[Coastal_Cruiser]

I had a woman with a baby try to set up her car seat in my car. The seat used an attachment system I had never seen before. It had a lower removable base that itself had two metal prongs sticking out the back (as pictured below).

We could not install the base, as we could not find the metal bars/receivers behind the rear seat cushions. Apparently the system is called LATCH. The Bolt has the emblem for the latching system on the seat uprights in the back, but in poking around with our hands we could not locate the bar that the LATCH base is supposed to plug in to.

The mother thought she felt a metal object below the bottom of the seat back cushion, but not behind it where the base seemed to want to plug in. Is it possible there are two standards for these types of car seats? We ended up going to plan B and attaching the seat using the traditional seatbelt method, but I'm wondering where we went wrong.

 

[MDBolt]

I had a woman with a baby try to set up her car seat in my car. The seat used an attachment system I had never seen before. It had a lower removable base that itself had two metal prongs sticking out the back (as pictured below).

We could not install the base, as we could not find the metal bars/receivers behind the rear seat cushions. Apparently the system is called LATCH. The Bolt has the emblem for the latching system on the seat uprights in the back, but in poking around with our hands we could not locate the bar that the LATCH base is supposed to plug in to.

The mother thought she felt a metal object below the bottom of the seat back cushion, but not behind it where the base seemed to want to plug in. Is it possible there are two standards for these types of car seats? We ended up going to plan B and attaching the seat using the traditional seatbelt method, but I'm wondering where we went wrong.


View attachment 27532

The Bolt has these attachment points. They’re also called ISOFIX. We have a similar type car seat base (Nuna Pipa), so I can verify that they’re definitely there. They can be accessed via two small slits in the seatbacks of both right and left passenger seats (the middle one does not have them). They were pretty hard to find so we installed latch guides, like the one seen here:

Amazon.com: Latch Guide, Passenger Car Child Safety Seats General Isofix Interface Belt Latch Guide (ISOFIX): Baby

Amazon.com: Latch Guide, Passenger Car Child Safety Seats General Isofix Interface Belt Latch Guide (ISOFIX): Baby

www.amazon.com

 

[pfrost]

Is it possible there are two standards for these types of car seats? We ended up going to plan B and attaching the seat using the traditional seatbelt method, but I'm wondering where we went wrong.

I was flabbergasted when I discovered where the LATCH attachments were accessible from, because I really struggled with it. I know others have had issues locating too. Here are some photos.

 

[vex]

Yep. Behind the flaps.

 

[MDBolt]

Yep. Behind the flaps.

As I noted above - they’re more slits than flaps. If one were to use these regularly (i.e., taking the seat on and off on a regular basis), I would strongly recommend buying a latch guide. It was such a pain for us not only to find it, but to also connect the ISOFIX system properly. We should add this to the wishlist in future refreshes (hope you’re listening, GM).

 

[Mel]

Thank you! I spent half an hour before finding this post. Manual instructions are terrible!

 

[Pigwich]

Traditional route is fine. I'm no car seat experd, but I've dealt with dozens of them over the years. Those latch attachments on that particular booster in the picture are just to keep the kiddos from moving the seats around in the car. You don't really need them, but they're handy. The real restraint comes from the car belt itself. On the other hand, infant and proper toddler car seats definitely DO restrain with the LATCH system, as they have their own belt system.

One very minor thing I noticed (as I've never NOT had two car seats in my Bolt) is that the LATCH buckles leave the pleather of the seat really distorted when you remove them, but it seems to go back flat eventually. So don't pass on LATCH because the last time you used it the upholstery got deformed. It's better.

 

[hillridge]

This thread popped up as recommended after I posted one with a LATCH question. I can close mine if this is better here:

Installing infant car seat in center position

The two outside back seats have built in LATCH points for car seats, but the center seat does not. Installing the car seat in the middle using the lap belt does not seem to be a viable option, as the shoulder portion of the belt pulls up on one side of the base, causing it to tilt more to one...

www.chevybolt.org

In short, can the LATCH points be used with an infant seat in the middle? It seems dumb to not put LATCH in the middle since that is where it is recommended to put a single seat.

 

[milthess]

Yep. Behind the flaps.

This was hugely helpful. Not sure if I'd have found the attachment points otherwise.

 

[2020 Bolter]

One very minor thing I noticed (as I've never NOT had two car seats in my Bolt) is that the LATCH buckles leave the pleather of the seat really distorted when you remove them, but it seems to go back flat eventually. So don't pass on LATCH because the last time you used it the upholstery got deformed. It's better.

We always used a sort of rubber, protective piece over the seat and under the car seat. They protect from this, marks in the seat, and also catch crumbs spills and urine (yes we once had a pool of urine that luckily didnt touch the seat)