It used to be that you could expect a metal locking clip to come with every carseat that didn’t have a built-in lockoff but those days are gone. Both Evenflo & Dorel have recently decided to exclude the locking clip on their carseats. Why? Because parents misuse them more often than they actually need to install their carseat using one. In other words, the locking clips were more often part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
I have to say that I agree with this assessment. In the field, I see more locking clip misuse than proper use. Most parents have no idea what that metal clip is for but if the carseat comes with it then it has to go somewhere, right? Wrong. Most of the time – a locking clip is not needed. More on that below.
Retail models of Evenflo convertible and combination carseats now come with a statement attached to the harness alerting consumers to the change and providing information on who to call if you really do need a locking clip. You can also buy a locking clip from a local baby store or even use one that you took off a different carseat. Locking clips are the ONLY component that you can swap from seat to seat, even across brands.
Evenflo infant seats and institutional models sold to CPS programs will continue to come with locking clips.
Dorel seats have also gone locking clip-less across all their brands (Cosco, Safety 1st, Eddie Bauer & Maxi-Cosi). Unlike Evenflo, who continues to provide locking clips with their infant seat models, none of the Dorel seats have locking clips included anymore. So if you’re purchasing any Dorel infant seat that doesn’t come with a lockoff and you’re planning to install the carseat with seatbelt – consider yourself warned. You may want to order a locking clip before you need to install the seat, just in case you wind up with a tilting issue. Read on for more info on that. Below is a page from a Dorel instruction manual.
Now, let’s review the reasons you would actually NEED to use a locking clip and some reasons why you might WANT to use one.
You NEED to use a locking clip (or a carseat with a built-in lockoff device) if all 3 of these conditions exist in your vehicle:
- Your vehicle was made before Model Year 1996 AND
- You have a lap/shoulder belt that is one continuous piece of webbing AND
- The lap/shoulder belt has a sliding latchplate and an ELR retractor (this means the seatbelt has no pre-crash locking features and the seatbelt will only lock in emergency situations like hard breaking or a crash)
If your vehicle was made AFTER 1996 then your seatbelts are required to have some way to lock to keep a carseat in place tightly during routine driving. If you are installing a carseat and you’re not going to use lower LATCH anchors in your vehicle, and your carseat or infant seat base doesn’t have a built-in lockoff device, it’s imperative that you understand how your seatbelt locks. Most vehicles have switchable retractors but some vehicles or specific seating positions have locking latchplates instead. It’s very important to know what your vehicle has and to understand how these features work before you install any carseat with a seatbelt. See your vehicle’s owners manual for specific information on how to install a carseat in your vehicle using the seatbelt. If you have questions, please visit our car-seat.org forum and we’ll be happy to help answer them.
You may WANT to use a locking clip if you are installing an infant seat base with seatbelt under these conditions:
- You are installing with a lap/shoulder belt that is one continuous piece of webbing
- Your infant seat base does not have a lockoff device for the seatbelt
- Your vehicle has a switchable retractor
- Your base starts to tip sideways over time due to the locked seatbelt exerting pressure on the side of the beltpath
Infant seat base tipping sideways
For more info on proper use of locking clips please visit Heather’s very helpful webpage: http://carseatsite.com/lockingclips
Very frustrating information online I cannot find any solution to actually lock the seat beat on a pre-1993 vehicle. All the sites and manufacturers show you place the clip near the buckle but this actually does not solve the problem and is unsafe. The car seat is still lose and why? It is the same problem that was supposed to be solved, the seat beat keeps retracting and does not lock. I have heard it is wise to put the clip at the top where the belt comes out but am looking for more information. Does anyone know how to actually get the seat belt to lock in the case that your belt cannot be locked at all? It looks like these locking clips are not the answer as far as I can tell.
Hi Areeb – a locking clip is definitely needed if you have a lap/shoulder belt in a pre-1993 vehicle. However, you really need someone who is familiar with using it to teach you the correct way. It MUST go near the latchplate and your carseat MUST be installed tightly otherwise your child won’t be well protected. Find a CPS Technician in your area and let them know you need help with using a locking clip correctly in an older vehicle that doesn’t have locking lap/shoulder belts. You can find a CPS Technician in your area here. http://cert.safekids.org/ (click on Find a Tech)
Most often they will not charge for the service but ask before making the appointment because some do. In the mean time – if you have a lap-only seatbelt in the center of your backseat – put the carseat in that spot for now. You should be able to pull the “tail” end of the seatbelt to get the carseat installed tightly. Most pre-1993 vehicles have a lap-only seatbelt in the rear center position and these seatbelts almost always have a locking latchplate – you pull the seatbelt tight and the locking latchplate keeps the seat installed tightly. Good luck! If you have trouble finding a tech in your area post back and I’ll try to help you.
I have an issue getting infant base tight on leather seats. It seems tight then it slides to the side. How can i fix this?
One more “need” situation: If you are traveling to a country in which locking seat belts and/or lower anchors are not commonly found. We needed one to install our Keyfit baseless abroad.
Evenflo went from “use a locking clip on all sliding latchplates” to this? Quite the about face.
Now to hoard locking clips.
I’ve been running through more since they stopped being stored on many seats and came in bags instead. I’d better stock up.
Another reason to need one is if there is a small belt path and a large ”dead zone” or (like in many Toyotas) a large ”space” between retractor locking ”settings.” I ran into this with a Mico in a 2014 Prius recently. (Lower anchors were incompatible because of a cosmetic feature of a bar in the seat cushion blocking access to anything but hook on connectors- the Mico having push on.)
@KQ – good point!
Interesting! I’d better grab more off the old seats at the next Trade In Event to keep around :D. Most of my customers realize they don’t need one after I talk to them about belts locking, but it would be nice for my store to sell them again for those people who DO need them.
@Julie – I didn’t realize BRU didn’t sell locking clips anymore! Thanks for telling me that – now I won’t tell people who need one to go there to find one.