Can ANYONE get a tight RFing center install in a 2000-2002 Forester?

Or any other Forester with that stupid center belt that comes doen from the ceiling of the cargo area?

ARRRRGGGHHH!!! I spent 45 minutes trying to get my BV installed securely. I got it in okay last week, but the seat started tipping to one side (I have no idea why since I was using the lock-offs). Anyway, I moved it to a different car today and had to re-install it in my Forester.

I cannot get it in there. There is stitching on the belt right where the lockoff needs to close, so it won't close. If I try to lock the seat belt rather than use the lockoff, I can't get it tight enough (whole seat moves six inches). If I try to use the WRONG lockoff, the belt stalk is too long, and no amount of twisting seemed to help.

So I gave up and installed it rock solid on the side. Which irritates me because I don't feel that the side is as safe and the passenger now has their knees in the dash with the seat bolt upright, which will be super comfy for long car rides.

On the positive side, all the tips I got about getting the BV more upright worked wonders, which is the only reason I was able to fit it behind the passenger seat at all. I also was able to find a better tether point with the seat on the side.

I so covet my mother's 2005 Outback - I installed the BV in there with LATCH on the drivers side (with side curtain airbags!) and it was rock-solid in mere minutes.

Any techs in the Portland area want a challenge? I'll be in Portland next weekend visiting my parents and would greatly appreciate any advice for getting this seat into the middle.

does the seatbelt have two buckles (as in, can it be unlatched and retract completely into the ceiling)? If so, did you try twisting the other buckle stalk?

If that's not the case, you can try spreading the seatbelt out over the width of the lock-off so all of the thickness isn't in one spot, like this- |//\\| (though it will still overlap a bit).

does the seatbelt have two buckles (as in, can it be unlatched and retract completely into the ceiling)? If so, did you try twisting the other buckle stalk?

Click to expand...

Yes - and that's how I had originally gotten it installed (twisting the first buckle stalk). But I still wasn't able to get it short enough this time - it seems like when it's twisted, it barely gets shorter at all.

If that's not the case, you can try spreading the seatbelt out over the width of the lock-off so all of the thickness isn't in one spot, like this- |//\\| (though it will still overlap a bit).

Click to expand...

I tried spreading the seatbelt, but there wasn't much room in the lock-off, so I still couldn't get it closed. It almost seems like a fluke that I was able to get it closed last week because no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to go this week.


I think this is a follow-up question, but even if I were able to get the lock-off closed, the center install still doesn't feel as solid as the outboard install. What's better, so-so center install or solid outboard install?

Personally, I'd prefer a great install outboard over a so-so center install. I think it's a parental decision, though, as you're trying to weigh statistics. Here's my thinking, though: in ANY wreck, the install needs to be acceptable. Center vs. outboard is only a concern for ONE type of wreck, and you've got a seat with good SIP on top of that.

As for the twisting, try reaching into the bight to start the twist. I thought my rear-row buckles wouldn't twist more than once until I reached deeper and started the twist lower, then I got 2.5 twists.

I agree with Defrost- I'd choose a solid outboard install, espcially with a BLVD that offers good SIP.

New to this site, and the techno-speak baffles me.

Here's our data:

1. Car: 2001 Subaru Forester NO LATCH
   
2. Seat: Britax Marathon
   
3. Baby: 7+ months old, 20+ pounds

We have been using a Graco Snugride but have outgrown it. However, we had the same problem with the Snugride that we have with the Marathon:

Subaru has a strange belt mechanism. Their cars have three shoulder-lap belts in the back seats instead of two on the sides and only a lap belt in the center (as was the case in old cars).

In order to set it up for use, the belt comes from the ceiling over the cargo area, loops through a belt guide, and snaps into a retaining buckle on the right side of the passenger. It then functions as a normal shoulder-lap belt like the two belts on the sides.

BUT, in our experience:

The retaining buckle is very bulky, making it impossible to use the rear-facing lockoffs.

According to Britax, if the car is equipped with Automatic Locking Retractors (ALR, which the Subaru has), the lockoffs are unneeded. However, I would feel safer using them in addition to the ALR.

Despite this, since the shoulder-lap belt is directs its force directly up to the attachment in the ceiling of the cargo area, and since it pulls the seat only from one side (the right), the seat tends to tilt to the left (so the right side of the seat sits slightly higher than the left).

I haven't figured out a way around this.

Finally, we can't figure out how to use the Versa-tether (i.e. where to connect it in the rear facing position).

Has anyone solved these problems?

To summarize:

1. Fixing the tilt (same problem with the Graco Snugride)
2. Using the lockoffs
3. Where to tether?

The seat is "stable" by Britax's guidelines, but I don't like that it's not completely level and is currently untethered.

Okay, I'm still not 100% satisfied with my Britax installation in my Forester, but through trial and error, it's much better than it was, so I will try and walk you through what I have done.

- RFing lockoffs - you need to twist the first buckle stalk (the one where the belt coming from the ceiling attaches) three times before buckling the belt there. Then buckle, thread the belt through the lockoff and the RFing belt path and buckle on the other side. Pull the belt as tight as you can while pushing the carseat away from the first buckle. You should be able to close the lockoff then.

-Recline - along with what I suggest above, you also need to pull the seat back a bit from the seat bight and push down where the child's feet would be while you tighten. This will help get the seat upright enough to fit in the Forester's tiny backseat.

-Tether - are you using the tether attachment strap (also called a D ring)? You need to put that around the leg of the passenger seat and clip the tether to it. It is not ideal - the plastic covering on the passenger seat leg does not come off, so you have to put the strap around it, and the center console gets in the way of the tether. But it's the best I could do for a center install. Pull the tether tight to adjust the recline of the seat if it is too upright.


If you're really struggling, you may be happier with an outboard install. I found that the seat installed very well behind the passenger seat, but it left little legroom for a front passenger.

Hope that helps!

vsbsophie said:

1. Fixing the tilt (same problem with the Graco Snugride)
2. Using the lockoffs
3. Where to tether?

The seat is "stable" by Britax's guidelines, but I don't like that it's not completely level and is currently untethered.

Click to expand...

I have a Subaru Impreza which has the same configuration of seatbelt and the only way could ever fix the tilt was to use the locking clip.

We also tethered our Radian80 to the front passenger seat track.