When you’re an expert on child passenger safety, any opportunity to share information with the people who need it is always welcome. At Diono, we’re thrilled that our family come to us for help when they face challenges with car seat safety. Our very own CPST, Scott, is always on hand to answer the questions you need to ask. We recently invited our followers to submit their questions to Scott, so that he could step in and help. The questions we received were awesome, so we thought “let’s publish all of these great questions and answers in a blog”. And that’s just what we did!
We’ll be providing even more useful information, tips, and advice exclusively to our Lifetime Journey Care subscribers. You can find out more about our all-new subscription service here.
Salena.mcneill asked
Can 3 of these car seats fit across the back seat of my ‘vehicle’ (Forward Facing)?
“If you have at least 52 inches of hip space between the doors then you should be able to fit 3 Radians, but it will really depend on where the seat belts are located. Also, it’s important to check if the vehicle manual requires that the vehicle head supports be removed when installing a car seat. Diono requires that the top of the car seat be supported by either the vehicle head support or the vehicle seatback. If the vehicle seat back is not tall enough to support the top of the Radian that would make your car incompatible with Radian seats. If at all possible, we recommend testing the seats first, or you can ask on some car seat forums to see if anyone else has been able to install three Radians in the same model year as yours”.
Anwendy asked
Can the seat touch the back of the driver or front passenger rear-facing?
“Diono allows bracing if the vehicle manufacturer allows it. You’ll need to check your vehicle manual in the airbag or SRS section to see if it prohibits anything from touching the vehicle seat back, or placing anything under the vehicle seat, or mentions anything about airbag sensors in the driver or front passenger seat. If it does, then bracing would usually not be allowed.”
Ppottery asked
Booster seats with latches… obvs used for projectile, do they have to be clipped? Because the backseat of a suburban doesn’t have latches, but the booster does
"LATCH use with boosters is optional, but we do recommend securing the booster with the LATCH connectors to prevent an unoccupied seat from becoming a projectile in a crash. If a seating position doesn’t have lower anchors, you can secure the unoccupied booster using the vehicle seat belt."
Mckinneysb asked
Are the new dionos safer than the old ones? They look more sturdy, but my kiddos already have the RXT. My kids hate the padding for the harness- is it safe to go without it?
"The older RXTs are just as safe as our new seats, but our new seats have some safety features that the older seats don’t have. Advanced side impact protection, anti-rebound bar, advanced newborn protection, easily adjustable head support...these are all improvements that are found on our newer seats. Seats made as of 2018 no longer require the use of the harness pads when forward-facing and using them rear-facing has always been optional. If your seat was made prior to 2018 you’ll need to use the harness pads when forward-facing."
Leblackerby asked
Can diono car seats touch and still be considered correct?
"When installing Diono car seats next to each other, it’s ok if they touch as long as each seat is correctly installed by itself. Meaning, one seat’s installation shouldn’t be affected by another seat touching it and giving a false sense of a correct installation. Install each seat individually to confirm the correct installation of each seat."
Jpetkfull asked
How tight should seat be on airplane?
"Installing a car seat on an airplane is the same as installing it in your car. You’ll want to follow the installation instructions in the car seat manual. We also have some videos that have helpful hints for airplane installation:"
https://youtu.be/R0jAXBeHwgY
https://youtu.be/3OEgmIAiH6U
Cougschmitt asked
Where should the chest clip go?
"Once the harness is properly tightened, the chest clip can then be buckled and positioned so it is even with your child’s armpits."
Savannahjscharp asked
How to fix uneven straps on Radian?
"This usually occurs when you buckle the chest clip before tightening the harness. Always buckle and position the chest clip as the last step when harnessing your child. If that doesn’t help, double-check by looking at the back of the car seat to make sure the harness straps are both in the same harness slots."
Malloryorlov asked
When do you move to the booster seat? When maxed out on height and weight?
"Younger kids are safer in a 5-point harness so the longer you can keep them in a harnessed car seat the safer they’ll be when traveling. Traveling in a booster before your child is ready can mean that the seat belt won't fit properly which could lead to injury or death. Your child may be ready for a booster if:
- They weigh 40 lbs or more and are at least 4 years old. Typically, children aren’t mature enough to ride in a booster until age 5.
- Your child has outgrown the height or weight limits of their forward-facing car seat.
- Your child has outgrown their car seat but does not fit properly in your vehicle’s seat belt system.
- The seating position that you’ve chosen in your car for the booster seat has a lap/shoulder belt. Lap-only seat belts should never be used with a booster seat because they don’t provide any upper body protection.
- When sitting in a booster seat, your child can sit properly for the whole ride. This means no slouching, leaning, or playing with the seat belt."
Pinkcherry14
Is the Cambria 2 supposed to have a lot of movement? One connection? Thank you
"If installed with the LATCH connectors, a booster seat will still have some movement side-to-side and front-to-back. This is normal and doesn’t affect the safety performance of the booster seat. Cambria 2 has two LATCH connectors."
Stefbulez
Can the QX and the RXT be touching the front seats when installed rear-facing?
"Diono allows bracing if the vehicle manufacturer allows it. You’ll need to check your vehicle manual in the airbag or SRS section to see if it prohibits anything from touching the vehicle seat back, placing anything under the vehicle seat, or mentions anything about airbag sensors in the driver or front passenger seat. If it does, then bracing would usually not be allowed."
Raising_my_mccains
Do you have to use the cushions on the straps?
"Diono car seats made as of 2018 no longer require the use of the harness pads when forward-facing and using them rear-facing has always been optional. If your seat was made prior to 2018 you’ll need to use the harness pads when forward-facing."
Chelseaa_arteau
What age (months) do you stop using the infant wedge insert?
"For the infant wedge, there is no rule as to when you can stop using it. It’s designed to better position a newborn when used with the infant support. Since children develop at different rates, we can’t really say at what age you can stop using it. If the harness fits your child correctly without the wedge, then you can stop using it."