Carseat installation

hawkilady · January 2011

So DH installed the carseat in my car yesterday... and its huge. We had to put it in the middle (I know this is technically supposed to be the safest but it seems really inconvenient to me to get her in and out) because with the seat actually in the base, I would have had to have the passenger seat so far forward my knees would be against the dash if I was in the car. And I drive a small SUV. We did end up buying the Graco Snugride 35 (it was part of the travel system which we really liked) and now I'm wondering if we should have just gone for a smaller carseat. But in the store, it didnt seem any bigger than the Chicco 30 that we were also looking at. Anyone else had issues with this?

ksyknelvr73 · January 2011

Right there with you. I have a Jetta which I realize is a "small" sedan but I had no idea how big the carseat was going to be in there and how much room it'd take up. We got an Evenflo and believe me, it wasn't any bigger than anything else! I'm not really sure what we're going to do. DH has a Mustang so we aren't even attempting the carseat in there yet.

daniellepanda · January 2011

We installed our snugride 35 on the back passenger side. There is only car seat hookups on the sides, and not the middle seat in both our cars (scion xb and mazda5). It seems to fit ok in both, but I could see where it would seem huge in a sedan. I dont know what else you would find that would be much smaller, maybe maxicosi?

dee1369 · January 2011

Yup. We have the Snugride as well, for both vehicles, and it seems especially huge in my PT Cruiser. Thankfully, most of the time when we go out we take DH's car, which is a bigger crossover but the other night we took the Cruiser and poor DH was crammed into the passenger seat. I'm small so it doesn't impact me much but he's not a small guy! I guess we'll have to have him drive if we want to take mine!

We did my install in the middle although it didn't have the latch system there because the base will not be moved in and out much, if at all.

My installation tech told me this was not uncommon with the infant seats.

hawkilady · January 2011

daniellepanda:
We installed our snugride 35 on the back passenger side. There is only car seat hookups on the sides, and not the middle seat in both our cars (scion xb and mazda5). It seems to fit ok in both, but I could see where it would seem huge in a sedan. I dont know what else you would find that would be much smaller, maybe maxicosi?

Yeah I dont think we'll find anything substantially smaller that would really alleviate the problem that we liked at this point. The only other stroller that I really liked was the Chicco and I already know we would have the same problem (maybe we'd gain an inch or so) but I dont want to pay the extra $100 for the stroller if BRU would even take ours back without the box/packaging. I'm thinking I would be better off trading in my car but I dont want to drive anything bigger either (I'm only half kidding as my car is a lease and therefore fairly easy to trade in but I really like it.)

hawkilady · January 2011

ksyknelvr73:
Right there with you. I have a Jetta which I realize is a "small" sedan but I had no idea how big the carseat was going to be in there and how much room it'd take up. We got an Evenflo and believe me, it wasn't any bigger than anything else! I'm not really sure what we're going to do. DH has a Mustang so we aren't even attempting the carseat in there yet.

Yeah ours would never come close to fitting in a Mustang -- we haven't tried it in DH's F-150 yet but I'm thinking his should be a little better than my car but not I'm not sure. We won't use his nearly as often so even if the fit isnt great there its not as big of an issue.

kimoly · January 2011

Now I'm scared to put the Snugride in my Civic. I'll report back, lol!

Firedancer1013 · January 2011

We put ours in the middle and I am strongly considering moving it to the back driver's side. The driver's side because that way I can get LO out of the car in the garage without having to park outside, get LO out, pull the car back into the garage. But I feel like it just isn't sturdy enough in the middle, that it can move around too much. Anyone else nervous about that? I know the middle is supposed to be the best, but again it doesn't have the latch system where the passenger seats do, and it makes me nervous how much it moves even when installed correctly with the seatbelt holding it.

Jennabug25 · January 2011

I have a mazda 626 and it is a snug fit! I installed it the other week and I had to move the seats up a little bit. It also has a slight lump on the middle seat so its really hard to see baby or reach over the car seat from either seat. I would LOVE to put on an outter seat but I feel like I would be a bad mom if I put it there just for convenience.

myszko · January 2011

We have a Snugride..but the smaller one. We have a Subaru Outback wagon, and it can't go in the middle back, because there's a bump there and the tech said it's not safe. So, the car seat is behind the passenger seat, and it has to be moved forward quite a bit to fit in there. Plus, I have a hard time getting the car seat in and out of the door because the opening isn't big enough!

angeleyes_012 · January 2011

Firedancer1013:
We put ours in the middle and I am strongly considering moving it to the back driver's side. The driver's side because that way I can get LO out of the car in the garage without having to park outside, get LO out, pull the car back into the garage. But I feel like it just isn't sturdy enough in the middle, that it can move around too much. Anyone else nervous about that? I know the middle is supposed to be the best, but again it doesn't have the latch system where the passenger seats do, and it makes me nervous how much it moves even when installed correctly with the seatbelt holding it.

The safest place in the car is where the carseat can be correctly installed. Some middle seats are not good for installing carseats. Take your car to a police station or fire station that does inspections. They can tell you the best place for the carseat.

magdalina.h · January 2011

I took the floor model of the chicco and tested it in our car before we bought it. I had a decent sized SUV and it fits fine.

rosesandpeonies · January 2011

and people wonder why moms drive minivans??? Wait till you have to install a convertible carseat rearfacing.....it is even worse than the infant seat. To be honest though even though the center is supposedly the safest....the fireman that installed my carseats always told me that if it is installed correctly...anywhere in the backseat is safe.

That my friends is why I drive a minivan and why I could careless what people think of it

ReauxsMom · January 2011

Yes I had my carseat installed today (Subaru and babytrend) and it took the professional 1 hour to install. He said this is a common problem with older models and the newer technology car seats (latch systems). I also had to put it on the passengers side for now.

njmoh · January 2011

I'm not understanding why it's inconvenient to get her in and out if she's in the middle

bonnie_belle101 · January 2011

kimoly:
Now I'm scared to put the Snugride in my Civic. I'll report back, lol!

We just installed a Britax Boulevard 70cs in my '08 4 door Civic and it fit just fine! We decided to skip the infant seat and go straight to a convertable but I can't imagine the Snugride being any bigger since this seat is freaking HUGE! We put it in the middle using the seatbelt since it doesn't have LATCH in the middle. With it in the middle both front seats can be put in comfortable positions. If we put it on the passenger side we'd have to move the seat up pretty far. I'd be able to sit over there but my husband would have a hard time. Just some first hand experience from another Civic owner.

Want a personalized experience?

Carseat installation

Re: Carseat installation

Choose Another Board

Search Boards