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

If you find yourself bringing home a baby, shopping for a child safety seat for a child that has outgrown a previous one or finding a replacement child safety seat for one that has been damaged in a wreck, selecting the actual seat for your child is really just half the task.  The most confusing obstacle is still ahead – getting it mounted properly.

NHTSA, the National Safety Council and Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body in Arnold, Missouri offer these techniques to help moms and dads ensure that their child safety seat is put in as safely as is feasible.

•   Always ensure that the baby is rear-facing. While the view might seem boring to you, it ensures that the infant will be in the safest possible position if an accident occurs. The rear facing position decreases the probability of neck/spine trauma compared to that of a baby facing forward.  While some experts advocate keeping the child rear facing up until his or her 6 month mark and or twenty-two pounds, there is absolutely nothing wrong with waiting a bit longer.
•   Use the right seat for your kid's age, body weight and height. If your vehicle has leather seats, get a couple of non-slip rubber shelf liners or find yourself a "seat saver" to put under the car seat. It'll keep your vehicle seat clean and stop the car seat from sliding all about. Still, depending on your child safety seat, a seat saver may have the ability to interfere with the installation process, so hold on to the receipt.
•   Read the car and the child seat manuals with extreme care, and always adhere to the car seat manufacturer's advice. If you have questions for them, call them up and ask. Your local dealer might not be up to speed on your personal installation questions.
•   Rear-Facing, Infant-Only Seat — LATCH Install -- Many parents of newborns like the type of infant car seat that comes with a separating base component. The base stays installed in the car while the baby carrier itself can be taken out and snapped back in again at will.  Infant seat bases generally have flexible LATCH connectors — essentially belts with hooks at the ends.  Locate the lowest anchors in the second-row window seats. Be sure the child safety seat lays flat against the seat's bottom and back, in between the lower anchors.  Hook the LATCH attachment that is the farthest away from you onto the anchor. Then, if possible, climb on top of the seat, putting your knee on top of it. Using your weight to compress the vehicle seat to the greatest extent possible, hook the other attachment to the anchor and pull out any slack. If you cannot get on top of the seat, use all the strength that you have to push down on the seat while hooking on the second attachment.
•   Rear-Facing, Infant-Only Seat — Standard Shoulder and Lap Belt Install
What if your vehicle or the car seat in it is an older model and does not feature LATCH? Or what if the car's seat cushions or anchor placements make LATCH installation unlikely? You are able to still do a standard shoulder and lap belt installation that is very safe. First, thread the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt through the appropriate slots, called the "belt path." If you have a convertible car seat that goes from forward-facing to rear-facing, be careful to choose the proper path; it will be clearly marked.

Plug the latch plate into the buckle, then, employing your weight as above, tighten up the belt. Be sure that all of the slack is taken out of both the lap and the shoulder. Generally, using a locking clip will give you a more secure installation. A locking clip is an H-shaped bit of metal that comes with all new car seats or can be ordered from the manufacturer. To use one, plug in the seatbelt, make it as tight you can, then unplug it again while you also hold the belt tightly. Wind the locking clip around the belt very close to the latch plate, then plug it back in. You may have to jump down on the seat a couple of times to get it closed. This will not be easy, but it'll give you a rock-solid installation.

Keep in mind that a rear-facing infant car seat needs to sit at a 45-degree angle to prevent the baby from slouching and to keep their respiratory tract open. Check your instructions to see if your seat has an angle adjuster; if so, use that. If not, a small piece of a swimming pool "noodle" placed under the seat is the best way to get the same angle. Why a noodle? Well, you could use a tightly rolled towel, but towels seem to compress over time, whereas the material in pool noodles does not. If you do end up using a towel, check it from time to time to see that the angle has been kept.

The experts at Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body in Arnold, Missouri, who also serve the people of Oakville, Imperial, Jeffco, and Jefferson County, make every effort to give you a high-quality, reliable repair for every customer and want to extend that dedication to the youngest passengers in our customers’ cars. Anyone who's ever placed their bundle of joy in a car seat know what trust you place in that seat.  They want to help empower parents to protect their kids, whether during daily driving or after an accident.
For more information on the CARSTAR Child Safety Seat program, visit www.auto-body-arnold-mo.com.

There’s Snow Time To Waste!

Winter weather may have a big impact on the well-being of your vehicle, even once the snow, ice, rain and challenging traveling conditions turn into a thing of yesterday. These easy guidelines from Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body in Arnold, Missouri can cure wintertime problems and help people protect and preserve their second-largest investment. CARSTAR is America’s trusted accident center and specialist in car exteriors.
From the salt, sludge and road debris that feeds on your paint and exterior to the scratches and marks that accompany driving your car on tricky roadways, Ol’ Man Winter is hard on your automobile. Just some straight forward techniques from Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body professionals can really help motorists beat wintertime scratches quicker than they set aside their winter coats and get their ride prepared for spring, whilst helping the visual appeal, performance and enduring value of their automobile.

The trick is having your automobile meticulously cleaned out and fixed, getting rid of saltiness and fine sand that may cause decay and hurt a car’s finish, then assessing minor denting that will develop into major headaches if kept in disrepair. Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body in Arnold, Missouri, which also serves Oakville, Imperial, Jeffco, and everywhere in Jefferson County, offers the following tips for removing winter grime.

1.    Give your vehicle a good scrub-down with car wash soap to clear away winter salt, sand, dirt and grime without worrying about stripping wax protection.
2.    Thoroughly clean the engine bay to eliminate any harmful residue. Turn on the motor for several minutes, then squirt water through the entire engine compartment with a hose and nozzle. Spray the underbody of the vehicle and all the wheel wells to eliminate salt and sand.
3.    Get rid of the tar and debris with an adhesive and wax remover. Simply rub it on with a microfiber cloth, leave it there for several minutes to weaken dirt, old wax and tar, then wipe off.
4.    Wash the wheels and tires to eliminate brake dust, saltiness and highway grime.
5.    Restore tires to brand-new finish with a tire restorer. All you have to do is spray it on and wipe it off for a deeply black shine.
6.    Give the car a very good protective coating of synthetic polish that chemically ties with the clear coat finish which keeps the car’s finish looking great.
7.    Lube the door, hood and trunk hinges, locks and other moving parts with a spray lubricant that lubricates, permeates, displaces liquid and resists deterioration.
8.    Get the glass clean in and out for gleaming car windows.
9.    Clean up and preserve the upholstery with a leather and vinyl restorer, that revitalizes the natural gloss and supple feel of the factory finish.
10.    Clean the car’s carpet to get rid of wintertime salt and dirt.

Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body professionals remind drivers there is just one other component of the spring cleaning process. That is examining for external damage, as a result of winter road debris, potholes and icy conditions, which could leave dents, dings and scratches hiding beneath your car’s cold weather coat of gunk. They encourage carrying out a complete review of the vehicle from fender to fender and that you pay attention to any new problems. Never forget – ordinary scratching and modest dents can quickly become rust spots and even bigger problems if not dealt with.

The certified technicians at Steve's CARSTAR Auto Body in Arnold, Missouri can provide a detailed “spring cleaning” plan for your vehicle, including paint touch-up, dent and scratch repair and more, all at a reasonable cost.