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Seat belts and child car seats


gimpyestrada

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Hey all. I've got a 1995 DeVille (Concours) and I am trying to install car seats for my kids in the back set. We're having a second one so I have to move them both to the outside which means that I will have to use the shoulder belts. Every other vehicle that I have encountered has a feature on their shoulder belts where if you pull the belt all the way out, and give a little tug at the end, then the belt locks so that it can be safely used to secure a child's car seat. My Caddy is not doing this. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or if there is something broken or if they just don't do that.

I called Cadillac and they didn't have any special instructions regarding getting the seat belt to lock. They suggested that maybe I have a broken belt, but I find it hard to believe that I would have two seat belts that are broken in the same way.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

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Hey all. I've got a 1995 DeVille (Concours) and I am trying to install car seats for my kids in the back set. We're having a second one so I have to move them both to the outside which means that I will have to use the shoulder belts. Every other vehicle that I have encountered has a feature on their shoulder belts where if you pull the belt all the way out, and give a little tug at the end, then the belt locks so that it can be safely used to secure a child's car seat. My Caddy is not doing this. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or if there is something broken or if they just don't do that.

I called Cadillac and they didn't have any special instructions regarding getting the seat belt to lock. They suggested that maybe I have a broken belt, but I find it hard to believe that I would have two seat belts that are broken in the same way.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

In all of the Cads I've ever owned they work as you described it,

Yours probably are broken,

Try it again and really give it hell I bet they just haven't been used often enough.

I don't know if you can oil them or what..

I bet that if they won't lock for you, they won't lock in a wreck... :unsure:

There is some sort of pendulum or some of a thing in there or some thing see.

Carmakers had ought to warrantee the restraints and bags for as long as the automobile is roadworthy if you ask me.

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Your belts are fine - put the infant seat in place and then feed the buckle through the back of the infant seat and latch it. Use your knee to put weight on the infant seat and take up the slack in the belt. The child seat will be held in place by the belt - during an impact, the seatbelt mechanism will lock and prevent the belt from loosening.

By the way, put a towel down on your car's rear seat before installing the infant seat so the infant seat does not damage the leather.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Your belts are fine - put the infant seat in place and then feed the buckle through the back of the infant seat and latch it. Use your knee to put weight on the infant seat and take up the slack in the belt. The child seat will be held in place by the belt - during an impact, the seatbelt mechanism will lock and prevent the belt from loosening.

By the way, put a towel down on your car's rear seat before installing the infant seat so the infant seat does not damage the leather.

I have noticed then when braking hard or turning fast my belts will lock on their own and hold me in place, must be something in there to detect certain movements. Caddy has alot of gadgets i guess.

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Your belts are fine - put the infant seat in place and then feed the buckle through the back of the infant seat and latch it. Use your knee to put weight on the infant seat and take up the slack in the belt. The child seat will be held in place by the belt - during an impact, the seatbelt mechanism will lock and prevent the belt from loosening.

By the way, put a towel down on your car's rear seat before installing the infant seat so the infant seat does not damage the leather.

With all due respect - do not do this under any circumstance unless you intend on severely injuring your child during a collision. The above procedure is only valid if your belts are locking (which they do not appear to be) - otherwise as soon as you remove the pressure of your knee the whole infant seat will sit loose and sloppy.

Infant seats must be securly tethered as per the manufacturer's instructions. The above procedure will not hold the infant seat in place securily or in the correct position (it will shift during regular driving) and will result in greater injury in the case of a collision.

If your shoulder belts do not lock once fully extended then you need to use a metal "H" clip at the belt buckle. The clip is included with all infant car seats and is intended to securly lock the lower belt portion around the infant seat. The upper belt portion will have minimal consequence once this is done. With this procedure, you must also tether the infant seat to the rear seat belt hook on the rear deck (if you do not already have a hook showing - then you need to install one). Use your knee to make sure that the seat has basically become a part of the car (a towel or mat will indeed protect you car).

Trust me - I work for an Insurance Company. We routinely hold consumer clinics on how to securily fasten infant seats and you would be amazed at what we see people doing....just follow the prescribed instructions that came with the seat and you will be fine.

Tom R.

1998 Cadillac STS with 102K Miles

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Tom R is correct. Doing it as suggested in the prior post will not guarantee that the seatbelt will operate as you hope.

I think you may be misunderstanding how the childseat feature works. It's not the shoulder belt that locks when you pull it all the way out, it's the lap belt. My 93 Deville has it, so it *must* also be in your 95. If it don't work, then I would say that both belts are malfunctioning. This feature does NOT exist in the shoulder belts, but the lap belts only.

An even better way to install child seats is to go to the dealer and get the top tether anchor mounts. Some manufacturers offer it for free (Ford offered to install it for free on my 2000 PowerStroke pickup). Call your dealer and ask about this. I suspect that if it's not free, it will be for a reasonable price. They may also just sell you the part and you can install it yourself. In Canada, each car since before 1993 has the kit in the glove compartment of each car with instructions on how to install. So, this kit must be available from GM perhaps for free.

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry all, we just had the baby and haven't exactly been checking my posts regularly. Wonderful baby girl and she and mom are doing just fine.

To confirm, I am speaking about my 95's "shoulder" belts. While the belt would actually come out of the "lap" belt area, it is still considered the shoulder belt, because it has one. If it were just a lap belt (as in the middle of the back seat) it would be a different story.

Mine definitely doesn't lock. I yanked the hell out of it and I got nothing. To make sure I wasn't crazy, I checked out my 94 Deville's rear seats as well. They don't lock either. I'm beginning to wonder if it actually not a feature in these Caddies and I am going to have to go with the H clip to stop the belt from going slack.

KHE: No freaking way. You obviously have never had any experience with a car seat. That is absolutely 100% incorrect. Never Never do that. If it doesn't lock, it will not save your child.

I'm going to have to take it to a dealer and have them tell me what the heck is going on. Also the top anchor sounds like nothing but a good idea.

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Sorry all, we just had the baby and haven't exactly been checking my posts regularly. Wonderful baby girl and she and mom are doing just fine.

To confirm, I am speaking about my 95's "shoulder" belts. While the belt would actually come out of the "lap" belt area, it is still considered the shoulder belt, because it has one. If it were just a lap belt (as in the middle of the back seat) it would be a different story.

Mine definitely doesn't lock. I yanked the hell out of it and I got nothing. To make sure I wasn't crazy, I checked out my 94 Deville's rear seats as well. They don't lock either. I'm beginning to wonder if it actually not a feature in these Caddies and I am going to have to go with the H clip to stop the belt from going slack.

KHE: No freaking way. You obviously have never had any experience with a car seat. That is absolutely 100% incorrect. Never Never do that. If it doesn't lock, it will not save your child.

I'm going to have to take it to a dealer and have them tell me what the heck is going on. Also the top anchor sounds like nothing but a good idea.

Congrats on the birth of your child - glad everything is fine. I checked the owner's manual from one of my Sevilles and the instructions state to feed the belt through the infant seat and buckle the belt. Tilt the latch and take up the slack in the shoulder harness while pushing down on the infant seat. It also states to use the top strap if the seat has one.

My Sevilles have a fixed lap belt with the only slack introduced by the shoulder belt. I am not sure if your Deville utilizes the same method but it is worth checking with a Cadillac dealer if your owner's manual is not specific.

Do not assume I've never had any expierence with child car seats - you obviously know nothing about me or my expierences and the comment in your post is really uncalled for.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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To confirm, I am speaking about my 95's "shoulder" belts. While the belt would actually come out of the "lap" belt area, it is still considered the shoulder belt, because it has one. If it were just a lap belt (as in the middle of the back seat) it would be a different story.

Okay, I'm all confused which belt you're talking about. In my '93 the lap and shoulder belts are separate belts, each with their own inertial reels. The lap belt rachets for a car seat, the shoulder belt does not.

I'm going to have to take it to a dealer and have them tell me what the heck is going on. Also the top anchor sounds like nothing but a good idea.

Yes, my 03 has it and it's the best. Just make sure your child seat has the special straps for it. Older ones do not.

My 03 has the tethers on the top and bottom of the seat.

2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide

1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles!

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Do not assume I've never had any expierence with child car seats - you obviously know nothing about me or my expierences and the comment in your post is really uncalled for.

I am sorry if you are offended, but I want to make sure that no one would ever follow that advise. It may work on your car, but that advise would kill my kids in my car. If it doesn't lock, you can't do what you advise.

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Do not assume I've never had any expierence with child car seats - you obviously know nothing about me or my expierences and the comment in your post is really uncalled for.

I am sorry if you are offended, but I want to make sure that no one would ever follow that advise. It may work on your car, but that advise would kill my kids in my car. If it doesn't lock, you can't do what you advise.

That is why you need to see a Cadillac dealer to get it straightened out.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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