Did I miss anything?

Brigala

CPST Instructor
I did a check/training session today for a local family. In the primary car, they were swapping out their infant seat for a convertible. Installed with LATCH, Beautiful fit (Advocate 70 CS). Then I was teaching the child's grandparents how to install Graco infant seat bases in their cars. Each set of grandparents was getting a base, and would "share" the infant seat. First car was a prius. Fit like a dream. "Grandpa" was awesome. We went with LATCH and he climbed in and got a rock solid install once I showed him how. The second car... that was a different story.

It was some kind of an '89 or so SUV. Maybe a Bronco? Not sure; I actually ended up not writing it down on my forms because in the end I gave up and told her she couldn't drive the child in that car. I'm just wondering whether I missed something.

There were lap belts across the back seat. The center lap belt was broken. Completely non-functional. On the sides, there was a retractable ALR belt on each side. The retractors were something like 6 or 7 inches forward of the bight. Not only that, they were angled toward the door in stiff plastic casings. No matter what I did, I absolutely couldn't get the base even remotely tight. The ALR worked fine, but the position and angle of the belt simply wouldn't work.

So I decided to try in the front seat. Problem was, the buckle was unreliable. She said it was the same way on the driver's side. If you pulled on it, about one time out of three it would just come undone. Total seat belt failure. It took me three tries to get the base installed just for demonstration purposes so she'd know how to do it if she got her seat belts fixed. Each time I tried to tighten it, the buckle released. I really stressed that she needed to get them fixed because she wasn't safe driving like that. I suggested that for the back seat she replace that center lap belt - I know you can get an aftermarket replacement for about $30, plus the cost of having a mechanic install it which shouldn't be much. If the center lap belt would have been functional, I know I could have gotten the car seat in there. I really hope she listens to me and gets the front belts replaced. She really seemed kind of deflated, almost like she didn't believe me that the seat belts could be fixed. Or maybe she doesn't have the finances? The mom was really good - she just said she could borrow her car if she needed to drive the grandson somewhere.

Is there anything else I should have tried but missed?
 
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Brigala

CPST Instructor
I actually didn't try that, although I did think of it later. I seriously doubt it would have worked, but it would have been worth trying. The seat belt geometry was the weirdest I've ever seen.
 

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