that your vehicle will only allow you to use the LA's until the child is a certain weight, between 40 -48lbs, so eventually you will need to use the seatbelt for your install. I don't have a LATCH manual, but hopefully another tech with one, will look it up for you. :)

Oh, using the upper tether anchor (TA) is strongly recommended, with either the LA's or seatbelt install.

[Pixels]

Toyota defers to the carseat manufacturer, so your limit is 48 pounds for LATCH.

To install the seat properly, there needs to be less than one inch of movement at the belt path. This is true whether you are using a seatbelt or lower anchors. Your seatbelt probably locks at the retractor after you pull the belt all the way out. Place the seat in the middle, and buckle it in. Connect the top tether to keep it out of the way, but don't tighten it yet. Get a good hold of the seatbelt, just the top layer (the shoulder belt) just above the buckle. Lock the seatbelt by pulling it all the way out of the retractor, and then let it go back in. Place some pressure in the carseat with your hand while pulling on the shoulder belt with the other, then feed all of the slack into the retractor. Check for movement. If there's too much, press down and tighten more. Then snug up the top tether.

It sounds like your coworker's seat has too much movement. She is right, in a crash the belt will lock, but since the carseat wasn't positioned properly in the first place, it's likely that there would be enough slack in the belt that her child's head will move too far forward, possibly striking the vehicle interior and causing serious head or neck injuries. It may seem like there's plenty of room, but with the carseat properly installed, the child's head can fly forward about 24 inches from the seat bight (where the seat back and bottom meet). And that's if she has connected the top tether properly (which somehow I doubt). Without the top tether, it's more like 28 inches.

[Jeanum]

On the subject of LATCH installation weight limits, Toyota doesn't specify a limit and you would need to abide by the limit stated by the carseat manuacturer. In the case of the Evenflo Triumph Advance, IIRC, it has a lower LATCH anchor installation weight limit of 48 lbs. (almost the full 50 lb. FF weight limit of the EFTA, but not quite :)). And using the top tether with either a lower LATCH anchor installation or with a seatbelt installation for any FF harnessed carseat is strongly recommended to help reduce head excursion in a crash. :thumbsup:

The seatbelt primer at http://www.carseatsite.com/lockingclips.htm can help you determine how the seatbelts in your car locks. From the OP's description of the center seatbelt in the '09 Camry, it sounds like it has a switchable shoulder belt retractor with a locking mechanism that engages when the shoulder belt is fully pulled out from the retractor. Then the retractor makes a clicking/ratcheting sound as you slowly feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor while you're tightening up the installation.