Anyone else dislike their sunshine radian carseat???

rebs

Seriously, I hate the damn thing.  I got it b/c it had great reviews and I wanted something narrow b/c we do 3 across in my car.  Honestly I WAY prefer the Cosco Serena(?) we had. I find the straps get twisted all. the. time. And the placement of the clip part that goes between the legs is way too shallow on my 4 year old- I am always having to dig it our from under her legs or butt.  And the clip is super stiff, I cannot open it with gloves on, and there is no way DD could undo it herslf (which I know is not a bad thing, but it would be handy if she could undo herself while I deal with getting her brother out of the car).

I am thinking of selling it on Craigslist.

AZ_Erica

Hmm, I really like ours other than I can not guarantee a good install in all vehicles.  I do find it hard to undo though, and am starting to wish DS could learn to do it himself.

emiliemadison

I tried my best to love it, but I could barely muster like for it, honestly. 

eclaires

I really like ours.  Jackson can undo the chest clip himself pretty easily, which is nice.  There's no way he could undo the bottom part though.

MH installs it though so I mess with it very little beyond getting Jackson in and out.  He hasn't complained about it, though.

Angela814

I wish it didn't recline so much rfing, but other than that I haven't had a problem with it. DD1 used it ffing for maybe 6 months. We don't use it much for DD2 because it's in DH's SUV. I think it's the only way we could keep DD2 rfing and also have room for DD1's booster seat.

penguingrrl

I actually love mine, other than wishing it weren't so reclined (I'm waiting for the angle adjuster to be available in stores because I can't get stuff delivered at my apt reliably). My two year old would undo any other seat, but I watch her trying to undo this one and she can't, which is a good thing. I have no idea if I could undo it with gloves on because I can't wear gloves to get the kids into their coats and such anyway, so no biggie to me. My only issue is that my 4 year old already outgrew it for torso height, but I know she's not the norm.

Angela814

penguingrrl:

I actually love mine, other than wishing it weren't so reclined (I'm waiting for the angle adjuster to be available in stores because I can't get stuff delivered at my apt reliably). My two year old would undo any other seat, but I watch her trying to undo this one and she can't, which is a good thing. I have no idea if I could undo it with gloves on because I can't wear gloves to get the kids into their coats and such anyway, so no biggie to me. My only issue is that my 4 year old already outgrew it for torso height, but I know she's not the norm.

Are you not using it with her shoulders above the top slot? DD1 would have outgrown it by 4.5 years too, if we went by that. But since SK says it's acceptable to use with the shoulders over the top slot, we did for about 6 months before DD2 needed it. I figured they must have done tests on that usage since it went against any other carseat's recommendation. 

penguingrrl

Angela814:

penguingrrl:

I actually love mine, other than wishing it weren't so reclined (I'm waiting for the angle adjuster to be available in stores because I can't get stuff delivered at my apt reliably). My two year old would undo any other seat, but I watch her trying to undo this one and she can't, which is a good thing. I have no idea if I could undo it with gloves on because I can't wear gloves to get the kids into their coats and such anyway, so no biggie to me. My only issue is that my 4 year old already outgrew it for torso height, but I know she's not the norm.

Are you not using it with her shoulders above the top slot? DD1 would have outgrown it by 4.5 years too, if we went by that. But since SK says it's acceptable to use with the shoulders over the top slot, we did for about 6 months before DD2 needed it. I figured they must have done tests on that usage since it went against any other carseat's recommendation. 

While I know they allow it, many techs on car-seat.org are concerned that SK/Diono hasn't addressed concerns about spinal compression adequately, so many techs won't use it with shoulders above the tops slots. Even an adult seatbelt should never be below the shoulders, so while I know SK/Diono claims it's safe on their seat, I'm curious about the reasoning when they are the only company in the car safety world (not just childseat, but all branches of car safety) that allow it. Because they haven't really given an answer other than "we tested it" I made the decision to stop using the seat when she was even with the top slots.

rebs

Do none of you have problems with the shoulder straps twisting all the time??  I swear every second time she is in the seat at least one stap is twisted and folded over in the buckle.  I am forever straightening it out.  We never had this problem with any other seat.

MadameFancyPants

de-lurking.

I really like ours.  Yes, the straps get twisted frequently, but only on the left side which is the side I help DS out from so I think it has something to do with the way I unfasten it and help him out. 

There is one flaw that drives me nuts but I think it's mostly an ERF issue.  When DS sits spread eagle with his legs over the sides, sometimes he kicks/rests his foot on the latch tightening thing and it loosens the strap.  I have to always check it when we get in and out of the car.  

 Since we are on the topic, when we do switch him around to FF do we use that top strap if we have a latch behind the seat.  The directions weren't too clear on that.  Makes it seem like it's only for RF. 

penguingrrl

rebs:

Do none of you have problems with the shoulder straps twisting all the time??  I swear every second time she is in the seat at least one stap is twisted and folded over in the buckle.  I am forever straightening it out.  We never had this problem with any other seat.

That has never happened to me, and I've had at least one radian for 3.5 years now.

bklynbridecesh

Everything you said is true, but I guess I deal with it.  I would love for DD to be able to buckle it herself consistently (she is 4), but she always has trouble especially in the winter with a bulky jacket.