2 questions: Using side LATCH in center and rearfacing feet hit seat?

We've had trouble getting out Marathon installed in our 2002 Honda CR-V since we got it many months ago. Two CPS techs said it wasn't possible, then 2 others got it done. After awhile it just seems to be reclining more and more so I tried to get it more upright but couldn't get it tight enough. I noticed my friend who has the same car and seat had hers nice and tight and upright so I had her husband come install ours. Turns out he used the side LATCH anchors to install the seat in the middle. I know you aren't supposed to do that but it seems to be the best fit we've had so far. He reasoned that it works because the Marathon is so wide. I'm nervous because I know you aren't supposed to do this but I haven't been this comfortable with the installation since we've had the seat. Any advice would be appreciated as my daughter is pretty small and will be rearfacing for a long time.

One other question...when rearfacing, what do you do about their feet hitting the seat back as they get taller? It says to be be rearfacing until 33 pounds and my 14 month old is barely 20 pounds. Where do her feet go since she is on the long side?

Thanks!

I can't give you advice on the latch question, but can answer regarding the feet! My dd is 4 and 26 lbs, about 37" and rf. She has always enjoyed sitting with her legs crossed. She feels comfortable that way and says it is cozy. Some kids put their feet up on the seat back, some hang them over the sides and some cross them. I don't think they need to be told what to do, each will figure out what works for them!
Your dd may go through a faze of kicking at the seat back or crying but this usually has nothing to do with space for feet and is more a developmental stage where they child wants to 'move' and not sit restrained.
C.

My friend has an '02 CRV and I had our Wizard in it this past weekend. I honestly don't see any way to install a carseat in the center using the seatbelt b/c of the way the buckle comes out of the seat. I didn't even try it b/c I figured I'd never get a good install. I installed it using the inner LATCH anchors b/c I remember Papooses saying Britax said it was ok as long as your vehicle manual doesn't prohibit it. Off we went to town, but I worried about it the entire time we were gone, and when we got home, I re-installed it outboard.
I would suggest looking in your manual to see what it says, and then giving Britax a call. I got an awesome install using the LATCH in the center, and I was still able to fit next to the Wizard (and I'm a prety big girl) and I was able to put my other son's BG on the other side. Since I am with my friend a lot I may call Britax myself to see if it's ok.
I'm not sure what you mean by "After awhile it just seems to be reclining more and more so I tried to get it more upright but couldn't get it tight enough" You want a RF'ing to recline a little, and I've never had a problem with them reclining "too much", if anything, it's usually too upright. One thing I liked about having it in the center of the CRV was that I could tether it and recline it more and my son was nice and comfy. In my Durango, he has to sit pretty upright, b/c there's I have to have the front seat pushed back, and his head flops forward when he falls asleep.

You have to use the correct anchors for the position in which you have the child restraint installed, which means that unless the manual for your vehicle specifically says you can use the outside outboard anchors you can't, and doing so can make them fail in a crash.
Have you tried a seatbelt installation?

Regarding seat belt installation and what I meant by it kept reclining - yes that is how we have had it since we started using the seat but in order to get it tight enough we need to use the tether connected to the front passenger seat. It seems the tether pulls it back a lot to the point where there is space under the front of the seat because they are so cushy. We tried a noodle, towel, etc but weren't able to get the seat tight enough. Since my daughter is older now, she really does prefer being more upright as well so we really want to find a way to get it installed without this huge recline.
Thanks for the replies!

reason why?

So I continue to research this but I can't seem to find a reason why you can't use the inside outboard LATCH connectors although I'm sure there is one. I just went out and looked at my car again and it seems the distance between the inside LATCH points is only about a half inch wider than that of the seat belt. Does that help at all? I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed about having this thing installed properly and there are no CPS techs that can check it until February (other than the one who said she couldn't install the seat in the center).

I might have missed something (I'm used to very small fonts & this crappy computer has HUGE fonts so some words are running off my screen *sigh*) ... did you read the vehicle manual? My Escape says not to use the outboard LATCH for a center position install if the carseat manufacturer says not to use LATCH spaced a certain number of inches apart - so I called the carseat manufacturer & they said it was just fine

kmf72 said:

So I continue to research this but I can't seem to find a reason why you can't use the inside outboard LATCH connectors although I'm sure there is one.

Click to expand...

I think one reason (and I may be totally off and imagining that I read this somewhere) is that the LATCH anchors are engineered to be used together as a pair, and when you use two from different pairs, they may not be strong enough.

What Papooses just posted is what I was thinking about. Check your car manual and then call Britax.

From what I've read, the LATCH lower anchors are connected for one seating position. So if you have them both outboard then the 2 on the passenger side are connected and the 2 on the drivers side are connected. But the 2 inboard(or center) appearing lower anchors are NOT connected. So they don't work together. Some cars are now coming with 3 LATCH positions. My Chevy Malibu MAXX has 3 positions, but I wouldn't be able to use 3 seats with LATCH at once per the vehicle manual.

Some manuals strictly prohibit using LATCH in the center and others don't mention it at all. You need to read your vehicle manual closely.

With the seatbelt install...do you have a lap only belt or a lap/shoulder belt and are you using the car seat's lock offs?

Also the tether should be just tight enough that there's no slack.

Hope this helped.

Susan

There is a HUGE difference between Honda not mentioning that you can't use the middle anchors, and them saying you CAN use the middle anchors. A manual *must specifically state* that you can use a certain position (Ford has done WAY more testing than any other company on this issue, and has different rules altogether). Honda does have a policy statement in the LATCH manual that you may NOT use the center position, even if the manual in the car says nothing, and calling Honda Corporate will give you the same answer.

It's either not tested, or worse, they tested their system and it failed to do the job right... either because the angle of pull is wrong and causes the anchors to fail, or because the bars are on two seat systems and pull at separate rates.

Unless you want your child to be the crash test dummy, then the seat would be much safer installed properly in an outboard/window seat, if it can't be installed properly in the center(up to one inch of side to side or front to back movement at the belt path is completely acceptable, the top tether doesn't need to be tight, just not all full of slack, and reclining the CR-V seatbacks, then installing the seat, then pulling the seatbacks back up is a trick that often works in CR-V's to get seats tight).

And window seat installations are not an instant death sentence...rearfacing kids do very well even in near-side impacts, so try not to worry about using the side seat