Question Wizard Questions

[kbud]

Hi all. I just moved my 15 month dd (24lbs) rf into her sister's Wizard. I have 2 questions.

How important is it to tether it rf? I can't find a decent place to do it. I have on '01 Pontiac Aztek. I found this thread http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=373477 and tried that point. At first it worked but then as I tightened the tether the d ring slid off the anchor point and up the seat belt. So I assume that won't work. Also tethering it RF really laid the seatback causing me to have to move the front seat fwd. Any thoughts?

Also the Wizard straps are getting caught now and I can't loosen them. The seem to be getting caught on a piece of plastic on the back of the seat. Anyone have this problem? I had it a few times when my older dd was using it but it's happening all the time now.

Thanks.

 

[Jeanum]

This link from Safety Belt Safe USA's technical encyclopedia discusses RF tethering in depth and touches upon the potential advantages: http://carseat.org/Technical/tech_update.htm#toptetherRF RF tethering is optional, not required, with the Britax Wizard, and RFing in and of itself is uber safe. If the RF D-ring tether connector strap is slipping upward around the front seatbelt stalk or front seatbelt itself like you're describing, then it's not truly tethered to a fixed point toward the front of the vehicle like Britax specifies IMHO. :twocents:

I also want to mention Britax currently cautions against using the RFing tether to pull a RFing Britax convertible into a deeper recline angle because this can damage the convertible's recline mechanism where it won't properly stay in upright mode when it's installed forward facing. Just tighten the RF tether enough so that the tether strap is taut without tightening it to the point that it pulls the RF carseat into a deeper recline.

If the harness is catching on the black plastic cover on the back of the seat, one possible remedy would be to try removing the black plastic cover altogether, or just double checking to make sure it's fully snapped into place on the back of the shell. If by any chance the harness was ever unhooked from the harness splitter plate and then reattached to the splitter plate (like in order to remove the Wizard's fabric cover for cleaning), you could also double check to make sure the harness and splitter plate are properly positioned in between the black plastic cover and the Wizard's shell, rather than having the black plastic cover "sandwiched" in between the harness and the shell. I've made that faux pas myself on our Blvd when reconnecting the harness to the splitter plate after cleaning, oops, and have seen it on a few Britax seats at seat checks, too, so I thought I'd mention it as something to double check. If none of the above seems to help with the harness, you could also try contacting Britax for suggestions/advice. :twocents:

Hope this helps you out.

 

[catfeet]

I had a RFing WZ and an 01 Aztek. I belive that I tethered it around the passenger side seat track/leg. It was a tight fit as I recall, I had to really work to get the D-Ring under the track, but once it was done, it was a good solid tether spot.

I'm pretty sure, but not positive, that Splash also had an Aztek and a RFing Britax seat. I'm not getting anything out of "search" older than 07, though, & I know it was older than that.

HTH,
Ann

 

[kbud]

Thanks for the help. That was the problem w/the harness. I took the cover off and clean the seat and cover. I re-threaded the harness in front of the plastic cover, not behind, oops!

After some work I was able to get the d-ring under the front seat track. It took some work but I got it. Thanks for the advice. I didn't pull it as tight this time so I think it all looks good.

Ann, since you also have/had an Aztek how do the seat belts lock? I put my older dd (5 next week) in a Nautilus. I can install it w/latch since she's under 48 pounds but opted for the seatbelt since I plan on having her in it well past 48 pounds. I figured I'd make sure I could get a could install w/the seat belt. The seat belt doesn't lock when you pull it all the way out. I can't find anything in the manual that talks about locking the seatbelt. The belt did seem to lock into place at the plate w/the angle it was at when I belted the seat in. I hope that makes sense. It does seem locked though.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[catfeet]

I had an Aztek, it was a lemon and is now gone the way of the dinosaur! ;-)

I never had a problem locking my belts, they all just did. I noticed yesterday at a check, though, that with some belts, you need to pull them all the way out and then give a small yank to engage the switch. Not how I was taught, but it worked!

HTH,
Ann