[ESjogren]

Hello,

We are having a problem installing our daughter's car seat in our '04 Rav, so I thought I'd ask if anyone else has struggled with this too.

It's one of the combo car seats (an Alpha Omega Elite, specifically) and we're needing to install it in the rear-facing configuration for now. It will not fit in the center, so must go to one side. When we install and then level the car seat properly, it leans so far back that the front passenger seat of the vehicle has to be completely forward - it's then unusable for seating. I know that the back seat area of the '04 Rav is pretty small, but I simply cannot believe that a person is unable to have a child's car seat back there! I made enquiries and all car seats are more or less the same size, so returning this one for a smaller model is not an option.

If you have advice as to how we can get the car seat in but still be able to have an adult sit in the front seat, we'd sure appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Elizabeth

 

[Bluenoser]

Hi Liz
Welcome to R4W
I haven't had a rear facing seat in my 4.2 yet but expect to soon.....newest g-son is 4 months old. But I've had one in my 4.1 RAV for both previous g-sons, and it's a smaller area in the back of the 4.1 and there were no problems......except maybe leaning the back of the front seat a bit more upright than usual.....
How long have you had the 4.2......I presume you know the rear seats are on sliders and can be slid to the rear to make lots of leg room (at least for average ppl) and I'm sure for a rear facing b-seat. Unless there is something different in the Elite, I don't know what else to suggest..........but will follow this thread with interest!

I can tell you that the back seat of the RAVs, 4.1 & 4.2, is a real challenge for two b-seats and an adult. Because of the bolsters the centre pos'n is useless for a b-seat, as you found out. When moved to the outside positions, the bolsters tilt the b-seats inward and still leave little room in the middle for an adult.
My problem soon will be 2 b-seats and a booster seat in the rear. It's going to be tight with the wide base on most b-seats. I'm going to have to use blocks of foam or something to level the rear seat to stop the tilt factor......... :roll:

Good luck!!!

 

[ESjogren]

Thanks for your reply and your suggestions/info, Jim. I'm pretty certain I have the back seats slid back as far as they go, but will double check that I pushed them all the way. The salesperson was adamant that all of the combo car seats are the same size, but I think I will go back to the store and look for myself, as it seems to me that this car seat needs to be tilted backwards an awfully long way in order to be level - perhaps a different model wouldn't need to be tilted so far and that would resolve my problem with the front seat of the vehicle.

Thanks again for your assistance.

Elizabeth

 

[Bluenoser]

Hi again
Trust me, I'm no expert on b-seats, things were different 33 yrs ago....... :roll: , but are they supposed to be level when in the rear facing pos'n???........... for infants I presume. My son and his wife are pretty particular about how the seats are mounted and I don't recall them ever having this infant in the level position or the other two previous ones either (they're 4 and 6 now). The head and chest were always somewhat elevated.....

 

[ESjogren]

Yep, you're absolutely right, Jim. By "level", I meant the markings on the side of the seat (the baby ends up reclined slightly). The manual is insistant that the markings on the side be level with horizontal ground - when we do that, the darn seat is tipped far enough back to cause a conflict with the front passenger seat (even with that seat tipped upright and moved up).

I think we have decided that the resolution to our problem is not to resolve it. :shrug: Our daughter will continue to use her rear-facing bucket seat (which fits very well in our Rav) until she is big enough to use this new seat in its front-facing orientation. She can legally use her bucket seat until she's three inches taller - we'd simply wanted to move her into her new seat now (in its rear-facing orientation) because we thought it looked like a more comfortable seat than her existing one.

Cheers,

Elizabeth

 

[devilgirl829]

Hello there,
I am having similar issues with my little one now. Did you find any resolve to the backseat and front seat position? I know by now your little one will be in a forward facing seat and this is old news to you!
I can position our seat in the middle of our 05, but it gets loose over time. When we put on the passenger side, we have the same issue, the front seat has to be too far forward for comfort. Pain in the butt if you ask me!
Just wanted to know if you were able to find any solutions, if you contacted Toyota, etc.?

 

[firedog]

carseat woes

When my little girl was facing rearward I mounted the seat in the middle. All you do is use the innermost childseat mounts on the rav4. In otherwords, you know how the right and left rear seat have the two mounts in the crack of the seat...well just use the innermost ones to tether your carseat in. Hope this helps.