Van Bucket Seat question - Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums

twinone · 11-24-2006, 04:53 PM

When installing a carseat (with LATCH or Seatbelt, Forward facing) should the seat back be fully straight up? We just got our van a couple months ago and I have never had adjustable seats so I am not sure.

Also is it ok to push forward the full bucket seat (not the back, from floor ) to allow someone to climb in the back when a carseat is attached?

CPSDarren · 11-24-2006, 05:01 PM

You can usually adjust the recline of the vehicle seat back to match the recline of the child restraint, with the base of the child restraint horizontal against the vehicle seat cushion. In some vehicles, it's handy to recline the vehicle seat back a little more while you are installing a front facing seat. Once you have it installed fairly tight, you can bring the vehicle seat back more upright a notch or two to make the installation even more secure. The vehicle seat back should not be reclined so much that the bottom of the child restraint is tilting up off the vehicle seat.

If you have installed the seat with the LATCH system, it may be possible to slide a captain's chair front-to-back or even side-to-side in some vehicles without affecting the child seat installation. If you have installed with a seatbelt, you may find this is not possible depending on whether the seatbelt is anchored to the vehicle seat or to the pillar next to the seat. The main issue would be that you might move the vehicle seat and cause the installation to loosen and forget to move the seat back again.

hsjwmom · 11-24-2006, 08:58 PM

I would check your vehicle manual and see what it says about sliding the seat.

I have my seats installed with LATCH and have slid the bucket seats forward and back in order to make room for passengers in the 3rd row.

BUT...I just read my van's manual ('06 Sienna). It says NOT to move the seat once the carseat is installed. Also, that the seat needs to all the way back. I couldn't believe this, but it also gave VERY specific instructions as to the correct recline of the seat (5th position back from totally upright)

I personally don't see the problem because the carseat is totally contained on the seat - LATCH and tether both. It didn't loosen anything that I could tell. Also, it makes it VERY difficult to have 3rd row passengers if you can't have the 2nd row captains chairs forward. There is no leg room with the 2nd row all the way back.

I'm going to reinstall my seats tomorrow to double check the seat position. I'm not sure what I'm going to do regarding sliding the captains chair with the carseat installed.

lovinwaves · 11-24-2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinone

When installing a carseat (with LATCH or Seatbelt, Forward facing) should the seat back be fully straight up? We just got our van a couple months ago and I have never had adjustable seats so I am not sure.

Also is it ok to push forward the full bucket seat (not the back, from floor ) to allow someone to climb in the back when a carseat is attached?

How old is your child? Also, what car do you have?

BlueDragon · 11-25-2006, 12:18 AM

I tried briefly when I first got my Odyssey and installed the seats -- that is I tried to move the seats forward to allow for access in the back. No go. The seat has to first bend (at the waist, if a seat has a waist), and THEN slide. Obviously it can't bend because of the car seat, so it couldn't slide either. Note that I did not give this much effort whatsoever, I gave it a really weak try. So maybe it can be slid, it just didn't work for me on first try.

I gave up quickly because I didn't want to mess around with my seats, and there are other ways to get in the back (through the middle of the 2nd row in my case, or through the back of the car with one seat folded down).

twinone · 11-25-2006, 07:30 AM

I have a 2003 Town and Country Minivan
My children are 5.5 and 2.5.

I would assume with a seatbelt that it cannot be moved at all but I guess I was just curious with using the latch since my full seat unlatches at the floor and bends forward that the seat would still stay fully attached to the bucket seat??

CPSDarren · 11-25-2006, 09:55 AM

One of the nice things about our Odysseys (2001 and 2006) is that you can can move the entire passenger side 2nd row seat from the outboard position to the center position with a LATCH seat installed there. You can also slide the seat forward/backward on it's track (Using the lever under the seat, not the one on the top). The 2006 would not allow you to use the flip forward lever on top, as you said, because that requires the seat back to collapse and a child seat would prevent that.

Unfortunately, since the Odyssey shoulder belts are pillar mounted, this would not work using a seatbelt installation.

lovinwaves · 11-25-2006, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinone

I have a 2003 Town and Country Minivan
My children are 5.5 and 2.5.

I would assume with a seatbelt that it cannot be moved at all but I guess I was just curious with using the latch since my full seat unlatches at the floor and bends forward that the seat would still stay fully attached to the bucket seat??

The reason I was wondering is because if your 2.5 year old is still rear-facing it would be easy to bend the seat and then slide forward to allow access to the third row. That is much easier to do with a rear-facing carseat than with a forward-facing.

twinone · 11-25-2006, 12:21 PM

Our seats do not slide. They have one latch to move the seat back forward and back and one latch to bend the whole seat forward why still leavin the back of the seat in the same spot.

I checked in my manual and it did not say anything

11-24-2006, 04:53 PM	#1
twinone Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 80	Van Bucket Seat question When installing a carseat (with LATCH or Seatbelt, Forward facing) should the seat back be fully straight up? We just got our van a couple months ago and I have never had adjustable seats so I am not sure. Also is it ok to push forward the full bucket seat (not the back, from floor ) to allow someone to climb in the back when a carseat is attached? Last edited by twinone; 11-24-2006 at 04:55 PM. Reason: Add another question

11-24-2006, 05:01 PM	#2
CPSDarren Admin - CPS Technician Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 7,225	You can usually adjust the recline of the vehicle seat back to match the recline of the child restraint, with the base of the child restraint horizontal against the vehicle seat cushion. In some vehicles, it's handy to recline the vehicle seat back a little more while you are installing a front facing seat. Once you have it installed fairly tight, you can bring the vehicle seat back more upright a notch or two to make the installation even more secure. The vehicle seat back should not be reclined so much that the bottom of the child restraint is tilting up off the vehicle seat. If you have installed the seat with the LATCH system, it may be possible to slide a captain's chair front-to-back or even side-to-side in some vehicles without affecting the child seat installation. If you have installed with a seatbelt, you may find this is not possible depending on whether the seatbelt is anchored to the vehicle seat or to the pillar next to the seat. The main issue would be that you might move the vehicle seat and cause the installation to loosen and forget to move the seat back again. __________________ Darren

11-24-2006, 08:58 PM	#3
hsjwmom CPS Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,031	I would check your vehicle manual and see what it says about sliding the seat. I have my seats installed with LATCH and have slid the bucket seats forward and back in order to make room for passengers in the 3rd row. BUT...I just read my van's manual ('06 Sienna). It says NOT to move the seat once the carseat is installed. Also, that the seat needs to all the way back. I couldn't believe this, but it also gave VERY specific instructions as to the correct recline of the seat (5th position back from totally upright) I personally don't see the problem because the carseat is totally contained on the seat - LATCH and tether both. It didn't loosen anything that I could tell. Also, it makes it VERY difficult to have 3rd row passengers if you can't have the 2nd row captains chairs forward. There is no leg room with the 2nd row all the way back. I'm going to reinstall my seats tomorrow to double check the seat position. I'm not sure what I'm going to do regarding sliding the captains chair with the carseat installed. __________________ Abbysnail ~ 9.5 ~ Julius Oobr and Leopard Olli Chica ~ 8 ~ Madison Regent and Julius Olli Loveybug ~ 2 ~ Cranberry TFP and Hannah MA

11-25-2006, 09:55 AM	#7
CPSDarren Admin - CPS Technician Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 7,225	One of the nice things about our Odysseys (2001 and 2006) is that you can can move the entire passenger side 2nd row seat from the outboard position to the center position with a LATCH seat installed there. You can also slide the seat forward/backward on it's track (Using the lever under the seat, not the one on the top). The 2006 would not allow you to use the flip forward lever on top, as you said, because that requires the seat back to collapse and a child seat would prevent that. Unfortunately, since the Odyssey shoulder belts are pillar mounted, this would not work using a seatbelt installation. __________________ Darren

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11-25-2006, 12:18 AM	#5
BlueDragon Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 71	I tried briefly when I first got my Odyssey and installed the seats -- that is I tried to move the seats forward to allow for access in the back. No go. The seat has to first bend (at the waist, if a seat has a waist), and THEN slide. Obviously it can't bend because of the car seat, so it couldn't slide either. Note that I did not give this much effort whatsoever, I gave it a really weak try. So maybe it can be slid, it just didn't work for me on first try. I gave up quickly because I didn't want to mess around with my seats, and there are other ways to get in the back (through the middle of the 2nd row in my case, or through the back of the car with one seat folded down).

11-25-2006, 07:30 AM	#6
twinone Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 80	I have a 2003 Town and Country Minivan My children are 5.5 and 2.5. I would assume with a seatbelt that it cannot be moved at all but I guess I was just curious with using the latch since my full seat unlatches at the floor and bends forward that the seat would still stay fully attached to the bucket seat??

11-25-2006, 12:21 PM	#9
twinone Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 80	Our seats do not slide. They have one latch to move the seat back forward and back and one latch to bend the whole seat forward why still leavin the back of the seat in the same spot. I checked in my manual and it did not say anything