Car seats - need opinions ASAP please

Shanny

The afternoon nanny was in an accident tonight so I need to replace the girls car seats in her car. They were both radians but I don't want to replace them with radians since A will soon outgrow that. My questions:

What's the differences with all these new Britax models - frontier (we have the 90 with click tight in moms car - and love it buy man they are pricey!), there is a less expensive one model though?? Same with pinnacle? Any experience, thoughts etc appreciated. I'll be researching tonight and ordering tomorrow. Thanks.

coryandamanda

Is she still in 5 point or ready for booster? And what are her stats?

Shanny

5pt. I think approx 49 inches and 47 pounds.

starfish2318

Let me know what you decide or figure out with the new models! I was just looking up seats last night, both of mine are due for an upgrade.

coryandamanda

I don't know about the other new models but we have the Britax Pioneer and A will still be fit in the 5 pt for a bit longer and she is 48" and 48 lbs. It is a bit smaller than the others so I think any of them would work for her for a bit longer for 5 pt.

mel

If I had room in my car, I'd have mine in Britax Frontiers.

Shanny

I went with the Pioneer. They were about 1/2 the price as the frontier with click tight. We do t really need the click right since I'm the only one that installs them. They should be here on Tuesday so yay!

Lookingfor2

Britax. They make some super 5 point harnessed Seats that can rear face and can also turn around and accommodate kids 80-100lbs. 5pt harness is much much safer than a booster

Zen

Hope the car seats came in and everyone is happy with them. I went with the pioneer also – and for the same reason. The cost difference between the pioneer and the frontier seemed rather exorbitant with no great benefit to the more expensive model. Many thanks again to Cory and Amanda for introducing me to Britax!

Shanny

I've had to install them twice already and lets just say I wish I had shelled out for the click tight! It isn't horrible but the click tight is amazing and almost impossible to get a less then stellar install every time.

palegreen

I have one of each. We use the frontier in my car since that's the one that gets shuffled around the most. The pioneer is in DP's car and it has only been uninstalled once (when G got car sick the other day). I'm a huge fan of the click tight!!!

coryandamanda

I find the Pioneer to be a cinch to install. But I have no experience with click tight. I guess that is a good thing so I don know what I am missing out on

Shanny

^yes, it's kind of like seat belt vs latch. If all you have ever known is seat belt installs then it is what it is. But once you've used latch, seat belt seems archaic

Zen

I know that after a certain weight you're supposed to use the seatbelt without the latches. And the seat should not move more than 1/4" after install. Without the latches, I can't get the seat that secure no matter what I do. So despite the fact that using the latch with the seatbelt has not been fully tested for stress points, I use both. The seat belt for primary protection in an accident. The latches for stability when the driver (me!) randomly hits the brakes in response to other inattentive Florida drivers!

TheOtherLovingMoms

In some states if car seats are not properly installed and you are in an accident your insurance will not pay to replace them.

Shanny

Zen that is absolutely not ok! Please tell me what seat you have and hopefully can help you to get her restrained properly. In the meantime please just use latch and info the seatbelt. It is t doing you any good that way.

Shanny

Zen I just re read your response. You should NEVER regardless of weight use the latch and seatbelt simultaneously. Again, please just use the latch, tell me the car seat, the car and child's weight.

mel

Actually, I am pretty sure Shiloh is too heavy for LATCH installation. But yeah, you are not supposed to use both. Are you getting into the seat and bouncing so that you can get it extra tight? That is what I have to do with my Radians, which are a total pain to install. I am a heavy person and I jump with all I can to squish the seat down while pulling the belt tight. I know I look silly when I do it but it works!

Shanny

Mel - I don't doubt you are right at all but given the options I feel latch with a little more weight is better that using both or a bad seat belt install, just until I could get a sense of how to help her install it better with the belt only.

TheOtherLovingMoms

You could also find your nearest certified car seat technician and call to get an appointment with them to get it properly installed. We took ours up to our local fire department. They have 2 certified car seat techs up there.

Zen

Britax Pioneer
Mazda CX-7
Child 46-47 pounds

curlyhdqt

I have a 2005 Honda CR-V and a Diono Rainier. I had the hardest and most frustrating time trying to get a tight install in my car with this particular seat, so I resorted to looking up tips online. At 10 months and 24 lbs. my son is of course still rear facing, so I'm not sure if these same tips that work for me will work for you if you are doing forward facing. I first recline the back seat, which it looks like is possible with the mazda cx-7. Then I install the seat, then move the front seat all the way forward and squeeze in behind the car seat pressing my chest up against it, pull the latch belt or seat belt while moving the seat from side to side. Once I get a tight install, I pull the back seat back to its original position. I can get such a tight install just getting behind the seat moving it side to side while pulling the strap, that reclining the seat isnt really necessary, I just like it for the added assurance. His seat is so tight I can't get it to move at all when I push/pull as hard as I can. Again, thats rear facing, but it might still be possible forward facing too.

Zen

I may look into where to fine a certified installer. It's like my seat belts don't lock tight unless I hit the brakes. So when just driving it's loose. In the case of the car seat, without the latch it moves more than the kid would if sitting solo!

mel

It is not installed correctly with the belt, then. Does it do that even if you the belt all the way out first? I have to pull mine all the way out until it clicks, then get rid of the slack. Then it's locked.

This site has more info, and there are plenty of others that can help, too: http://www.carseatsite.com/lockingclips.htm

Shanny

Yes, Mel is correct. If seat-belts lock (all do since 90 something, I can't remember exact year) you need to pull it all the way out. Have one of the kids hold that for you while you weave it through the correct parts of the seat and click it in. Take the end the child is holding from them and slowly let the slack retract back into the seat. Get into the seat on your knees and remove ALL slack by pulling the shoulder belt part from the lap part where it is clicked into the buckle. I know I'm not doing a good job of explaining it but I am 100% certain that you can get your belt to lock and you should be able to get more help from your car seat manual. And you just know there is a video online too.

Flowergirl

Actually, just FYI, that install method is not recommended for most car seats! You should not have to put your knees in the seat or use your full weight in the seat to install!! You can compromise your seat when you do that! There are a few carseats that do allow it if you are having trouble getting a tight fit, but generally it is not recommended. Car seat is tight enough once you use your NON dominant hand to wiggle the seat ONLY at the belt path and there is less than 1" of movement, using only the force of a firm handshake. I HIGHLY recommend joining car seats for the littles on FB - it's run completely by certified techs all over the country and has a wealth of information.

And no, ABSOLUTELY never use both the latch and the seatbelt, Zen!

I edited this from my original post because I found that, while basically it should rarely be necessary, using your knees to install is allowed if necessary for a Diono, although the tech said in over a thousand installs, she only ever did that once and the seat was deemed incompatible with the vehicle without an angel adjustor at that point. The safest place for your car seat is wherever you can get a proper install, so if the install isn't correct in the middle seat, your child is safer in the outboard seat if you can get it tighter. The techs also pointed out that the CArseat lady is a very petite lady and only about 110 pounds, so her using a knee and a 200+ lb person using their full body weight is a completely different thing. I commented originally because I thought it was very important not to be putting information out on such a public random traffic/views site that could potentially cause serious harm to a child. I'm editing and leaving my post now for the same reason. Also, think of the constant strain on your seatbelt from having that seat so overly tightened down all the time...

mel

I would love to see you install a Radian in the center seat of my Honda CR-V without putting any weight into the seat. Good luck getting any kind of tight install!

Obviously you should know your seat well, put the weight in the right place, and be careful with different seats. Is it possible to break a seat? Yeah, if you do it wrong. Am I going to break my steel frame Radian by squishing it down over the uneven seat of my car? Not a chance. Here are some sites that say a knee in the seat is fine:

http://thecarseatlady.com/forward-facing-installation-tips-and-tricks-2/

http://www.carseatsite.com/installing_your_car_seat.htm

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/auto.html#

http://www.babycenter.com/0_installing-a-car-seat_9458.bc

http://www.carseatsmadesimple.org/install.cfm?FSID=266

ok, so you could say anything could be printed online, and ALL of those sites are wrong. So, the best source is the manufacturer, right? Here you go:

From Safety 1st, about how to install their car seats: http://safety1st.djgusa.com/article/AllSite/en/CarSeats/ConvertibleSeatIT

from Graco, in the Nautilus (another great seat I've had) manual: http://download.gracobaby.com/ProductInstructionManuals/PD101777C.pdf

From Diono, about how to install my particular seat: http://server.diono.com/helpspot/index.php?pg=kb.printer.friendly&id=1

and here it is **in the car seat instruction manual** https://www.healthchecksystems.com/global/PDF/27677.PDF

and in another manual, this time for the model of seat I have: http://nz.diono.com/docs/retired-seats/RadianXTSL-Manual-EN.pdf

So, my car seat manufacturer recommends it and has done so for years. I'm pretty sure it's okay to follow their instructions.

Flowergirl

Mel, I'm glad you posted these! *I'll ignore the snarky attitude - because car seat safety is huge in my book, and it's ALL about the kids' safety and not about which Mom thinks she knows the most. Anyway, I am very interested to see what all the certified car seat techs on the car seat site have to say about this. They make a HUGE deal about this very issue. Obviously, there are probably many less expensive seats that this would not be safe for (I am not small, but not overly huge either and would never consider putting my full weight in a car seat normally) but it is very obviously instructed for Dionos. I don't have one, because I don't personally like them, but I know they're a very good seat! Your're right, I'm not sure how you could hurt that seat, even if you rode in it! The CARSEAT lady shouldn't be passing on incorrect info, but I do know awhile ago there was an aftermarket product she supposedly was endorsing and even had linked to her site to purchase, which are all said to be unsafe by the manufacturers. Many had emailed her to ask about it I guess and she didn't respond. I'm going to ask on that site now because I really want to know where their info against it Comes from! And I'll have your links to share if they ask.

Flowergirl

I asked and am waiting for a response. I def want to know so I know if I'm not installing correctly. I want to make sure it's as safe as possible! We currently have a Nextfit and the installation is a complete breeze, but if I'm doing it wrong, I want to know immediately!!

Flowergirl

And in that new of a vehicle, like Shanny said, your seat belts should def pull out to lock fully and if not, there's either something wrong with it, or if that seatbelt simply doesn't lock, you can use a locking clip or you'll have to use a different place in the car. The ONLY time you can use both seatbelt and latch, is if you're using a booster seat AS A booster where the child is restrained with the seatbelt, and the latches can then be used if you wish to simply keep the seat in the proper position for getting in and out and restraining it when the child isn't in it. She's def too heavy for latch. You need to figure out the correct seatbelt install before you drive with her again! Either of the other options you have been using/given right now is dangerous for her.

Shanny

I can really see both sides to this. Since Zen was already having issues and clearly is not an expert I thought it best to tell her about using the extra weight so that she felt she would get a good install. I suspect that the honest truth is that IF we took a technician course we would learn techniques that would allow us to get an awesome install every time with every seat in every car. But alas, that's not the group we are in. I'm hoping to take the course some time this year so I will let you know if that is actually the case .

As far as the whole "firm handshake with your non dominant hand" - I know that's what they say but I just can't see why I want to drive around like that when I can work to get a 100% movement free install.

As far as car seats for the Littles FB page...I'm also a member and at some point had to hide the page. There's a lot of great advice but there's also a lot of drama and know it alls!!