Wiggley vehicle seat

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hello!
My daughter occasionally carpools with a friend and rides in a built-in harnessed seat in the middle row of her Dodge Caravan. My friend's daughter rides in the other built-in seat. I realized yesterday that the back of the vehicle seat in the middle row wiggles backwards and forwards a good 2" or so. I asked my friend about it and she said she thinks that's as solid as it gets. She used to have two tethered marathons in that spot, and I think the tethers secured the vehicle seat because I don't remember this wiggling before. It seems to me that if the back of the seat moves forward that much it is a problem--kind of like installing a carseat with that much "play" and not tethered. Do you have any idea whether this is a fixable problem? Is this kind of movement considered acceptable by car manufacturers? Do you think I'm right that it is a safety problem?

My friend moved the marathons because her older child grew out of hers and she now uses her younger child's marathon in the third seat to make room for car-poolers with the built-ins. MAybe if she moved the one remaining marathon back to the middle the tether on the marathon would help secure the seat, even though it'll only be on one side? My daughter has been using a Wizard to car-pool in other friends' cars, but I actually just bought her a Parkway because she has just about outgrown the Wizard. With the above plan, my dughter could just use her Parkway in the third seat.

Thank you very much for any advice!
 
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Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I personally wouldn't trust it, but I also wouldn't trust anyone else to make sure my child will use a booster correctly unless I trust my child to be able to use the booster correctly -- remaining seated in the proper position for the entire length of every trip.... My 4 year old only uses boosters with my parents because they have medical conditions preventing them from using harnesses properly; I spent time teaching my daughter (via living room floor role play situations) to use her booster correctly & she is capable of buckling herself to the point that she is as adament as me about locking the Automatic Retracor Belt to keep her in tight ;) A harness is just so much safer, though, that in my car she is still harnessed.

Anyway, I think you (and/or the owner of this vehicle) need to at least contact the local dealer, but I would actually want a definitive answer directly from the manufacturer, even if it requires various phone calls & many minutes on hold :rolleyes: :cool:
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
It would be hard to comment on something like this without seeing it in person. If the child seat is securely installed even though the back of the vehicle seat wiggles, it may still be safe. If the child seat moves around with the vehicle seat back a couple inches or more, then it probably is not adequate for a carseat installation.

Using the built in harness, it's more difficult to say. The worst case is that it indicates a problem that could result in the seat back failing altogher in a crash. Best case, it does no harm. A competent service person at a dealer might be able to help, but I'd be skeptical that most dealers would just brush you off on something like this and say it's fine. Still, doesn't hurt to ask at the next oil change or service visit.
 

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