Anyone with an Evenflo Vanguard V?

[shannon0218]

X Post from Life with a Babe

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Ok, we bought two convertable car seats so we could have one in each vehicle and not have to worry about always taking it out and putting it back in.
We got a Britax Marathon for our main vehicle and then bought the Evenflo Vanguard V for the lesser used car. We love the Britax, she's comfy in it, it can be rear facing in our truck without preventing the drivers side seat from being pushed too far forward. Unfortunately our now in big trouble dog Bedlam chewed through one of the straps (she did on the Peg Perego bucket too ) so while we are waiting for the new harness to be shipped we installed the Evenflo.
Either we are doing something horribly wrong or this is the most horrible car seat I've ever seen. We installed it exactly to the directions in the book but first off, it's not on much of a recline, secondly--we can't tighten the straps enough (as in I can get my whole hand under them but can't tighten further even when standing up in the truck and pulling on the strap with all my might and the crotch belt sits really funny, it's too short (even after we lengthened it which they only suggest doing for a toddler) and it causes the straps to ride down on her thighs instead of on her hips, it also doesn't have a pad under the buckle. Today was the first time we actually had to use it and when we got where we were going, dd had a cut on her leg from the damn buckle rubbing on it!!
Dh installed it and when I went to lift her out (oh and loosening the straps is far from easy either) and the entire seat can lift up from the back off the seat of the truck!!! I freaked! I made dh leave us there and drive home to get the Peg bucket again.

There is just no way this car seat is safe the way it is right now. Are we doing something wrong or is there something wrong with this particular seat--the seat itself gets wonderful ratings (it's replacing the titan V) It's not as big as the Britax but somehow takes more space and she's horribly uncomfortable in the stupid thing (but I guess anyone would be if their leg was being cut by the stupd thing.

Right now I'm really pissed off and just can't see me putting dd back in it. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the police station and get them to check it and see if there is something that dh just didn't read right in the directions (although I read them too and I can't see anything he did wrong)

Help!!!!

[kaydee]

I think that was the car seat we bought and returned for similar reasons--the straps were just completely awful!

We have had rotten luck with every single non-Britax seat we have ever tried.

[shannon0218]

Thanks Kaydee--this morning she has a bruise that is about 2 inches in diameter from where the buckle sat. The poor wee thing--I just hope I can take the stupid thing back-they have a 30 day exchange policy--but we bought the Evenflo and the Britax 2 months ago--but we never took the Evenflo out of the box until the other day. I just feel so horrible for my lil' dd.

[Throkmorton]

Can you go raise hell wherever you bought it and get them to take it back? Claim is is defective and impossible to adjust the straps? Unfortunately, Evenflo has the worst customer service ever so you can't just complain to them. I would take it to the police station and see if they can help show you how to adjust it. Does it have the 2 loops (infant and toddler) that the harness goes through on the back? It might be in the toddler mode, but putting it in the infant mode makes it better for small babes.

If not, can you afford $89-$99 for a better second seat? The Cosco Touriva is a surprisingly good seat, especially for the price. I found it far easier to adjust that the evenflo, especially rear-facing. It is also really light and easy to carry. Canadian Tire and Walmart both have them on sale for $89 here. After the Marathon, it will seem thinly padded and uncomfortable but for ease of use, it is a good second seat.

ETA: the back part of the seat will lift up and pivot because it has no tether. That is normal and expected in all non-tethered rear-facing seats. You just don't want it to move side to side more than 1". As for the recline, you can put a pool noodle piece or two under the base to tilt it up.

[shannon0218]

no, we already checked those loops. I brought it to a friend who's a police officer certified in car seat checks, he looked at the way the straps sit on her and told me never to drive with her in it, he figured the way the strapping sat on her legs that if we were in a minor accident, she'd break both legs, he said he's never seen a car seat with such a lousy fit-and he was in charge of car seat check points and ran over a 100 clinics. It was him in the beginning who told us he'd rather see a child in an outdated Britax than a brand new Eddie Bauer. We are going to go raise hell and tell them that we feel there must be something wrong with *this* seat, I will go tomorrow as Molly's leg is still quite bruised and I will show it to them. If they give us a refund, we will order another Marathon from them instead.

[Throkmorton]

The big issue with the Eddie Bauer/Cosco/Safety 1st seats is that they have low harness slots, The combo boosters suck, and the 3-in-1 can be difficult to use properly. The Touriva/EB convertible isn't too bad, especially for the price. It fits longer babies a lot better than most convertibles (other than the Marathon, of course)

Bruises? I can't see why they would not take it back if she has bruises. Arg, this is what has always bothered me about those stupid evenflo seats. The lower harnesses sit so low on small kids that I can't see that being comfortable.
Good luck returning it. You might want to see if you can file a report with Transport Canada regarding scratches and bruises. Nothing will happen right away, but eventually, if they get enough complaints, they will review the issue.

[shannon0218]

That is an excellent idea! Perhaps I will contact Transport Canada first, I had the intention of returning the silly thing today but I'm waiting on an electrician who was supposed to be here 3 hours ago adn a client who was supposed to be here an hour ago--I'm not the most on time person in the world, but more than a 1/2 hour late really pisses me off!!!!