FF installs of a True Fit and a My Ride - MR appears to be incompatible

FF installs of a True Fit and a My Ride - MR may be incompatible? *Pics added*

DD rode FF one way on our trip out of town this weekend. She's never ridden FF before so I've never installed a FF seat in our 2nd gen MDX. I wanted to use the MR so that we could use it RF once we got into town. Lo and behold, the MR appears to be incompatible with a FF install in my vehicle! I didn't take pics as we were in a hurry to leave, but I will do at some point.

The problem is with the MR's recline when FF. If I have the back of the MR against the back of the vehicle seat, then the base of MR is pretty much not touching the seat bottom except at the very front. If I put the base of the MR flat on the seat bottom, then the MR is only touching the vehicle seat at the top and there is a gigantic gap between the vehicle seat and the back of the MR. Additionally, the front of the MR hangs off the front of the vehicle seat. So, I reclined the vehicle seat to it's max and even then the base of the MR is off the vehicle seat by several inches with the back of the MR against the back of the vehicle seat. I'm sure the gap would lessen once the seat was actually installed, but seriously, the gap was huge and there's no way the base would be on the seat and I wasn't comfortable with that large space.

So, we got out the TF. It had the same issue when the vehicle seat is most upright, you cannot put the base flat on the seat without the back of the TF not being against the back of the vehicle seat. Again, I reclined the vehicle seat the entire way and there was still a gap at the base of the TF at the back. But the gap was small enough that it was gone once DH put his knee in the TF and tightened it up. It installed easily and very tightly with LATCH and had a nice recline for sleeping. The easily adjustable harness can NOT be adjusted once installed FF in the MDX. The side bolsters of the seats are in the way and there is no way to pull out the yellow handles.

Oh, and since you can't get the 3rd row seats up with the 2nd row reclined, you have to uninstall the freakin' TF if you want to use the 3rd row, put the 3rd row up, then reinstall the TF. When we did this, we just put the TF in RF again. I weighed DD before we left and since the weather is warm enough now to not need extra layers, mittens, toques, etc. she was 33.5# with cotton pants, t-shirt and socks. :thumbsup:

No point to this post really other than that I was shocked that the MR does not actually seem to be compatible with this vehicle when FF in an outboard position. The centre seat is different so it may have worked centre, but that takes up room from my outboard seatbelted kid and I think the MR is wide enough that it would have prevented access to the 3rd row (when up). I'll likely give it a try at some point but I'm not in a rush to do so.

I was worried when I initially looked at the TF as well, just happy it worked once the vehicle seat was reclined. I didn't try it centre either, but it would be a really tall seat in that position and block more rear view than an adult passenger.

It is very likely that the MR would have been fine once you installed it from this

"back of the MR against the back of the vehicle seat, then the base of MR is pretty much not touching the seat bottom except at the very front"

point. Once you put your weight in and tighten the seat belt it would probably sink into the upholstery and eliminate the gap at the base.

safeinthecar said:

It is very likely that the MR would have been fine once you installed it from this

"back of the MR against the back of the vehicle seat, then the base of MR is pretty much not touching the seat bottom except at the very front"

point. Once you put your weight in and tighten the seat belt it would probably sink into the upholstery and eliminate the gap at the base.

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Nope. I just went out and tried it now, the gap does not go away. I have some pics and I will post.

I understand what you're saying. I don't have a MR, but I have come across a couple of seats that have that same problem in DH's vehicle (Explorer SporTrac), because the seat backs are very upright and since it's essentially a truck, do not recline.

Install #1 (best recline angle):


Here is a pic of the gap at the back; keep in mind that the gap is larger than it looks as I have to take the pic looking down at since if taken directly from the side, the vehicle seat bolster is in the way. Now, maybe this gap doesn't matter? As long as the front flattish part of the base is touching the seat and everything else is tight? I wanted to check before we went out of town but didn't have time to take pics and wait for answer so we went with the TF which installs MUCH better and at a much better angle too.



And just for giggles (and yes I know the level is only important for RF); this is the recline level the seat is at once installed, which is MORE reclined than when we have it installed RF! Again, this had to be taken at a angle because of the side bolster on the vehicle seat, but this ball is basically at the right edge of the green.



If I put the vehicle seat upright, then of course the MR is at a better FF recline, BUT then I get a gap between the back of the MR and the vehicle seat that doesn't go away once installed and the gap at the back, bottom of the MR is even larger than when installed with the vehicle seat reclined.

I believe a gap at the bottom of the back is fine as long as the install is tight (unless the MR prohibits this, I'm not familiar). I'm curious to see what that install looks like...

DahliaRW said:

I believe a gap at the bottom of the back is fine as long as the install is tight (unless the MR prohibits this, I'm not familiar).

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I didn't come across it mentioning it in the manual, but I could have missed it. The pics all show that piece touching the vehicle seat, although they are drawings, not real world pics.

In my install though, the flap for RF/FF aren't even needed as they don't touch the seat. The install would be exactly the same if those flaps were flipped in for RF. So, if they are an integral part of the install, then this doesn't work in our vehicle. If they are merely to help with recline angles but not necessary, then it might be fine.

Although no matter what, it's not fine, it's way too reclined. Even with the vehicle seat upright, the MR is more reclined than other FF seats, but once you recline the vehicle seat, it's super reclined. My kid doesn't like it reclined that much RF, there's no way she's going to like it FF. Being that we have to recline the vehicle seat for the TF, it gets a recline as well, but a reasonable recline. Enough to stop head flop when sleeping, but not so much that a kid has to crane their head forward the entire ride.

DahliaRW said:

I'm curious to see what that install looks like...

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What which installs looks like?

Sorry you're having trouble! I put some arrows on a picture to try to help clarify. A gap at the orange arrow isn't good (under the back of the base), but a gap at the green arrow is okay as long as the base is flat on the vehicle seat and the top portion of the car seat touches the vehicle seat back (blue arrow). In some vehicle and car seat combos though, like your situation with the MR, it sounds like a compatibility issue if putting the base flat makes it stick way off the front of the vehicle seat.



I had this same issue with the Signo FF in my van. I could recline the captains chair back enough to get the base flat, but that made the Signo really reclined, much more than I'm comfortable with. The True Fit in this picture is also quite reclined, so I don't use that seat FF in the van either (hence the Frontier purchase).

Oh, and this installation was done for a photo op, I realize the LATCH strap would have to be stored for a child to use the seat.

Thanks, that helps a lot. So, I'll go move the base forward and see what I get (seeing as I've tried so many things I can't remember what does what anymore!).

Does your vehicle have removable headrests? Removing it sometimes lets the car seat sit farther back on the vehicle seat. Check the vehicle manual to be sure it's allowed, and for others reading, some car seats do require vehicle support to the top of the child's ears, so in those cases, you'd have to leave the headrest on.

Oh, and I agree with Kimberly. Sometimes you can start off with the seat sitting so that the base is a little off the vehicle seat (orange arrow), then after you install it, the seat will squish enough to bring the base in contact with the vehicle seat. Doesn't always work that way, but it does help in some vehicle/car seat combos. :thumbsup:

Mommy0608 said:

Does your vehicle have removable headrests? Removing it sometimes lets the car seat sit farther back on the vehicle seat. Check the vehicle manual to be sure it's allowed, and for others reading, some car seats do require vehicle support to the top of the child's ears, so in those cases, you'd have to leave the headrest on.

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Ya the headrest has been removed for all the installs. I can't actually install it with the headrest as then the back the car seat doesn't touch the vehicle seat back at all (only touches the headrest).

I got some more pics of two new installs so I am uploading those now.

Install #2. This has the vehicle seat reclined as much as it can be. The green arrow in the 2nd pic shows where the top of the the child restraint touches the vehicle seat; none of the child restraint below the green point touches the vehicle seat back at all.




Install #3. This has the vehicle seat as upright as it can be. The green arrow in the 2nd pic shows where the top of the the child restraint touches the vehicle seat; none of the child restraint below the green point touches the vehicle seat back at all.




This is the recline level on the 2nd install (it's either the same or worse on the 1st install). Yup, newborn recline for a FF install. :thumbsdown:
Again, the pic can't be taken directly from the side view, so the ball is a little further to the right than it appears in the pic.

In both installs, the rear of the base that is touching is *just* touching, and obviously not all of the foot is touching due to the shape of it. If DH put some extra oomph into the install the feet might touch more than the light touch they have with my install.

I was wondering how the install with the base touching and the seat gapping in back looks.

I would call Graco and ask them about how much of the seat needs to touch and see what they say.

The first install (in the second post, so second overall) doesn't look terrible to me, but I'm not a tech so I'm not sure how much my opinion counts, lol.

What's the recline like on that one?

ETA: Nevermind, I see you said same or worse recline. So even if deemed "not incompatable," it's probably not preferable. 45* recline is insane for FFing (though great for sleeping, lol!)

Ya, in the end, no matter if the amount of base on the vehicle is acceptable or the amount touching the rear of the vehicle seat is acceptable, the recline is not acceptable for DD. Add that to not being able to use the harness covers after 40# and that it won't last as long FF as the True Fit, and the True Fit is the clear winner for us when DD moves FF.

It's too bad I can't sell the MR's now, but I think I need to keep them for more RF time. Unless I just accept that when DD reaches the 35# in her TF that I flip her FF. Not sure if I am ready to deal with that though.....:ROTFLMAO:

Ugh. I'm going to have to try this in my car. I was thinking of just switching back and forth between FF and RF at DD2's whim after her forth birthday. If they don't work FF I will have the think of a new plan for DH's car. (Mine I'll just throw the RN FF next to the RF MR. I'll have plenty of spare seating locations this summer).

I'm with Techno - I wouldn't use the My Ride as a FF seat either. This is how it installs in my Focus - and I worked hard to get it this upright. This is also more reclined than it was when we used it RF for DD1.



Actually, the recline is a non-issue for me at the moment anyway. When installed outboard - unless there's no seat in the middle and I can install the seat more toward the center - the "wings" of the MY stick out so far FF that they hit the doorframe.

My install, as upright as possible:


The back is in full contact, putting your hand back there will result in scraped fingers getting them in and out. The front of the foot, the dark gray, is in superb contact, very tight. The light gray is either barely touching or not touching at all. Accpetable or not compatible?
I'm going to email Graco about it too.

atsuydam said:

The back is in full contact, putting your hand back there will result in scraped fingers getting them in and out. The front of the foot, the dark gray, is in superb contact, very tight. The light gray is either barely touching or not touching at all. Accpetable or not compatible?
I'm going to email Graco about it too.

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How compressible (i.e. squishy) is your vehicle seat? Can you cram the MY down into the seat cushion any further? You can see in my pic how much I had to squish it down - fortunately, the Focus seats allow that.

That's similar to what I have in post #5, but in post #8, Mommy0608 pics show that it's not acceptable for the rear of the base not to be touching.

Not that it matters for me, because even thoough post #5 is the most upright I can get it, it's still more reclined than when RF and doesn't allow DD room to cross her legs and I'll gripe again about the harness covers not being able to be used after 40#.....

BookMama said:

How compressible (i.e. squishy) is your vehicle seat? Can you cram the MY down into the seat cushion any further? You can see in my pic how much I had to squish it down - fortunately, the Focus seats allow that.

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I know this wasn't directed at me, but you make a good point. The seats in my vehicle are not squishy and compressible. They have a bit of give but nothing like other vehicles I've owned. I am going to try the MR FF in my parent's vehicle. Their seats are really squishy so maybe I can get a better install there. Have to figure out if the MR or TF works better in their vehicle so I know if I can sell any seats before she goes FF!