Question Side to side slipage on rear facing seat

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Helyn

Guest

• Aug 6, 2008

• #1

Ack! I have installed my rear facing Safety First infant seat in my 2004 Jaguar station wagon, and I promise I have pulled it as tight as I possibly can, plus have it latched below... but it wiggles left to right more than an inch and I don't know how to stop that?! I last used the seat in 2005 in a Yukon and I did not have this problem, so I think it is the sporty style back seats. I am having a caesarean section in 36 hours, I don't have time to get a new car! Ack! How can I reduce the side to side movement to less than an inch?

 

crunchierthanthou

New member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #2

In which position are you installing it? Are you using LATCH or the seatbelt?

What do you mean by "pulled tight plus latched below"?

 

Shaunam

New member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #3

Is it installed middle or outboard? If it's in the middle, is there a funky hump or dip in the seat? Also, if you are using LATCH in the middle, make sure that this is ok. Most cars only allow LATCH in the outboard positions.

I couldn't tell from your post but it says "I have pulled it as tight as I possibly can, plus have it latched below... " I couldn't tell from that...are you trying to use LATCH and the seatbelt together?

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Aug 6, 2008

• #4

The car seat is in the outboard postion. I am using the lap belt and the latch under the seat.

 

keri1292

Well-known member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #5

You must choose one or the other...LATCH or seatbelt. Are you using the RFing beltpath?

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Aug 6, 2008

• #6

I am afraid I do not know what "RFing beltpath"`is. I have undone the latch and am just using the seatbelt... Still too much side to side movement at the base.

 

Shaunam

New member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #7

keri1292 said:

You must choose one or the other...LATCH or seatbelt. Are you using the RFing beltpath?

Click to expand...

An infant seat should only have one beltpath.


I'd start over, starting with LATCH. Make sure the strap is straight, hook both ends, use one hand to press firmly on the base and tighten the strap.

If you can't get it tight enough, take the LATCH off and try the seatbelt. It's a bit more confusing because of all the ways to lock a seatbelt, which is why I said to try LATCH first. So if you don't know about the seatbelt install, just write back and someone will walk you through it. I'm no good at explaining about how to lock seatbelts.

 

keri1292

Well-known member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #8

Unregistered said:

I am afraid I do not know what "RFing beltpath"`is. I have undone the latch and am just using the seatbelt... Still too much side to side movement at the base.

Click to expand...

Sorry! I misread and was thinking convertible. When you wiggle it, be sure to check at the beltpath near the seat belt.

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Aug 6, 2008

• #9

When you test for movement, only test it where the seatbelt goes through--not at the other end of the seat. Make sure you just use one hand to give a moderate tug, too. Don't jiggle and jiggle with all your weight. Sometimes people think their seat isn't in tight enough, when really it's just fine, but being tested in the wrong place or too stringently

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Aug 6, 2008

• #10

Try pulling the LATCH webbing pieces parallel to each other.

Also, not every seat is compatible with every car, and the seat you have is known for being, well, less than user friendly. You may be doing all the right things, and the seat just isn't a good fit for your car.

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Aug 7, 2008

• #11

Thank you for the tips. I have tried just the UAS and just the belt, and either way the side to side wiggle of the base is about 5 inches. The seats are quite contoured, lower at the back than the front. A towel does not help. I don`t know what to do....

 

JerseyGirl'sMama

New member

• Aug 7, 2008

• #12

I would recommend you have a tech. help you in person. Contact Safekids to find one in your area.

 

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SusanMae

Senior Community Member

• Aug 7, 2008

• #13

Go here to find a local tech:
https://ssl13.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbza...tegory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL

Susan

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Aug 7, 2008

• #14

Based on the use of the term "UAS" for LATCH in a previous post, I think the original poster may be in Canada. We do have some Canadian carseat technicians here who may be able to help you out in person, or who might be able to refer you to a local technician if you're comfortable posting what city you're in or nearest to narrow down your location. This link also might help you find a tech in Canada:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/carseat/choose.htm

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Aug 7, 2008

• #15

Wow! You guys are good! Yes, I am in Canada, in Calgary, Alberta. The city discontinued it`s service of doing car seat check ups at the local fire stations and now just hands out pamphlets, which I have read but do not help this problem. I contacted the local Hospital and they quit doing checks too.... I have googled and googled and not found any listings for techs in Calgary. It would be awesome if someone out there knew who I could take my car to to check this. Thank you all so much for the help so far!

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Aug 7, 2008

• #16

Oh, and thank you for the links. Sadly the National Standards one says there is no one in Calgary search results, and the other is for the province of Ontario. I checked the province of Alberta`s websites, and it directs me to the same one page hand out that the city gives.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Aug 7, 2008

• #17

I'm pretty sure there are some techs on here from Calgary.

Can someone move this post to the CA forum? She might get some more help over there

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Aug 7, 2008

• #18

Moved to Canadian and International. Not that the Canadian techs don't usually read the Installations and Technical forum threads, too, but to make this thread visible in both forums for the time being.

 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor

• Aug 7, 2008

• #19

We do have a Calgary tech who's a regular on the forum. She should see this.

-N.

 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor

• Aug 7, 2008

• #20

QuassEE said:

We do have a Calgary tech who's a regular on the forum. She should see this.

-N.

Click to expand...

I'll PM her.

Original poster, can you register? That will let the tech in the Calgary area be able to contact you without having to share emails on the forum. Registration is free and you won't have any spam or anything as a result. It's really very simple. :thumbsup:

For the time being, I would try moving the seat outboard, and try with UAS again. When pulling the strap, make sure you're pulling the tail parallel with the belt, otherwise the strap can get stuck in the adjuster. Also, you have a red foot that you can drop down - I believe it's a pull bar at the back of the base, and then the foot will drop down on the end where the seatbelt goes. I have found that the seat often installs better in vehicles with the foot down - but this will also depend on how sloped your vehicle seats are. You don't want to have the carrier over-reclined, so depending on your vehicle seats this may or may not be an option.

A couple other ideas for middle installation with the seatbelt:

- Double check your vehicle manual to make sure it allows twisting the buckle stalk. Provided it doesn't tell you not to, you can twist it up to 3 full 360* turns. This may help the install.
- Be sure you're pulling the tail of the lapbelt parallel to the belt itself. If you still have too much movement after doing that, you can unbuckle the seatbelt, manually tighten the seatbelt by tugging on the tail - start with shortening the lapbelt by about 2" and go from there, then rebuckle it.

If the seat is going to be compatible in that seating location, then one of those two tricks, or the two combined should allow the seat to install well for you.