Radian Install Pics...is this a good fit???

Okay, I'm so worn out. I have spent all day trying to make sure that I have installed this seat correctly. DH is 6'2" and he is practically eating the dash, but I don't know if I could get a better angle. I'm 5'1 and even MY seat is closer to the steering wheel than I'd like. I'm going to give it a few days, but I'm thinking of sending it back. At any rate, here are the pictures...it is installed in the center position via shoulder seatbelt (my Chevy HHR does not have middle seat anchors for latch ).

Here is the install with the front seats out of the way...




Here is the install with the front seats in the position that they would be if I was driving and DH was a front seat passenger.




The seat belt path...


The center seat belt after installation...


Tether install...The HHR has REALLY thick front seat tracks...don't know if this is correct or not... (I did learn from reading another thread that I need to turn the tether hook connecting to the D-Ring over)




Pics of DD buckled in...the shoulder straps threaded through the 3rd slot. I put the headrest down as far as I could get it to go (as per directions in the carseat manual)








Let me know what you think. I'm a car seat installation virgin, so please be kind.

I don't see any other seats in the vehicle..is this your only child? If it is, you put the seat behind the passenger side, and when there is a second adult in the car, they siply sit in the second row behind the driver, next to baby. This way you forfeit the front passenger seat, but yet the driver and other passenger are both completely safe and not "eating the dash."
I hope that makes sense.

I am not a Radian install specialist like some other techs on the board, so I'll leave any critiqing of the installation to them...but it looks like the slot you are using is NOT actuyall BELOW his shoulders?? I can't tell from the pics, the angles throw me off...but I just want to make sure the straps are below? If the straps do need to be moved down to the second slots, I believe yuo'll need ot put the headrest all the way in the UP position, since it can not yet be used.

bump...I really need some input. I don't want to drive with DD until I know it is installed correctly.

I'm not a tech but I'm going to reply anyway since it's pretty slow here on Sundays.

The seatbelt install looks good from the pictures you posted. You didn't reply to bobandjess's comments and I think she made the same observations I did. (Could you install the seat behind the passenger and is the harness at or below her shoulders?)

It's hard to tell from the picture - Is the spot you tethered to stationary?

I'd rather leave the seat in the center b/c I feel like it is safer for DD (until we have another one, I'd rather her ride center if at all possible). Also, I am a Realtor and carry clients around often, not to mention that DH and I own a small business and use my car A LOT, so I'd rather either get a better fitting seat OR a different car (if I could find one that is affordable and good on gas) than for one of us to always be in the backseat.

I am not sure about the harness height...it is SLIGHTLY above her shoulders but the lower slot is way below her shoulders. I'll definitely move it up if need be. The tether IS attached to a stationary part of the seat. What about the front seats touching the back of the carseat? They don't move the seat, but thy do touch and sort of brace it.

Any other carseat suggestions? Or car suggestions that (under $12K that get decent gas mileage)? I REALLY like this seat, so it would be nice to be able to keep it. My car, on the other hand, I'm not crazy about.

Not a tech but I thought I would just mention a couple of things. When your dd is tall enough to be even with the 3rd slots then the headrest actually goes down a little further than it is in your pics. Sometimes it gets a little sticky but if you look under the cover you'll see where the bottom position of the headrests is lined up with the 3rd slots. My ds is in the same spot for the harness straps but I went ahead and put them in the second slots so they are definitely below his shoulders.
You might be able to grunt it a little more upright by pulling the foot away from the bight slightly and pushing down where her feet would go. Another thing to check is whether or not you have advanced airbags in your vehicle. That info can be found in the airbag section of your car's manual. If they are not advanced airbags you can allow the car seat to touch the passenger and or drivers' seats which might buy you a little space.
Lastly it looks to me like your tether hook might be facing up rather than down. It's hard to tell in the pics but you might just double check. Good luck with the installing, we're in the same boat with the radian right now.

Harness slots- they look to be a tad above, or just even with her shoulders. She should have a ton of room above her head, so I wouldn't worry about 1/4 inch above her shoulders. My DD fits like that on the 4th slots, and I wasn't comfortable enough to move them to the 4th (she also has less room above ehr head than your DD).

Headrest- Did you unvelcro the sides around the headwings when you tried to move them down? I'm not really thrilled with how it fits her head there. And since she's not quite above the slots, I'd rather see the headrest all the way up if they can't be moved down to fit her head better.

Tether- it is attached upside down. Untwist the tether strap, and the thick black piece of metal should be facing up, not down (that can be confusing because the way they made it, it wants to be sideways). Is the D-ring on the seat track?

Install- I think it looks good. Is there less than 1 inch of movement at the beltpath?

Bracing the seat- Read your vehicle's manual. Read the carseat section, and the airbag section. Some vehicle with advanced airbag don't allow anything else to touch the front seats. The Radian is allowed to touch the front seats, as long as it doesn't change the angle, and it's allowed by the vehicle manufacturer.

I agree with the other replies about the install & harness & such, I just wanted to add that IF you feel like fooling around with it again, I think you could get a bit more room for the people in the front and get it a bit more upright. It's safe the way it is, of course, so you can leave it, but if you want more room you can try.

What you do is pull the foot away from the vehicle seat bight (the "crack") while you're installing. If you can get into the position you see in my avatar picture, that really helps, too. While you're tightening the seat belt, push that foot DOWN, and use your hips to tilt that part of the seat DOWN as well.

Here are some pictures that show the difference - see how this pic shows the boot in the bight, just like yours?


And here it's away from the bight, which results in a more upright install, and more room for the front passengers: