Make Sure That Your Child's Safety Seat Is Installed Properly

If you are bringing a new baby home soon, purchasing a child safety seat for a child that has outgrown a previous car seat, or if you're replacing a child safety seat because it's been damaged in a car accident, deciding on the best seat for your youngster is just half the process.  The most challenging obstacle's still ahead – installing it correctly.

NHTSA, the National Safety Council and Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville, Illinois offer these tips to help parents make sure that the child safety seat that their child uses is installed safely.

•   Always make sure to keep the baby rear facing. The view might seem a bit boring to you, but it will ensure that the baby will be the best position possible if an accident occurs. The rear facing position greatly decreases the risk of neck and spine trauma for a baby facing forward.  Though there are some experts who advocate that you keep the child rear facing until they're six months and or twenty-two pounds, there’s is most certainly nothing wrong with waiting even longer.
•   Use the best seat to suit your child's age, weight and height. If your vehicle has leather seats, ensure that you have non-slip rubber shelf liner or a "seat saver" to put underneath the car seat. It'll keep the car seat clean and prevent the car seat from slipping and sliding around. However, depending on your child safety seat, a seat saver may hinder proper installation, so be sure that you hold on to the receipt.
•Don't forget to read the car and child seat manuals thoroughly, and always follow the car seat manufacturer's advice. If you find yourself having questions, contact the car seat or vehicle manufacturer. Do not go to your local dealer, as they may or may not be up to speed on your installation questions.
•   Rear-Facing, Infant-Only Seat — LATCH Install -- Quite a large number of parents like the type of car seat that has a separate base. For these, the base stays in the car while the baby carrier itself can be taken out and snapped back in at any time.  Infant seat bases frequently have flexible LATCH connectors — basically belts with hooks at the ends.  Locate the lower anchors in the second-row window seats. Make sure the child safety seat lays flat against the car seat's bottom and back, between the two lower anchors.  Hook the LATCH attachment that's furthest away from you onto the anchor. Then, if you can feasibly do so, climb on top of the seat, placing your knee on top. By using your weight to totally compact the vehicle seat, hook on the other attachment to the anchor and pull out all of the slack. If you aren't able to get on top of the seat, use your strength to push down on the seat while you hook on the second attachment.
•   Rear-Facing, Infant-Only Seat — Standard Shoulder and Lap Belt Install
Of course, there is always the possibility that your car or car seat is an older model that doesn't feature LATCH. Or maybe your car's seat cushions or anchor placements make LATCH installation unworkable? There's always the option of doing the standard shoulder and lap belt installation. It is perfectly safe. First, thread the lap and shoulder belt of the vehicle through the correct slots, referred to as the "belt path." If you have one of those convertible car seat that goes from forward-facing to rear-facing and back again, be careful to choose the right path; it will be clearly marked.

Plug in the latch plate (male end of the seatbelt) to the buckle (female end), and, using your weight as outlined above, tighten up the belt. All of the slack needs to be taken out of both the lap and the shoulder for the most safe installation possible. As a general rule, using a locking clip will give you the most secure installation. A locking clip is an H-shaped piece of metal that comes with new car seats or may be ordered directly from the car seat manufacturer. In order to use one, plug the seatbelt in, making it as tight as possible, then unplug it again while you hold the belt very tightly. Wind the locking clip around the belt as close as you possibly can to the latch plate, then plug it back in again. You might have to bounce down on the seat a time or two to get it to close. This certainly will not be easy, but it will give you a rock-solid installation.

A rear-facing infant car seat has to sit at a 45-degree angle to prevent the possibility of the baby slumping and to make sure that their airway remains open. Check the car seat instructions to figure out if your seat has an angle adjuster; if that is the case, use it. If it isn't, you can utilize a small piece of swimming pool "noodle" by wedging it under the seat. This is the most secure way to get the same angle. If you're wondering why a noodle, you should know that you can also use a tightly rolled towel, but towels do have that annoying tendency to compress over time, while the material in pool noodles doesn't. If you use a towel, check it every once in a while to see that the angle has been maintained.

The experts at Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville, Illinois, who also serve the people of Edwardsville, Troy, Glen Carbon, and Highland, make every effort to provide a top-notch, reliable repair for each customer and also want to extend that dedication to the youngest passengers in our customers’ cars. Anyone who's ever put their own bundle of joy in a car seat know exactly how much trust you put in that seat.  They would like to empower you to protect the children in your life, both during everyday driving and after a car accident.

For additional info on the CARSTAR Child Safety Seat program, visit www.auto-body-maryville-il.com.

There’s Snow Time To Waste!

Winter weather will doubtless take a toll on your car or truck, even when the snow, ice, rain and difficult traveling weather become a thing of the past. These tricks from Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville, Illinois will help you remove wintertime damage and aid drivers in protecting and preserving one of their most costly assets. CARSTAR is America’s finest collision center and professional in vehicular exteriors.

Salt, sludge and road debris will quickly eat away at your paint and exterior, not to mention the dings and dents that accompany driving your car on slick roadways, leading us to believe that Ol’ Man Winter is hard on your vehicle. However some easy tricks from Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center experts can help motorists remove winter damage quicker than they can put away their winter coats and get their vehicle all ready to go for spring, while enhancing the looks, efficiency and lasting value of their vehicle.

The secret is having your car or truck properly washed and restored, getting rid of salt and sand that may cause corrosion and harm a car’s finish, then assessing any little dents and dings that will develop into much bigger headaches when left in disrepair. Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville,Illinois, which also serves Edwardsville, Troy, Highland, and Glen Carbon, is pleased to offer you these tips for removing the grime of winter.

1.    Give it a bath with soap to eliminate winter salt, sand, dirt and grime without stripping your car of wax protection.
2.    Clean the engine bay to eliminate harmful residue. Warm up your engine for a few minutes, then spray water through the entire engine compartment with a hose and nozzle. Spray the underbody of the vehicle and every one of the wheel wells to remove salt and sand.
3.    Remove the tar and debris with the aid of an adhesive and wax remover. Simply rub it on with a micro-fiber cloth, let it sit for a couple of minutes to loosen dirt, old wax and tar, then just wipe it off.
4.    Clean the wheels and tires to get rid of any brake dust, salt and highway grime.
5.    Give your tires that brand new finish with a tire restorer. Simply spray it on and wipe it off for a deep black luster.
6.    Make sure that your car has a protective coat of synthetic wax that chemically bonds with the clear coat finish to keep the car’s finish in pristine condition.
7.    Lubricate the following with a spray lubricant: the door, hood and trunk hinges, locks and other moving parts. Be sure to use a spray lubricant that lubricates, penetrates, displaces water and resists corrosion.
8.    Get the glass clean in and out for shining windows.
9.    Clean the upholstery and keep is protected by using a leather and vinyl restorer, which restores the natural sheen and soft feel of the factory finish.
10.   Clean the car’s carpet to remove winter salt and dirt.

Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center experts tell drivers there is one more step in the spring cleaning process. That is checking for exterior damage, induced by winter road debris, potholes and icy conditions, which can all leave dents, dings and scratches under your car’s winter weather coat of sludge. They advise doing a detailed inspection of the vehicle from bumper to bumper and that you take note of any new damage. Do not forget – small scratches and minor dents can turn into rust spots and even larger problems when left untreated.


The certified technicians at Kurt's CARSTAR Collision Center in Maryville, Illinois can provide a detailed “spring cleaning” regimen for your automobile, with paint touch-up, dent and scratch repair and much more, all at an affordable price.