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Where does a car seat go???


LVJourney

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My son is on his way, I have the car seat and went to put it in our Journey....nothing in the user manual as to where it should go....called chrysler...they said call your dealer...went to dealer...he said I could put it anywhere in the back seat. When I said so there are three "LATCH" attachments he said what's LATCH????? Uh...oh.... Searched the net, asked around, etc....still no confirmation.

The big question is...With side curtain airbags should the seat be in the middle? And If so because this is a split seat (in the second row) with a fold down armrest is there a danger of that armrest folding down and causing injury or lossening up the sttchment of the carseat base?

TIA,

LVJourney

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When you put the armrest up, be sure it is lock in place. For the LATCH, good question... there is absolutely nothing in the user manual? There is nothing about car seat?

EDIT: If you read this topic: http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?showtopic=315, it seems to be there, but not easy to find. Maybe if you fold the seat just a little bit you will see it. I remember that it was this way in the Caravan, maybe it is the same thing with the Journey...

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The latch system I believe is the U shaped metal rings the car seat belts can clip into. That is what I use. The safest place to put a car seat is in the middle of the vehicle. But it ends up taking away usable seating area on either side of the middle seats. So I have mine on the passenger middle seat. BTW congrats on your new addition to the family :happy feet:

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I found nothing in my manual about the car seat placement or the latch system. I did find the LATCH rings in our Jurney and there seems to be 4 of them, which would accomadate putting the car seat in any of the three positions. I have no problem installing it (I hope) I just want some concrete answer on which position is the safest for this vehicle. As I said I have no idea about the side curtain airbags in interacting with a car seat, or the fold down armrests lock reliability in an accident....

Still searching the net, asking everyone and still can't get a solid answer...it seems this info should be readily available especially when the statics say that 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Thanks for the help.

LVJourney

When I called Chrysler they suggested I send an e-mail to chryslerlistens.com...I'll try that

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I found nothing in my manual about the car seat placement or the latch system. I did find the LATCH rings in our Jurney and there seems to be 4 of them, which would accomadate putting the car seat in any of the three positions. I have no problem installing it (I hope) I just want some concrete answer on which position is the safest for this vehicle. As I said I have no idea about the side curtain airbags in interacting with a car seat, or the fold down armrests lock reliability in an accident....

Still searching the net, asking everyone and still can't get a solid answer...it seems this info should be readily available especially when the statics say that 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Thanks for the help.

LVJourney

When I called Chrysler they suggested I send an e-mail to chryslerlistens.com...I'll try that

Hi LVJourney-

Just to add my 2 cents....I would suggest putting an infant carrier in the middle, as was suggested previously. It really is the safest place for such a small munchkin (got 2 of my own - 2 year old & 1 year old). The only thing, is, those carriers get HEAVY and may become cumbersome to lift and place in the middle...in one of my older cars (2001 BMW X5 SUV), we ended up putting him in the passenger side because it was just too much for me to lift him up and in every time. Especially with a purse, diaper bag, and any other purchases on my arm. It also came in handy when I had to feed him on the fly from the passenger side. I just had to turn my arm around. With regards to the armrest in the middle - I wouldn't think that it would be a concern as the way your base should be installed would prevent it from folding down, wouldn't it?

As for the LATCH system, I believe, but don't quote me, that all cars after a certain date (2000?) are required to have the LATCH system for carseats. This system includes the black metal "U" hooks beneath the seat back/between the seat bottom, as well as a tether anchor hook in the back of the seat (this is for the bigger seats later on). They are a PAIN to use - but really do limit the amount the seat will move (the seat base should be able to move no more than 1" from side to side). A helpful hint - try laying your seat backwards when installing the LATCH hooks in the base of the seat (and for the anchor tether later on). This REALLY makes is easy to install the seat tightly. I also "kneed" in my carrier/carseat as I was tightening the LATCH belt on the carrier. Be sure to check your carrier's instruction manual - some actually advise AGAINST using the LATCH system (my daughter's car seat now is this case). And, if all else fails, go to a local state trooper headquarters and they will show you, for free, how your seat should be installed by actually doing it for you and explaining step-by-step.

Just another tid bit - at Babies 'R Us, there is a nice seat protector by LionHeart. It has a plastic base and a velcro-attached back portion to help protect the Journey's seats. I've tried all of the other ones out there (I have leather) and none of them come close to protecting the seats as well as these do. They are around $25/ea and can be interior color matched.

Hope this helps - and CONGRATS!! It is one of the most enjoyable things in life...but they really do grow up SO fast. My guys are going to be 3 & 2 in March 2009 (him on the 12th, her on the 30th)...seems like I just had them!

If you have any other questions - please feel free to drop me an email and I'll do my best to help!

Snow-Bird

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Snow-bird

Excellent post :rockon: I am going to check out that seat protector.

I just use a piece of cardboard since I don't need to protect the seat back (just the bottom). It seems to do the trick and it costs $0 and was custom made to fit my Journey ;-)

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  • 2 weeks later...
I just use a piece of cardboard since I don't need to protect the seat back (just the bottom). It seems to do the trick and it costs $0 and was custom made to fit my Journey ;-)

Great post snow bird. Just an update, Federal Regs. made it mandatory for the latch system to be installed in all 2002 MY and newer.

As for the safest place, California Highway PAtrol (from the new child class i took) states the safest place is always in the rear (middle seats if you have a 3 row) and in the middle seat.

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  • 3 months later...

You could always purchase a car seat that has a base that is installed using the seat belt. The carrier then latches into the base. The great thing about this kind of carrier is that if you have to use a different vehicle, like a cab, you don't need the base. The seat belt threads through the carrier and secures the child and carrier. (We bought ours from Graco) I agree the middle of the backseat would be the safest place for an infant, if you do a lot of driving just you and the baby though, you might want to consider moving the seat over to the passenger side of the vehicle. It can be very difficult to bend your arm 90 degrees to reach the child while they are in the middle.

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