CPSTs can contact Daniella@uppababy.com for assistance with the “waterfall fix.”
These set of images from UPPAbaby provides the steps to check to insure proper application of this technique.
The following is an excerpt from Safe Ride News (July/August 2021), in which an article described this issue and solution. Since its publication, UPPAbaby has launched other versions of Mesa; these instructions apply to other versions, as well. (Also, find an UPPAbaby instruction sheet for this technique on the company’s website by clicking here):
UPPAbaby has developed a fix for a problem it has identified in which the Mesa’s base rises off the front edge of certain vehicle seat cushions. This problem occurs specifically when Mesa is installed in vehicles with seats that have what’s called a waterfall (aka bight-line waterfall, tootsie roll, or butt chamfer). This seating design has a curved or angular cushion segment over the bight, so the seating cushion and seatback do not meet at a right angle. (2024 Update: A waterfall is illustrated in UPPAbaby’s instruction sheet, linked above, and in current owner’s manuals). The interaction of the Mesa base with this waterfall feature forces the non-belt-path end of the base to rise upward, so it hovers off the front edge of the vehicle seat cushion rather than making proper contact.
UPPAbaby’s fix for this problem is to place a rolled, medium-sized towel between the belt-path end of the Mesa base and the vehicle seatback before installing the base. The towel, which fills the gap formed between the base and the seatback, presses against the base during installation so the base is levered downward to make contact with the seat cushion properly. A full-sized bath towel is typically too large for this fix, but a hand towel, folded in half lengthwise and rolled, works well in most cases.
This technique is recommended only by UPPAbaby for Mesa CRs; it is not needed in every instance where a waterfall seating feature is present. To determine when it is appropriate, CPSTs and Mesa owners should check for a gap between the belt-path end of the CR base and the seatback and, especially, for the problem of the non-belt-path end of the base rising off the seat cushion. Check for this problem when the CR is not attached to the base. UPPAbaby says that this fix should be employed anytime the problem condition is seen, regardless of whether the base sits down properly once the CR is attached, with or without a child.
UPPAbaby notes that it does not approve the use of a pool noodle for this purpose, as a towel is better able to stay in place properly. (Although, don’t confuse this situation with the more typical use of a towel under the base to achieve a proper CR recline angle. UPPAbaby still allows using either a towel or pool noodle for setting the CR’s recline angle, when necessary.)
©Safe Ride News Publications 2021