MR Rules......

I somehow missed two parts in my manual when I read it. I feel like an idiot, but it was an honest mistake somehow. I think I was just SO excited about getting it & then installing it that I didn't take as much time as I should have with the manual. Anyhow here are the 2 things I missed.
1.) The loops you use for the harness depends on what slots your child is on. The 1st loop is for the bottom harness slot. The 2nd loop is for 2nd & 3rd harness slots. The 3rd loop is for the 4th & 5th harness slots. I had it moved out to the last ones b/c I somehow missed this totally when reading. However it is fixed now & on the 2nd loops as Marcus is on the 3rd slots.

2.) The harness covers & comfort pillow can NOT be used after 40lbs. Why not? I do not under stand why the harness covers need to be removed after 40lbs. It seems like bigger, older children would need them more than little babies, exspecially for a 40+lb child that is FF, right? I am actually thinking they will get removed once we go to winter clothing b/c he will be in heavier more covering clothes, however once summer hits, I see needing them as for sleeveless shirts. Anyone else find this weird? However I would be okay not using the pillow as I have never used any of the pillows with any of his seats.

What are your thoughts on these things? I find the harness loops understandable as well as the comfort pillow, however it is the harness covers having to be removed at 40lbs that I am having a hard time understanding.

When we got Libby a MR we installed it in the parking lot at BRU about 90miles from home. So, I started reading about it in the car at that point until it got dark a few minutes later. I had her on the longest loop with I think the 3rd slot. I changed it to the middle loops the next day when I realized it was wrong.

The strap cover and pillow thing doesn't make any sense to me either and the strap covers is the part that bothered me to. While I don't care, I really don't see what the point is to have the pillow if it can't be used after 40lbs. At 33lbs DD was way below it and would (i am just guessing) need to be around 40 to even reach it.

I agree, but have no answers! Maybe someone does...

Well, strap covers can affect FF crash performance (head excursion, etc.) I'm betting if they forbid it, they failed after 40 with them on, so I'd definitely take them off.

Am I the only one that feels a little uncomfortable that something as small as strap covers was the difference between passing or not? That seems like a fine line.

It could be that it passed when used properly, but didn't pass a misuse test, and though they could have allowed it they are choosing not to, to hopefully reduce injuries when the harness is a bit too loose or whatever.

I don't know that but it's one of many reasons that it could have caused it to not be allowed, but there are other plausible reasons.

Sure, the difference is small. But if you use it properly, I'm confident it passed. They wouldn't sell it otherwise, right?

Besides, many of us would probably switch to a different seat for FF anyway and pass it down. In that situation it's not even a inconvenience, if it's a seat that's only used RF.

I do worry about the parents who don't read the manual though.

If someone has access to a Graco rep, or wants to post on CPSPlist or something, I'd love to hear what Graco has to say about why it's not allowed and all the parents who aren't going to know (or care) that it's not allowed...

I really doubt they 'failed' in a crash test with them on, since there are no similarly sized dummies

More than likely, since the weight limits are based on fancy equations and physics, not actual crash tests, they limited additional items after 40 pounds to avoid the annoyance and cost of doing additional questionable math for cushions and padding.

If my child wants it, I would feel perfectly comfortable making the parental decision to continue using the comfort items after 40 lbs.

After hearing Maedze response, I would keep using them.

My son ALWAYS gets strap-neck, in every carseat. I think it must be due to him being in the 95th percentile! I would feel cruel not to use them when provided.

The pillow...erg...I despise all of those pillows and headrest things that come on almost every seat now. Ours go into the stuffed animal box, lol.
I cannot understand, how in a safe situation, a child could use them comfortably. I could only see it if their neck was literally ON it, making the seat grown-out-of. Anything I put behind my head at such an angle makes it hard to breathe and hurts my neck. I don't understand it...maybe if they were much lower...

Nice observation about the seat ketchup. I doubt we will EVER see our MR FFing in its life span.

I've often thought the same thing, Jonah. How are the pillows supposed to be comfortable where they are They'll just tip the kid's head forward and no kid wants that.

I did take out the infant padding that can only be used on the first slot and put it in the double stroller. Each kid has a cushy ride that now matches his/her car seat. LOL.

That is what I was thinking. I figured it was something silly. I also would not be extremely worried about using them after 40lbs either as I feel that they would most benefit my child after he was FF.

As for the pillow, I have NO clue what it is for in the end. It is at the absolute top of the seat & Marcus' head barely touches the bottom of it. That being said, I might just cut the tab that aatches it to the seat off & give it to him to use as a pillow beside his head for our road trip. Other than that, I see no use for it.

ETA: The main thing I worry about is all the parents who do not bother to even read the manual of their seats. With loose straps, belly clips, not having the harness set to you the right loops & then having the harness covers not where they should be. This could all be bad. However I am not sure if all that is going on how much more harm the harness covers would do at that point.

See, that is what I figure-- that it would pass with them, but at some point it would fail, and a misuse test (or calculation) is failed, so they just say "don't use them." Which is dumb because most parents don't read the manual anyway, but then, they also don't put the screws in TBs... There are some issues with Graco's disconnect from the real world sometimes, I feel.

kidzndogz said:

Am I the only one that feels a little uncomfortable that something as small as strap covers was the difference between passing or not? That seems like a fine line.

Click to expand...

I'm quoting your post just because it was simple to post. :thumbsup:

Passing or failing relative to the shoulder pads is nothing but speculation.

Would I use the shoulder pads? I'm not sure. I tend to be a rule follower... but I also haven't seen the seat yet to be able to evaluate if there was truly a benefit to them after 40lbs.

Perhaps Graco is knowing that after 40lbs all kids in the seat will be ff'ing, and feels the strap covers are unnecessary at that point, so rather than doing additional testing, simply said don't use them. As strange as it may sound, I know many people who immediately remove strap covers because they irritate their kids - and most snugrides and the comfortsport don't even come with them... so perhaps Graco just doesn't think they're a super important thing, but realized that when the straps are below the shoulders it can cause a comfort issue for some kids so included them?

I would be extremely doubtful that a shoulder pad would cause the seat to fail. In fact if I swam in money I would place bets that it wouldn't cause the seat to fail... Harness pads are thin and with a tight harness are going to be compressed. Not really any different than putting on a sweat shirt... and for crash tests, the harness is tightened to a specific tightness on the dummy and the tension the straps have to be at are standardized.

So far as the misuse argument, again I'm doubtful... I would guess it's just a matter of it not having been tested.