Base not totally on the seat?

[Jenny]

I am posting for a friend -- she was over my house yesterday. She has a Advocate CS rear facing in middle seat (with seatbelt) and top tethered to the front passenger seat track
in her 2008 honda pilot
It was installed by a tech at her local police station. Her 19 month old ds rides here.

Anyhow the base on the car seat is only half on the seat Because the seat is reclined so that the front half of the carseat base does not make contact with the pilot;s seat. It is rock solid -- but is it okay for the seat to sit on an angle. The front part of the seatbase does rest against the pilot seatback

If you can;t picture this -- I have a MA in my garage that I will go prop up in my car to give you an idea of what I mean.

I wish I snapped a picture but didn't! Is it safe to drive like this is the bottom line? Thank you! Jenny

 

[Judi]

I would like a picture. Not liking the sound of that.

 

[wendytthomas]

She needs 80% of the carseat's base on the car's seat. Half hanging off sounds very very wrong.

Wendy

 

[Pixels]

It's not in contact because it's so reclined, so the part of the base towards baby's feet is up? That's fine and very common.

 

[Jenny]

I will take a picture in the morning,
yes Pixels -- the base towards the baby's feet is up. It is like you took a few pool noodles, put it in the seat bight, installed the seat, the n pulled out the noodles and the space, triangular in nature, was left there.

 

[Judi]

Well, that may be ok. Still wanting pics though.

 

[canadiangie]

I will take a picture in the morning,
yes Pixels -- the base towards the baby's feet is up. It is like you took a few pool noodles, put it in the seat bight, installed the seat, the n pulled out the noodles and the space, triangular in nature, was left there.

Based on that ^ info, no the seat is not installed correctly.

Britax requires the base to be flat on the vehicle seat. An exception to this is when a rolled towel or pool noodle is being used to increase recline.

The seat needs to be re-installed so that the base is flat on the vehicle seat. If this orients the seat too upright, then a rolled towel or noodle can be used. The tether strap should not be used to change the angle of the seat -- just in case that is partially the case now.

 

[Jenny]

Here is a picture -- this is not the installed seat but an example of how it looked except this pic is using a MA in an xc90 middle seat. Her's looks similarly -- except of course things like loose latches and open locking clips...

 

[canadiangie]

Here is a picture -- this is not the installed seat but an example of how it looked except this pic is using a MA in an xc90 middle seat. Her's looks similarly -- except of course things like loose latches and open locking clips...

Holy crap. No. The seat cannot be used like that.

Be sure her seat is in recline mode for rear facing.

 

[wendytthomas]

The "installer" (I can't use the term tech here, because a technician's job is to educate the parents and have them install the seat) must be going under the idea that all rear facing kids need a 45 degree angle. At 19 months that is very much not the case. Have her put the base flat on the seat and simply install it that way. It can go as upright as 30 degrees. Probably her child will appreciate it more, and it's safer. The 45 degrees is only used as a concession to a child with no head control.

If she doesn't know how to reinstall the seat because the installer just did it for her, have her find someone else who will actually take the time to be a technician with her (here's a list of board techs http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59135), or she can just give it a go herself with the manual and youtube videos, and posting pictures here for us to see and critique.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuZQp_xij_w"]YouTube - ‪Installing a Rear-Facing Britax Convertible with Tether‬‏[/ame]
(just don't pull the tether strap so tight)

Wendy

 

[Jenny]

okay thanks -- I just texted my friend to tell her-- she thinks it wasnt always like this -- could someone (like her 8 y.o) leaned on the top of the seat and have it flip back like that -- but then the top tether should have some slack in it, and there wasn't any..

 

[mommycat]

That looks way over-reclined, so hopefully hers wasn't quite that reclined? As Angie said, make sure it is in full mechanical recline (flat section on back/bottom of seat in contact with the top of the base) and then install flat on vehicle seat or with noodle(s) or towel in the seat bight. The car seat back should be within 30-45 degrees from vertical; for a developmentally typical 19mo who has typical head control it definitely doesn't need to be at 45 degrees recline and can be more upright. She may not need any additional recline from noodles at all (aside from maybe pushing in the bum area vs the toe area as she tightens the belt to compress the vehicle seat at the edge a bit more than at the seat bight).

 

[Judi]

Where does she live? We have a tech list here on the forum. I can guarantee a better install.

 

[wendytthomas]

If it was tight at the belt path then no eight year old could have done that. Piper climbs on and in Laine's seat all the time and it stays where it's put.

Wendy

 

[mommycat]

okay thanks -- I just texted my friend to tell her-- she thinks it wasnt always like this -- could someone (like her 8 y.o) leaned on the top of the seat and have it flip back like that -- but then the top tether should have some slack in it, and there wasn't any..

A properly installed seat would not flip up like that from someone leaning on it - and it would have left the tether loose, as you say. Some seats can go in without a noodle to fill the gap (infant seats and Sceneras come to mind) but Britax calls for noodles/towels to increase recline.

 

[Jenny]

Thank you!! Great information, I will share this thread with her and her DH,

we live near Albany, NY area Jenny

 

[wendytthomas]

There are techs in on the board near the Albany area, I believe. I want to wave hey from Seattle, but I spent my first 21 years in Columbia County. Ichabod Crane '95 here.

Wendy

 

[zumbadiva]

Thanks so much for all the info. It is my son's seat that is installed incorrectly. It is a britax boulevard clicksafe. I am looking for a tech in the area since the one we had isntall the seat clearly did it wrong. Makes my head spin and my stomach in knots to think he has been in an unsafe seat. ugh. So thankful my friend noticed. He wont be going in the seat until it is in right.

 

[Jenny]

small world Wendy --we are in CC too (chatham) so you are helping your old neighbors here too

 

[wendytthomas]

Thanks so much for all the info. It is my son's seat that is installed incorrectly. It is a britax boulevard clicksafe. I am looking for a tech in the area since the one we had isntall the seat clearly did it wrong. Makes my head spin and my stomach in knots to think he has been in an unsafe seat. ugh. So thankful my friend noticed. He wont be going in the seat until it is in right.

Glad you came by, and you're not upset! In the meantime, why don't you try to reinstall it yourself, and then take pictures and post them in this forum. We can usually do a pretty decent job of guiding someone through an installation, with patience on your part. It make take a few reinstallations and a million pictures. But we've pretty much seen it all before, and we can spot a lot of things in photos.

small world Wendy --we are in CC too (chatham) so you are helping your old neighbors here too

Yay! If you guys can't find a tech, I'll be home (even though I haven't lived there since 1999, it's still home) August 29th for a visit.

Wendy