Yikes! SIL bought a Volvo S60 and no convertibles fit right!

[mom2kandj]

Please help me before she drives me nuts!!!! Yes, dear SIL bought a new 2002 Volvo S60 during an intense bout of nesting late last year. Well...her DD is making the transition to a convertible seat at age 6 months and it seems that no seats in her price range fit correctly rearfacing in SIL's car. They currently have a Graco ComfortSport and an Evenflo Triumph and both of those seats barely fit with the passenger seat pushed all the way forward. Also, when wedged in the outboard position behind the passenger, neither seat is reclined nearly enough which makes my niece sit too far upright. The seat cannot be placed in the in the middle or behind the driver as my BIL is 6'2" and needs the seat pushed all the way back. Is there a seat under $150 that will fit the bill?

My SIL has called Volvo, the CHP, and I've checked www.carseatdata.org and www.nhtsa.dot.gov. SIL is mad because Volvo is supposed to be a family car and she wasn't told that carseats don't really fit well in them. Now, she wants to make a big stink because she didn't think about bringing a seat along when they purchased their car. She thinks she'll be able to get them to foot some of the cost of a Roundabout. I don't think she has a chance. If she doesn't find anything that works, I've suggested that she get the airbag switch installed in the Volvo and then put the baby in front and have SIL sit in the back. Its not the best solution, but I think that it is better than putting the baby into an incorrectly installed seat everyday. Please let me know your opinions! TIA!


Rose
mom 2 Katie (32 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[rizy]

Is the S60 one of the new models Volvo just came out with in the last couple or so years? We have a 2002 V70 and one dd is in a Britax Marathon, in the middle. I have put it on the side, so it does fit, although, I will be the first to admit that I considered throwing the thing into the street before I actually got it in. (and my dh was singing the same song as your sil "if the seat doesn't fit in it, what good is it? I should just take it back!!") If this is the smaller sedan, I can't see *how* a Marathon would fit, but is the Roundabout considerably smaller?

Before we bought the Marathon, we used an Evenflo Medallion. It was high ranked in consumer reports when we bought it a few years ago, but had reached that 5 year mark, so I destroyed it. But it did fit in our previous car, a 1997 Volvo Vsomething, sorry I don't remember what. I'm not sure if it would have been smaller or larger than the Evenflo she has. Maybe she could call Evenflo or Graco and see what they say?

~Tracey

[Momof3Labs]

She can afford a Volvo but not a Roundabout?? Sorry, but I just don't understand some people's priorities!

Sounds like she should head to BRU and try each and every convertible (well, except the overhead shield ones) and see which fits the best. Putting the baby in front isn't a very safe alternative - personally, I would buy a new vehicle before I would subject Colin to that risk.

[C99]

>She can afford a Volvo but not a Roundabout??

I had the exact same thought!

[egoldber]

This isn't a problem just with Volvo. A lot of medium size sedans (and the S60 really is medium sized) have this issue with rearfacing convertibles. We had the Volvo V40 (based on the S40 sedan which is even smaller) and had the same issue. I had no problem driving the car, (I drive with the front seat practically all the way forward anyway) but DH did not fit AT ALL with a rearfacing RA!

The V70 is overall a much bigger vehicle than the S60.

[mom2kandj]

Not only did their nesting include the Volvo, in April they closed escrow on a condo! Yes, they have two incomes, no childcare cost(MIL and I help out to save them $$$), but we live in SoCal and housing costs are sky high even for a 900sq ft condo. Add their consumer debt and you get a better pic of the champagne taste thing. Please don't ask me to help out by buying them a new carseat...we lent them $$ for their downpayment, I watch my niece 1-2x a week for up to 8 hours each day, I give her tons of tips on saving $$ on baby stuff, but I'm a SAHM and I need to stay on MY budget. I'm tired of her copying what I do or buy blindly(without taking the time to do any research into products) and then complaining when things don't go her way. I know that I make pretty good decisions most of the time, but those decisions are based on myself and my family. I probably should have posted elsewhere, but I still need to be a good person and ask around if anyone has any ideas regarding the carseat issue.

Rose
mom 2 Katie (32 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[Joolsplus2]

Well, there's the Britax Galaxy from www.babylove.com that might work for only $129+Shipping...the adjustable recline might make it work better...it's a lot of money to risk, though, so see if you can find a local britax dealer (it'll be a LOT more locally, though) to see if you can try it in the car.
If the triumph isn't working, though, that's a bummer, since it has a smaller shell...remember, it CAN resting on the back of the seat in front of it....there's no need for there to be space.

My only thought is that they oughta have height limits for car buyers (my dh and I are 5'10" and 5'7" and can put a Marathon behind the driver's seat of our Toyota Prius...with the driver's seat pushed all the way back! a taller driver would have to recline the seat more though, and I doubt it would work for them)..so the dealer could have a checklist..."are you planning to have children? and your over 6' tall? sorry, you NEED to buy a bigger car, I can't sell you this one!"...or at least have a selection of carseats at the dealership...it's surprising how little they know or care about carseats, for the most part :(

Best of luck to you and them, I hope they find something that works well!

[masetane]

you are kidding about putting the baby in the front right????

[mom2kandj]

"If she doesn't find anything that works, I've suggested that she get the airbag switch installed in the Volvo (to disable the airbag) and then put the baby in front and have SIL sit in the back. Its not the best solution, but I think that it is better than putting the baby into an incorrectly installed seat everyday."

I added the part about disabling the airbag, to clarify the switch comment. You really should see how upright the child is in her carseat. (Close to straight up and only 7 months old! YIKES!) For you carseat techs, which is the lesser of the evils? Back seat and upright or front seat with the airbag disabled and correctly reclined? If it was me, I'd be driving the other car where the seat fits correctly, but they both drive with the baby in the car equally.

It really bothers me that they did this bit of nesting without any consideration for a carseat(she was 8 months pregnant for goodness sake!) and now are acting like it is Volvo's problem for not being carseat friendly. FWIW, they are probably just going to get a newer bigger Volvo. Maybe this time, they'll take a carseat with them!

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[Momof3Labs]

Actually, upright is safer than reclined (though not necessarily more comfortable for baby), so upright in the back seat is MUCH MUCH safer than reclined in the front seat!

[Joolsplus2]

Check out these pictures for how upright is safe http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2987&item=2343036600

The picture of Dylan is OVER reclined...so that is NOT the kind of recline you want...upright like Toby and Emily is safest for kids with good head control (not infants, of course) :)

[murphydog77]

About the air bag disable switch, it will be probably impossible to find a mechanic willing to install it for liability reasons (which I don't understand, BTW--they install and repair brakes, which are used every single trip as opposed to an air bag which is used only once). And NHTSA only authorizes a switch when there's absolutely no way a child can ride in the back seat; i.e., if a single mom has quads and must put a child up front in a regular car.

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.carseatsite.com

[lvp49]

My sister and BIL do the same types of things. They are also driving around in a Volvo that they can not afford (and overpaid for to boot).

If the RA fits, there are plenty of places online to get it cheap, ie: www.babycatalog.com, 179.00 free shipping, no sales tax.

Suck it up and get whatever seat will keep your child safe.

[mom2kandj]

Julie -

Can you repost the upright pics so that I can send them to SIL. I always thought that RF seats HAD to be installed at that angle. HMMM, would you consider a 7 month old with good head control an infant or a larger baby? Thanks in advance for the help!


Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[mom2kandj]

Heather -

Thanks for the info on the airbag disable switch! I didn't realize that getting authorization for that would be so difficult. Thanks again!

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[Joolsplus2]

I after-the-fact thought the better of saying just "infant" there...i think I meant "from newborn to the age where they sit unsupported"...so a 7 month old with good head control could be pretty upright.
Here's one of the younger one's more upright http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/EmilyRA.aspx (or you could just click on the pics and copy and paste them, too)
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/adamRA.aspx
and
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/CiasMA.aspx

To tell if the seat is 45 degrees, the red line (that's the belt lockoff on the Britax seats) would be at an exactly diagonal line. More horizontal is too far reclined, and more vertical is safer.

Here's one more set of pics to demonstrate reclines http://pages.ivillage.com/momika/carseatphotos/id22.html

HTH!

[mom2kandj]

She does sit up unsupported so I guess she is no longer an infant. I thought that I had read in some previous posts that if a baby is rearfacing and their head flops forward to their chest when sleeping that the seat is too upright. The angle that the Evenflo sits at is close to Emily's pic. What do you think? TIA!

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[lukkykatt]

You are so nice to get involved in the middle of this! Why don't you suggest that she take her carseat to get inspected? Is there someplace close to you or her that will do it? Let the techs look at it and tell her what to do.

PS: Your avatars are always so great - do you take those photos yourself?

[trinamr]

Hi, not sure if you are still looking for an answer - but I also have a Volvo S60 - also had the same problem... tried to find a cheaper car seat, but in the end, the seat that fit perfect was the RA. One seat did fit pretty well, the Evenflo Triumph, but there were too many things that I did not like about that seat. (I tried about 4 other seats as well - nothing fit in the middle "well" except for the RA). My DD is now nearly a year, and she has been rf in the middle seat since she was about 4 1/2 months old. She seems totally happy, and totally comfy there, and we don't have a problem reclining either of the front seats.
Trina

[mom2kandj]

She has since taken it to get it inspected and is ok(kind of) with the seat being more upright. As for the avatars - I take them when the kids are playing/wrestling! It takes about 5 or 6 good pics to find one that works as an avatar! :)

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)