Car Seat Gurus please come in! Long - sorry!

sunnydays99

I know there's a couple of ladies on this board that know a ton about car seats so I'm asking here!

I am switching my DD (6 months) to her convertible seat.  We bought the Diono Radian RXT for her.  I've installed it rear facing in my car (on the drivers side, DS is ff on the passenger side).  I have used the LATCH system to secure it and it's in there tight at the belt path.  So far, so good!

The problem is the top of the seat.   There is a lot of wiggle room at the head rest - it can move 3-4 inches back and forth when you push on it.  When we were testing it at the store to see if it fit in our vehicle we raised this concern with the sales lady and she said that we could use the tether to secure it better.  We were satisfied with that and went on our merry way.  Now that I'm actually installing it I've come to realize that there is nowhere (that I can see) to actually tether it to.  The car is an Infiniti JX 35.  The driver seat is on a track and there is no where on the track to wrap the tether connector to.  The car seat manual says I can wrap it around the seat belt connection but that doesn't seem correct at all when I tried it.  There is nothing else in the vicinity that is bolted to the floor of the car that I can possibly connect the tether to.

So, my question....given the amount of wiggle room at the headrest how necessary is it for me to tether it?  According to the manual it seems almost optional...  

sunnydays99

Thanks Fred! That's what I was hoping to hear!
I LOVE the JX!! The fact that you could access the 3rd row even with a ff carseat in the 2nd row is really what sold me. We don't access the 3rd row much but occasionally we do day trips with my parents so it was important to have that option. Overall, the car is so nice. Has a ton of space without feeling like you're driving a tank! Plus, it's stylish. I really haven't found anything I don't like about it.

KatFCo

If you're really concerned about it, contact your local fire department to see if they do carseat safety checks. They often do it for free.

sunnydays99

fredalina:

That's awesome! Yeah, I hate driving the monster SUVs but it really didn't feel that big. I can't afford it but liked it a lot.

I used to drive a Yukon and that thing was a beast in comparison! Lol. This is MUCH better on gas as well! Huge bonus!

sunnydays99

fredalina:

That's awesome! Yeah, I hate driving the monster SUVs but it really didn't feel that big. I can't afford it but liked it a lot.

I used to drive a Yukon and that thing was a beast in comparison! Lol. This is MUCH better on gas as well! Huge bonus!

gimmietimmies

Lolonyo, if you're in my neck of the woods, there is still a free car seat clinic in my area. Sadly, cowtown doesn't anymore, but there is one fee based, the techs there are quite good. Tbh, the firefighters at the free clinic need updated training on the new changes, I've caught them giving incorrect info. 

sunnydays99

gimmietimmies:

Lolonyo, if you're in my neck of the woods, there is still a free car seat clinic in my area. Sadly, cowtown doesn't anymore, but there is one fee based, the techs there are quite good. Tbh, the firefighters at the free clinic need updated training on the new changes, I've caught them giving incorrect info.nbsp;

Hi! I'm a couple hours south of Calgary. In my city currently only a couple of police officers are trained to check car seats. Honestly, I don't know how up to date their info is. St Johns Ambulance used to do it back when my DS was born but they don't anymore.

penguingrrl

The top can move around without a problem as long as there is less than 1" of movement in any direction at the belt path. Even if you do a RF tether it's not supposed to be completely tight. You just pull the slack out and don't really tighten (per techs on car-seat.org). I would avoid fire depts and police stations for carseat checks. Unfortunately they're often not up to date.  One near me was recently telling people that they had to turn children by 1 year or their legs would break in an accident

sunnydays99

penguingrrl:

The top can move around without a problem as long as there is less than 1" of movement in any direction at the belt path. Even if you do a RF tether it's not supposed to be completely tight. You just pull the slack out and don't really tighten per techs on carseat.org. I would avoid fire depts and police stations for carseat checks. Unfortunately they're often not up to date.nbsp; One near me was recently telling people that they had to turn children by 1 year or their legs would break in an accident [:]

Yikes! That's what I'm afraid of with going to the police dept. I'm glad it's ok for it to move at the top. The belt path is really tight so I'll stop worrying about! Thanks ladies!!

gimmietimmies

What penguingrrl said about the firefighters and police is fairly true. All the techs in our area have been certified through St Johns, but the firefighters don't do the inservices or register with the national body (can't remember off the top of my head what it's called). I've gotten into arguements with some here (my brother included) over proper use, especially when they've given out tickets for things that go against manufacturer's instructions (friend got a ticket for her Snugride handle being up. Guess who won?!). I know the firefighters that are up to date and not, most aren't. The police have their own inservice they do, they aren't CRST's. The info they use is outdated by almost 10 years.

There is a tech on the Canadian board called Ang that's been around forever and ever, she may know of someone in your area if ever you need it. I can't officially help, I've been waiting for the CRST course to come up for 18 months (and Edmonton is too far, I'm closer to you). Or https://keepinbabysafe.ca/inspections-installations.htm#community-car-seat-clinic and she can help you over the phone for free.

Sounds like though you've got it in good, I've got the same seat and they can be tricky buggers.

Kim&Jim

When we had our Britax Boulevards RF in my Odyssey, we had to tether them to the back of their seat.  The tether strap went from the back of their seat to the headrest of the car seat and then down.  It was hard to get them in and out b/c it went roof of car, small space, tether strap, small space, car seat.  When I went to our hospital clinic she said that was the best place to tether it as there wasn't anyplace at the head of their seats.