Carseat base (Graco Snugride 35) not compatible for Graco Snugride 30- HELP!

sunflwra · November 2011

Hi ladies-

We were given a Graco Snugride 30 travel system and we purchased a Graco Snugride 35 car seat base for our 2nd vehicle since it says it's compatible with the 30, 32 and 35.

Well, we took our vehicles to the Sheriff's dept today to have them inspected. The 35 base has a red locking mechanism in the base that doesn't come on the base that came with our travel system. The inspector realized that the seat is not latching well with the 35 base and when we finally got it to latch, we could barely get it off. He believes that the red locking mechanism is catching with the adjustable belt/latch on the seat itself and he does not believe that it's truly a good compatible match, would not certify it and told us we should find another extra base.

This is the only base that I've been able to find online/in stores and otherwise that states it's compatible with the Snugride 30 carseat, so I just don't know what to do next other than buying a second Graco 30 carseat/base- which seems ridiculous. Anyone else have this same issue?? I don't want to be crazy with buying something unnecessary but also don't want to have a blatantly unsafe carseat and/or one that doesn't come off the base (my husband and the sheriff spent about 10 minutes trying to pry them apart). Help!!!

watermellens · November 2011

not sure if I'm totally understanding your post, but they do make 2 bases...they make one that is only for the snugride 35 and is more expensive (closer to $52) and they make another that is for all of the other snugrides (not the 35) and it's cheaper, like $40.

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2400885

Hope this helps!

JM1977 · November 2011

I know what you are talking about. At BRU, they also told me that the Snugride 35 base would fit the Snugride 30 seat, but I had read on here that it really didn't (like you found out at the inspection). When you look at them, it's clear like you said that they don't really fit together. We really wanted the 30 since it's quite a bit lighter than the 32 or the 35. We ended up finding a second 30 on CL and bought that mainly just to have the second base (it was new but cheaper than retail). It seemed kind of crazy, but we wanted to stick with the 30, so we did that.

It's definitely a weird, annoying problem. You would think they would make an additional base that actually fit the 30. Good luck!

JM1977 · November 2011

watermellens:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2400885

This one's just for the infant car seat that goes up to 22 lbs. It won't fit the Snugride 30 car seat...

sunflwra · November 2011

RachaelA:
Yeah they only make the 35 base. We have had no issues with it in our 2nd vehicle and it passed our carseat inspection fine. Did you get a bad base maybe?

Unfortunately I've read some reviews for the base on amazon that said they had the same problem, so it seems it has something to do with where the adjustable belt it located. I'm not saying that trying a different base is out of the question, just seeing what options are out there

sunflwra · November 2011

JM1977:

I know what you are talking about. At BRU, they also told me that the Snugride 35 base would fit the Snugride 30 seat, but I had read on here that it really didn't (like you found out at the inspection). When you look at them, it's clear like you said that they don't really fit together. We really wanted the 30 since it's quite a bit lighter than the 32 or the 35. We ended up finding a second 30 on CL and bought that mainly just to have the second base (it was new but cheaper than retail). It seemed kind of crazy, but we wanted to stick with the 30, so we did that.

It's definitely a weird, annoying problem. You would think they would make an additional base that actually fit the 30. Good luck!

I'll have to check out CL and see if there are any bases out there. I've also got a 15% off coupon and a $10 off coupon that I can use and I found a Snugride seat/base combo that would only cost about $30 more than what the 35 base cost me- so it might not be a total stretch to do and still not break the bank. Just drives me crazy that they can't manufacture something better than this!! ARGH!!

JM1977 · November 2011

RachaelA:

I personally would never buy a used base off Craigslist. You have no idea if its been in an accident or not.

Just to clarify, we did buy our second seat through CL, but it was from a small store and was new and not used. It ended up costing not all that much more than the second base for the 35 like the OP said.

JM1977 · November 2011

sunflwra:

I'll have to check out CL and see if there are any bases out there. I've also got a 15% off coupon and a $10 off coupon that I can use and I found a Snugride seat/base combo that would only cost about $30 more than what the 35 base cost me- so it might not be a total stretch to do and still not break the bank. Just drives me crazy that they can't manufacture something better than this!! ARGH!!

I know! Even though the price difference isn't huge, it's still frustrating that you can't buy a second base that's identical to the one that comes with the Snugride 30.

skio · November 2011

I think your inspector did it wrong.

It's highly unlikely that Graco would say a base is compatible with a seat if it's really not. Can you imagine how many lawsuits they'd have on their hands if they made such an enormous mistake that put the lives of infants on the line? No way the inspections or legal departments of such a large baby company would let that happen. I'm sure the compatibility has been checked thoroughly.

We used the 30 with the 35 base for 6 months with no issues. We actually prefer the 35 base because the locking mechanism makes for a much more secure install with the seat belt.

The only downfall of using the 30 seat with the 35 base is that you use the uber-convenient leveling feature...because in the 30 models, it's on the base, and in the 35 models, it's on the seat. But there is a line on the 30 seat that you can use to eyeball the correct angle, which is what a lot of seats without levels have.

darmca · November 2011

Just so you know, it's completely safe to use the Snugrides without bases as well. I had a snugride 35 and often just seat-belted it into family members cars. The manual gives instructions on how to do it safely and it is easy.

So really, unless you want one, you don't 'need' another base.

LittleApple · November 2011

The snug ride 35 base fits the snug ride 30 seat. I also think the car seat inspector did it wrong.

Carseat base (Graco Snugride 35) not compatible for Graco Snugride 30- HELP!

Re: Carseat base (Graco Snugride 35) not compatible for Graco Snugride 30- HELP!

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