2008 Toyota Highlander

Can a convertible (evenglo) Triumph go in the middle seat? I installed but it doesn sit flush on the seat. Any advice or help would be great. The baby is only 2 months old so she I believe should be in the middle. I am keeping her rear facing. I dont know if weight is a factor but she is 15 pds. THANK YOU

Hi and welcome to c-s.org! I hope we can help you out. We are always happy to see parents who are going the extra steps in keeping their kids safe. :thumbsup:

I don't know anything about your specific vehicle or how it would fit together with a Triumph, but wanted to say that while the center position is statistically safer than an outboard seat, it is only safer if you can get an equally good installation in either position. If you find that you have a poor install in the center but a good install outboard, your baby will be safer outboard (using the carseat as it has been designed to be used, properly installed).

That aside, what exactly do you mean when you say it doesn't sit flush on the seat? Would you be able to post a picture of your install? That would help tremendously in making sure we understand, and we can also point out any room for improvement that you may not be aware of being an issue, like recline angle, etc. If you register (it's free) we will also be able to know which replies are yours.

I am guessing you might mean that the seat base doesn't lay flat on the vehicle seat all the way across the base, either due to the center "hump" (so the sides hang in the air a bit) or seat contouring (so the middle of the base doesn't contact the seat). Is this correct? I hope you can give us a little more detail so we can help you install your daughter's seat more securely.

Yes it contours so the edges of the car seat are on the edges of the outboard seats. Only the back of the seat sits on the middle seat of the car. Im thinking outboard is the way to go.

Ok. It's a bit hard without a picture to make sure, but it is possible that that is still acceptable. It sounds like maybe instead of a hump like most center seats you have a hollow? As long as you have the seat in tight, with less than 1" of movement at the belt path, and at least 80% of the base depth on the seat (over it, not necessarily contacting over 80% of the surface) then you should be ok even in the center. Were you installing in the center with seatbelt or LATCH? I am not sure if your vehicle allows center LATCH, so check the vehicle manual if you try again.

Here are a couple of threads which you might find useful with regard to center installs, even though they are not exactly what you are experiencing:
http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=89972 - asking about seat tilting to side (FF)
http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=89301 - installing off-center from center

NO to the latch using the seat belt. I know it is hard to picture but its because the rear seats split so the middle seat is flush but the edges of the outboard seats sit a little higher then the middle one.

I have an 04 Highlander and have installed my Marathon there before with no problem. Using the seatbelt. Once you have tightened the seat (I usually kneel in the seat) it will compress the seat down and it should be just fine. My Marathon looks like there is no way it will every fit when it is just sitting on the seat, but once it's in there and tightened it is all compressed down and a perfect fit.