seat belt buckle touching the car seat?

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
What is the rule on this? Can the buckle not be touching the car seat at all? And what do you do to remedy this... is this when you twist the seat belt stalk to shorten it? Thanks!
 
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flipper68

Senior Community Member
Not totally sure what you mean by the "buckle is touching the seat." There isn't a RULE on this, only a caution or possible difficulty with getting an acceptable instal.

If you're describing the point where the lap webbing goes through the buckle and shifts into shoulder harness webbing then it MIGHT be a problem - especially if you have a locking or sliding LATCH PLATE.

The concern is that when the two parts of the seat belt harness aren't parallel, the seat belt will loosen (not stay locked).

If you're describing the idea that the latch plate (male part of the seat belt) is right on the edge of the belt path of the seat or is getting hung up in the belt path of the restraint (usually occurs when installing an infant only base), the same problem will occur. [Usually it is right on the side of the retsraint, when the seat belt has to "turn down" after being threaded through the belt path (back of the seat).

In either case, YES, twisting the seat belt stalk (up to 3 full revolutions) to shorten the stalk should help eliminate the problem.

Hope this helps or someone else will better understand what you are asking.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Thanks. That did answer my question. I thought I had heard somewhere that the latchplate couldn't be touching the car seat at the belt path. I have had this happen in dh's car, but it just barely touches and doesn't get in the way of a tight install, so I'm going to assume its okay, unless someone else tells me otherwise! Thanks again!
 

georgiamom

New member
I hope it's ok that I revive this old thread because I need a bit more reassurance. My new Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe says explicitly that the buckle touching the belt path is not acceptable, and that the seat belt should not be twisted, so how do I manage this?

We drive a 1999 Subaru Outback, no LATCH, and buying a new car is not financially feasible. I can't put the seat in the center, because I have two seats back there. Since the FP seat is manufactured by Britax, it is my understanding that it is very similar to the Marathon. My skinny (26 lb) 3-year-old is too tall for her Roundabout and the 5-point harness options for her are pretty slim (although I think the same problem happened with the Roundabout and the buckle, but I didn't know it might be a problem at the time).
 

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