LATCH ? for Hyundai Santa Fe

[momtoBrennan]

Sorry if this is a repeat post - I was getting an error message before so trying again...

OK, I was re-reading my '04 Hyundai Santa Fe manual and noticed this wording, which for some reason I glazed over before.

It says in the "ISOFIX" section: Some child seat manufacturers make safety seats that are labeled as IOSFIX or ISOFIX-compatible child seats. These seats include two rigid or webbing mounted attachements that connect to two ISOFIX anchors at specific seating positions in your vehicle. This type of child seat eliminates the need to use seatbelts to attach the child seat for forward-facing child seats. on page 1-27.

Now, is that just poor wording on their part or does this mean you can only use LATCH for fwd facing seats only? My ds is now fwd facing but I did have it installed r/fing with LATCH. Even though nothing bad happened, I hate to think I was doing something wrong.

The other thing that concerns me (wow I can't believe I just saw this) is that "for safety reasons the Seat should be positioned rearmost with the seatback in a vertical position, not reclined." I have to recline the seat in order to get the BV to fit back there.

Thanks for your time.

Cheryl
ds-4/03

[scatterbunny]

I'm not a tech (yet) but IMO yes, that was just poorly worded and you have nothing to worry about. :)

The recline thing--all forward-facing carseats (and even forward-facing vehicle occupants, period) are safer sitting as upright as possible, not reclined at all. So I think the manual is just trying to impress that upon people and make sure they don't recline the vehicle seat with a carseat on it simply for the child's comfort. Does that make sense?

Reclining the seat a bit to get a good RF install is fine, IMO.

[momtoBrennan]

Thank you Jenny.

I think it is poorly worded to, but just wanted to make sure. It doesn't make sense to me why it would be OK to use LATCH for fwd-facing but not ok for r/fing.

To clarify, I am concerned about reclining the vehicle seat with my BV installed forward facing. I will play around with it as soon as I have the time, but I think I'm going to have to leave the vehicle seat reclined just a bit because there is such a gap between the vehicle seat back and the car seat when I have it more upright. Since ds is 34# I already have the BV in the upright mode so I know that it's just the natural recline of the Britax seat and there's nothing more I can do about that to make it more upright.

Cheryl
ds-4/03

[momtoBrennan]

bumping up... any other opinions/thoughts?

[scatterbunny]

I would be okay with a tiny gap myself, but then I'd also be okay reclining the vehicle seatback just a tad, too. Hopefully someone else will give their opinion.

[Momto2whosews]

I have an 03 Santa Fe. My manual is in the car right now and it's 2 degrees so I can't check the wording for you.

But I have an MA installed RF, and it was FF for my older dd. I think the shell is similar to the BV. I think reclining the seat one or two notches is fine if it means getting good contact between the carseat and vehicle seat & back.

What I have done in the past is to recline the back a notch or two, then install the seat (either LATCH or seat belt) but leave the tether unhooked, and then try to bring the seat back up as much as I can. Once I do that, I attach the tether strap. This always results in a really tight install for me and then I know that the seat is as upright as possible.

HTH

Kathy

[Unregistered]

Hi
I see you have a 2003 SantaFe. I have lost my owners manual. We are installing a new seat, RF that will turn ff also.( First years Aurora)
I'm wondering a few things... Can I install with the LATCH system? If I am right there is no latch for the centre seat, so do you thinks its safer in the center with the belt? Thats what we did for our infant seat, but the base was always a bit wobbly.
Also do you know where the anchor points are for FF? and is there a weight limit? I want to make sure we can use this seat as long as possible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not sure how you reply to me as I haven't signed in yet (afterthought) but feel free to email if you can.

Thanks again
Haydee
hmill@telus.net

[An Aurora]

Hi
I see you have a 2003 SantaFe. I have lost my owners manual. We are installing a new seat, RF that will turn ff also.( First years Aurora)
I'm wondering a few things... Can I install with the LATCH system? If I am right there is no latch for the centre seat, so do you thinks its safer in the center with the belt? Thats what we did for our infant seat, but the base was always a bit wobbly.
Also do you know where the anchor points are for FF? and is there a weight limit? I want to make sure we can use this seat as long as possible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not sure how you reply to me as I haven't signed in yet (afterthought) but feel free to email if you can.

Thanks again
Haydee
hmill@telus.net

Hi there. This thread is over 18 months old, so I'm not sure if the OP is around anymore. However, yes you can install your seat with LATCH on the outboard seats only. While the center seat is the farthest from any impact point, it's best to install in whichever seating position you can get a secure install in.

The top tether anchors are in the floor of the cargo area, behind the back seats. Pull the plastic cargo area liner forward, and you will see them. We had to cut holes in the plastic cover so we had free access to the tether anchors.

[crunchierthanthou]

Hi
I see you have a 2003 SantaFe. I have lost my owners manual. We are installing a new seat, RF that will turn ff also.( First years Aurora)
I'm wondering a few things... Can I install with the LATCH system? If I am right there is no latch for the centre seat, so do you thinks its safer in the center with the belt? Thats what we did for our infant seat, but the base was always a bit wobbly.
Also do you know where the anchor points are for FF? and is there a weight limit? I want to make sure we can use this seat as long as possible.


This is kind of an old thread, but I'll try to answer your questions.

Do you mean the True Fit in Aurora?

You are correct that Hyundai does not allow center LATCH. Seatbelts are no less safe than LATCH, provided you can get a good install. It shouldn't be too bad since the True Fit has built in lock-offs. Hyundai defers to the carseat manufacturer for LATCH weight limits, so follow the one that came with your carseat. If no limit is stated in the manual, then assume 48 lbs. You'll have to switch to the seatbelt at that time, but should continue to use the top tether.

The tether anchors are on the floor of the cargo area- NOT the brackets on the backs of the seats.

How old and what size is your child? The top headpiece on your seat is optional until 22 lbs or the child's head reaches the line on the cover.