Is this right? New to installing Frontier 85...

msuarez919

New member
So I went with the long belt path install and got it rock solid -- but it looked a bit crooked due to the fact that it took and an act of God to get the thing in there by myself. The seatbelt *just* made it to the buckle and it took a bit of bouncing (and cursing and grunting...) towards the buckle to get it there. Anyway, whenever I get a new seat I take it to have it checked by a CPS tech. Especially with the Frontier 85 -- the long belt path install is so counterintuitive and weird compared to my experience with seat belt and latch installs. Also, the crooked-ness of it (which is slight) just bothers me (it's not perfect). So I get there and she is truly impressed that I was able to get it in there by myself (me too!). She gets in there and assesses. She then shoves her knee not down into the seat (towards the floor) but presses against the seat (towards the trunk) and gets maybe 2 inches closer/tighter (I've got leather seats). This is where things got sketchy. To do this, she "unthreaded" the car seat belt from a piece of plastic that holds it in the proper place for an adult sized passenger (at the shoulder). This got the seat even tighter (because the belt got closer) but it seems like the piece of plastic that holds the belt in that specific place at the shoulder keeps the seat belt there for a reason...does any of this make sense? This tech is super good and I totally trust her...I guess I just wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with this...mostly I want to stop worrying about it :) Thanks!
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Usually that's fine. The plastic is a belt guide for better fit, but not a one size fits all (at least if it's like I'm thinking). Shoving it back toward the trunk is perfectly acceptable.

Wendy
 

msuarez919

New member
It's a '03 Nissan Altima. I don't mind the shoving towards the trunk, I actually thought it was pretty genius as I'm always trying to shove it further down to tighten up the install :) I just worry about the seat belt not being in the place the manufacturer intended for it to be...
 

msuarez919

New member
Do you have pictures?
No, I just got the kids down and I'm too tired and lazy to take pics :) The only way I can describe it is that the belt comes out of a slot in the rear deck and then passes through a plastic guide. It's above your shoulder on the opposite side of where you would buckle.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
For a carseat it wouldn't bother me to pull it out. I don't know that I have, but I would if necessary. I know I've put it BACK in when I'm all done and just tidying up everything.

Wendy
 

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