Car Seat Installations

[AZViking]

Ok, here's the situation. I installed our car seat base as the instructions stated. When we put the seat in the base, and try to drive off, our daughter's head falls forward and she ends up not laying flat in the seat anymore. I raised the "foot" end of the base (nearest the seat back) as high as it goes, even putting a rolled up towel under it to lift her feet, to try to level her in the car seat but it's still not sitting level (the level on the carseat base is green, indicating the seat should be level) Am I pulling the LATCH strap too tight? I'm putting my body weight into it when I pull (200 lbs) as the instructions state. I'm going to make an appointment this week to have it installed correctly by the local Fire department, so we'll see how it goes.We're using an Evenflow car seat in our 03 vibe. anyone else having trouble getting their seats 'level'?

[vibe-04]

So the level indicator is green, correct? Is this rear facing for infant or are you forward facing for a todder?I've had no problems with my Eddie Bauer in the Vibe but the Evenflow for the Accord had problems when we switched to forward facing. We used a towel to prop up the front and I pulled tight on the latch strap. His head would go forward when he fell asleep and kink his neck.I've done lots of car seats and the biggest problem I've seen is people not properly attaching the third point or rear strap that goes over the seat and into the floor of the deck. It has got to be tight and use the metal "cincher" to ensure that the strp does not slip in case of accident. Good luck.IM if you need any helpAndrew

[AZViking]

It's a rear-facing infant seat (Journey model I think) I was using the LATCH strap, and I don't think I could have made the strap any tighter. We took the seat out to see if we could wedge some towels under the base to raise her feet, but noticed that the adjustable foot on the base had fallen out (the 100+ degree temps we've had lately seems to have warped the plastic and the adjustable foot has fallen out) I plan on returning the whole system tonight and getting a Graco system. We might also try installing the base in the center of the back seat.

[rebbierae]

Don't FLOOR it right from the get-go.....Just kiddin'....

[AZViking]

This is happening from a rolling start. Believe me, I was driving slowly when we had her in the car. I think I'll try to return our "Evenflo" travel syetem and go with the "Graco". The only problem I see so far is, we're past the 90-day window for the store's return policy, so we may have to buy a whole new system.

[frostyGT]

Evenflo is better than Graco, imo. I have had several Evenflo seats, and they always seem to have the best quality and comfort. I used the Evenflo travel system in my car without any trouble. If the indicator is in the green, then your level is fine. It doesn't matter how tight you make the latch, as long as the base is snug.The main thing you need to concentrate on are the straps in the carrier/seat. Make sure they are in the proper height slots, and make sure that they are snug, so that you can just fit 2 fingers in between the baby and the straps.The kid's head is going to fall forward sometimes. That's just the way it is. It only gets worse as they get older. You'll look back and see your 3-year old sound asleep with her head bent as far forward as it will go. Baby's are made of rubber, and they don't get kinks in their necks. Most likely your baby is perfectly safe and comfortable in a position that makes you cringe.Talking to your doctor is a great way to ease your mind on this. Also, most stores can't accept returns on carseats, because it is against the law to sell a previously used seat.Good luck!

[AZViking]

That's just the thing, we described the situation to our Pediatrician, and he acted like it was unsafe for her to be riding that way (chin to chest) in the rear-facing seat. We'll see what happens. I think I'll probably just buy a new base and try to have it installed professionally.Would the base be more level if I installed it in the center of the back seat? I'm not sure if I can still use the LATCH anchors in the center seat location. I'm thinking I simply made the LATCH strap too tight, if that's possible.(sorry, first time parents here)

[AZViking]

Update:My wife got off the phone with the store we bought the system from. Since we're way over their 90 day limit for their return policy, we can't return it. So, I convinced her to let me go to the store and buy a new base and have it installed professionally (I figure, plenty of people have this system in their cars, I must have just put too much 'umph' into installing ours). So hopefully this will solve our problem.The biggest concern we had was for our daughter's position in the seat. We'll be moving cross country next month. My wife is flying out daughter back, and we're shipping a 2nd base to my in-laws so they can pick her up at the airport. My wife wanted me to show her how to adjust the base in case we had the 'chin-to-chest' problem at their destination. Like I said earlier, don't mind us, first time parents. I'm sure when the 2nd one comes (someday down the line) we'll be less paranoid.

[frostyGT]

Found this list of common carseat mistakes. Hope it helps!1. Seat isn't installed tightly enough. When jiggled in the area where the safety belt is pulled through, the chair should not move more than 1 inch in any direction.2. Harness straps are too loose. The straps should be tightened so that slack can't be pinched between an adult's thumb and forefinger.3. Infant seat angled incorrectly. It must be reclined just enough so the child doesn't flop forward, but no more than 45 degrees from vertical. If he is positioned at more than that, he could be thrown out between the straps headfirst.4. Harness straps are in wrong slots. In the rear-facing position, straps should be in slots at or just below the shoulder. In forward-facing position, straps should come through the uppermost slots (unless a particular car seat's instructions specify otherwise).

[Celtic_Curse]

Quote, originally posted by AZViking »Update:My wife got off the phone with the store we bought the system from. Since we're way over their 90 day limit for their return policy, we can't return it. So, I convinced her to let me go to the store and buy a new base and have it installed professionally (I figure, plenty of people have this system in their cars, I must have just put too much 'umph' into installing ours). So hopefully this will solve our problem.The biggest concern we had was for our daughter's position in the seat. We'll be moving cross country next month. My wife is flying out daughter back, and we're shipping a 2nd base to my in-laws so they can pick her up at the airport. My wife wanted me to show her how to adjust the base in case we had the 'chin-to-chest' problem at their destination. Like I said earlier, don't mind us, first time parents. I'm sure when the 2nd one comes (someday down the line) we'll be less paranoid. Didn't buy it from Wal-Mart?

[AZViking]

Nope, not from Wal Mart.

[AZViking]

Well, after all our frustration over the seat base, I brought the base and carrier to the local Fire Department to have it installed correctly. She installed the base in the center of the rear seat, and we're all set.

[rebbierae]

Gotta love those fireguys!

[AZViking]

Well, I had tried putting it in the center, but thought the driver's seat was too close to the seat (had trouble putting the handle in the "driving" position) Also, I didn't know about pulling the seatbelt all the way out to 'lock' the belt. The install manual for the base only talked about using the LATCH (which was why I was trying to install the seat on the passenger side) and the seatbelt with the 'belt clip' that comes with the base.

[chemrebel]

resurrecting this thread since i find it neat and also am using an infant car seat...when i bought my vibe a few months ago, i also took the step of going to the firehouse and having their seat tech install my seat. i have a cosco scenara and have had no complaints. you mention that your daughter was slumping and you were using the LATCH tethers while she was rear facing. i may have misread your post but were you latching the top part of the seat as well? from what i've read, on some car seat models you DO NOT attach the top latch tethers when they are rf, could that have been causing her to slump? i know my top LATCH tether is not snapped, i am still rf with my daughter, and the seat tech said that was only latched when they are turned front facing.one of the other things i noted was that for my vibe anyway, we had to install the seat on the drivers side rather than in the middle. the LATCH bars in my vehicle are only in the "outboard" positions and do not run through the middle of the back seat. i've also opted to keep my daughter rear facing as long as possible, even though she's way past the state required age/weight minimums. my seat tech indicated to me (and i've also seen online studies) that indicate until about age 2 or 3, a child is more susceptible to neck/whiplash/spinal cord related injury when front facing during a front-impact crash (the most common type of collision), so even though state law may give the ok to turn them at 1 yr old and 20 lbs, i've chosen to keep her rf as long as we can. believe me though it's getting tight with those long legs of hers i'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty or be all preachy if your kid was turned ff at the state minimum, that's your choice and far be it for me to critique, heck we get enough of that as it is as newer parents. just wanna pass along some stuff i've learned.but i have sooo many fond memories of riding in the way-back of my moms 78 cutlass cruiser as a kid. kinda saddens me in a way to think i'll be forcing my kid to sit in a booster seat at that same age.

[AZViking]

I was using the lower anchors only for our infant carrier. (The base for our Evenflo carrier had a lower anchor strap, and instructions on how to use the lower anchors to install the base) That was why I tried installing the seat on the passenger-side of the back seat. What the instructions didn’t say, and the car seat tech did show us, was the trick where you pull the shoulder strap all the way out, so that it ‘ratchets’ when it goes back in and can be used to secure the base in the center position. (If the instructions from Evenflo mentioned this, I would have done it right the first time) Also, to correct her head position, the tech gave us two pieces of cut up “pool noodles’ to raise the car seat base to elevate her feet. Again, Evenflo’s instructions dropped the ball here by saying we could use rolled-up towels. The tech informed us that the towels would collapse and wouldn’t be safe. The “noodles” are made of stiff foam, and aren’t crushed by the car seat. Overall, we’re pleased by Evenflo’s products (travel system, swing, and high chair), but their instructions can be a little vague at times.Gotta love the Vibe for cargo though. We’ve made several road trips with baby stuff (stroller, bouncer, pack-n-play) along with our luggage. My wife’s made use of it this fall as a music teacher (4 sting basses, 3 cellos, 4 violas, 6 violins, and about a dozen music stands) in one trip. (The basses and cellos are 1/2 size for elementary school age kids. But still, she was impressed by the cargo space. We do plan on buying a cargo bag for the roof rack though. There’s an inexpensive on JC Whitney that looks promising. It’s also going to be interesting to be driving our daughter when she’s older. I grew up riding in the front seat as far back as I can remember. I can’t imagine making her ride in the back seat until she’s what, 12? (I was beginning to learn how to drive by then, and practicing learning how to drive a manual by 13)

[chemrebel]

i got to wondering about that. when we had our infant carrier, i had a totally different car, a 95 olds ciera (yeek!). we also had an evenflo travel system, god i hadn't even thought of that in so long. we got it used from some close friends so we knew it wasn't in a wreck or anything. i totally forgot about the pool noodle trick, we were fortunate we didn't need them. my kid is just over 18 mos now. have you moved your little one out of the infant carrier just yet?i think the craziest thing i've tried to pack in the cargo area was when we bought a playset for our daughter. the box itself wouldn't fit so we had to pack it in piece by piece and we got all but 2 big pieces in. we also had the pack n play, 5 suitcases, and 2 shopping bags worth of souvenirs from our road trip to mackinac island this summer. and that was WITH the car seat still in place!