I can't decide how I feel about the Angle Adjuster

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guest1

Guest
Put my daughter's car seat back in the middle today. Got a super tight install without AA but when my dd was in the seat it touched the drivers seat a wee bit so I put in the AA. Still got it in really tight and almost no movement at the belt path but the back of the seat slides around an awful lot.

Anyone else have this issue? Do you lurk the AA?
 
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littleangelfire

Well-known member
Put my daughter's car seat back in the middle today. Got a super tight install without AA but when my dd was in the seat it touched the drivers seat a wee bit so I put in the AA. Still got it in really tight and almost no movement at the belt path but the back of the seat slides around an awful lot.

Anyone else have this issue? Do you lurk the AA?

I have no issues using the angle adjuster with an older rear facing child provided it still installs well in the vehicle. The seat will always move at that end of it, all that matters is movement at the belt path. If you think about it, there is nothing holding that back of the child seat into the car, it will move. It is held into the car at the place where the child's feet are. IN an accident, the back of that seat is going to rebound up. That's Ok. ONly grab at the belt bath.

As for touching the vehicle seat, Diono says that's OK. They even allow the front seat to be bracing against the child seat. Check your vehicle manual, though, some prohibit this b/c of airbag sensors.

Using with or without angle adjustor are equally safe options.
 

atw

New member
l1i2v3 said:
Put my daughter's car seat back in the middle today. Got a super tight install without AA but when my dd was in the seat it touched the drivers seat a wee bit so I put in the AA. Still got it in really tight and almost no movement at the belt path but the back of the seat slides around an awful lot.

Anyone else have this issue? Do you lurk the AA?

You are posting my about all my RN grrrs!

Eventually, our AA works itself to the side too. My daughter leans, we have it in a pillowcase to protect our leather (read here a tech called it another condiment in a RN sandwich or something)

And, the seat settles quite a bit despite good and tight installs, at least in our car. I always give it a firm shake each trip and it never loosens at the path, but for whatever reason our seats + RN tend to change to less upright.

Our britax settles too, maybe just the leather giving?

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guest1

Guest
So frustrating!

I'm not sure if my car allows it or not. The manual is hard to understand (there isn't a yes absolutely it is safe or no it's absolutely not safe, that I can understand. I've had one person on here tell me my car DOES allow it and I've had one other person on here tell me my car does NOT allow it. Since I have no idea, I'm playing it safe and going with no. Wish I could though, then I could get rid of the AA all together!
 

atw

New member
l1i2v3 said:
So frustrating!

I'm not sure if my car allows it or not. The manual is hard to understand (there isn't a yes absolutely it is safe or no it's absolutely not safe, that I can understand. I've had one person on here tell me my car DOES allow it and I've had one other person on here tell me my car does NOT allow it. Since I have no idea, I'm playing it safe and going with no. Wish I could though, then I could get rid of the AA all together!

Are you the person with the fx? If so, there was confusion over Nissan. It's completely not clear on the manual except on passenger side. However, Wendy said a trusted tech discussed with Nissan engineers and that it's definitely NOT allowed. If you arent talking about the fx, or you have a different car, sorry for all that! ;)

I agree. I love the AA in my prius, HATE in the Infiniti. Don't know what it is. Actually don't love the install in there in general.

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guest1

Guest
Nope that's not me :) we have a Ford 500. The year is 2005. I've even called Ford to ask and neither of those two men could say yes or no!
 

atw

New member
l1i2v3 said:
Nope that's not me :) we have a Ford 500. The year is 2005. I've even called Ford to ask and neither of those two men could say yes or no!

Lol! Well, I'm sure you are super happy for the worthless info then.

...and seems to be the story with car manufacturers. I love that it's clear in Toyota. I think you are doing the right thing by not touching...better to be "wrong" that way!

I hope the RN kinks get worked out, but man, it's why I have the love/hate with mine. I know we needed one in the mix and needed a high weight seat, but, pffffffft. They are fussy!

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LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
According to the LATCH Manual, Ford does not allow it. (IIRC)

According to a Ford airbag engineer I asked at Lifesavers, they do allow it.

So there's your clear-as-mud answer.
 
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guest1

Guest
atw said:
Lol! Well, I'm sure you are super happy for the worthless info then.

...and seems to be the story with car manufacturers. I love that it's clear in Toyota. I think you are doing the right thing by not touching...better to be "wrong" that way!

I hope the RN kinks get worked out, but man, it's why I have the love/hate with mine. I know we needed one in the mix and needed a high weight seat, but, pffffffft. They are fussy!

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Oh it's all good. I like learning anything new, even if it dosent necessarily apply to me. Perhaps I can help someone else out one day with that info. ;)
And I agree! We got the Radian bc my daughter Izmir only 2-3" away from the max rear facing limit on her complete air but she is only 14mo so not comfy turning her ffing. Love and hate this seat.
 
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guest1

Guest
LISmama810 said:
According to the LATCH Manual, Ford does not allow it. (IIRC)

According to a Ford airbag engineer I asked at Lifesavers, they do allow it.

So there's your clear-as-mud answer.

Thanks for that info!
Not that I'd do it if the manual says not to, but WHY can't they touch? I understand it Has something to different with the air bag but doses anyone know what exactly it is that may happen?
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Thanks for that info!
Not that I'd do it if the manual says not to, but WHY can't they touch? I understand it Has something to different with the air bag but doses anyone know what exactly it is that may happen?

It's bad for the person who may be sitting in that front seat. If there's weight on the back of the seat, it may make them seem to be too light to make the airbag inflate at the right speed or at all. You definitely want the airbag to do the right thing for the person sitting there, and confusing the sensors in the seat with weight/force/pressure from behind or underneath might make something go wrong.
Hope that helps!
 

EmmaGrace'sMom

New member
In my civic I love it, I think Honda says no touching (2009 so it has advanced air bags) It does settle some and isn't as upright as the initial install, but still much better than without.
 

sparkyd

Active member
The AA adjuster definitely compresses, so you need to re-tighten after a bit with the initial use and it might settle at a slightly more reclined angle that with the initial install. I've found that it doesn't un-compress if out for a short time (short being up to a few days), so you can stick it back in the exact same spot when re-installing and not need to re-tighten. I really like it - the Radian would be at 45 degrees in our Ford Taurus X without it. Not great for a 3-year old.
 

Malka

New member
I'm comfortable using it for my 3 year old because I install the seat completely first without it and then just lift the back of the seat a bit and tuck it under. It doesn't interfere with the installation or tightness or anything for me.
 

atw

New member
Malka said:
I'm comfortable using it for my 3 year old because I install the seat completely first without it and then just lift the back of the seat a bit and tuck it under. It doesn't interfere with the installation or tightness or anything for me.

Sorry to veer off-topic, but I thought install seat, install AA, and tighten seat down last was the proper installation technique?

Mine also stays tight at the belt path, just doesn't hold its angle. Im on my second, the first one was trashed after a couple of months.

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sparkyd

Active member
Sorry to veer off-topic, but I thought install seat, install AA, and tighten seat down last was the proper installation technique?

That is the correct install method. The AA has to go all the way under to touch the back of the rear-facing foot/base

And when I said "not great for a 3-yr old", I meant the 45 degree angle the seat would be at without the AA. Meaning that the AA is great for a 3-yr old. ;)
 

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