Installation of Graco CarGo Booster in '98 Honda Accord

[Honda Owner]

HELP! We have a wonderful new baby sitter with a '98 Honda Accord that has CONFOUNDED us in terms of installing our Graco CarGo Booster Car Seat 8487SMP (installation manual can be found at http://www.gracobaby.com/assets/pdfs/instructions/ISPB007BC.pdf). We cannot get the seatbelt retractors to tighten sufficently at all -- even with the locking clip, and the problem is magnified by the car's pristine leather seats, which are like ice for the car seat. We do not have this problem with our '95 Honda Civic, though our Britax seats have built-in locking clips that keep them TIGHT. We can't return these seats because our former nanny used them for a year (she had LATCH in her car, which worked fine).

Moreover, Honda wants to charge us $65 for installation of rear tether points, which also do not exist for this car (though there are holes in the trunk for installation).

Tips on installation?? If we can get the belt tight, would you forgo installation of the tether? THANK YOU!!!

[seatchecker]

Are you pulling the seatbelt all the way out to activate the locking retractor? You won't need to use the locking clip in a 98 model year. A tip to get a little tighter: buckle the belt as usual, pull all the way out to lock. Put your weight in the seat and let the belt feed back into the retractor as much as possible. If that isn't tight enough, carefully unbuckle the seatbelt, keeping your weight in the seat and making sure the seatbelt doesn't move too much. Now let the shoulder belt feed back into the retractor just a few clicks. That will shorten the belt so that when you re-buckle it it will be secure. It may take some effort to get the latchplate into the buckle - a 2nd person comes in handy.

[Honda Owner]

THANK YOU, Karen! We will give this a whirl tomorrow and let you know how it turns out. We definitely did not fully extend the belt on our first effort, nor did we hear or sense any clicks in the tensioner. We'll keep our fingers crossed! Thank you for your wonderful public service. Best --

[papooses]

That should work -- also, it is VERY simple to install the tether anchor yourself :) The part should only be about $10-15 & all you need is a wrench to tighten the bolt.... I'm not generally good with stuff like that but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do in my 1997 Civic ;)

[Momto2whosews]

Yes, the manual should specify how to lock the belts. Ours lock by pulling them all the way out and then slowly letting them retract.

IMHO, the tether anchor is worth the $11 the part will cost you, especially for a heavier child.

My DH has a 99 Accord and the tether anchor installation was easy. The instructions say you need to have a torque wrench, but there was no way that the head of that wrench was going to fit over the anchor bolt because the weld nut was so close to the base of the rear window. We tightened it as best we could without overtightening. I doubt the dealer would have done any different.

If you're not technically inclined, have you contacted Honda headquarters about tether installation? The dealer may want to charge you, but I'll bet Honda has a free program, you might just need to get permission. I didn't bother because I knew we could do it, but its worth a try.

[seatchecker]

:yeahthat: Forgot about the tether anchor - very easy to install yourself. A torque wrench is a good thing to have so you don't overtighten. Some auto supply stores will let you borrow a tool for the day - we did that when we had to replace a seatbelt - It might be AutoZone where I live. I can never keep them straight. Keep in mind the tether isn't mandatory in the US, although it is optimal. Get a good tight fit, make sure the harness is properly positioned and tightened. Then you can work on getting the anchors installed.

[Jeanum]

Here's the Honda tether anchor retrofit part number and details about installing it from the LATCH manual: 82410-SE3-C01 (it's the same part number for all retrofittable Honda models, actually).

Honda calls it a "Plate Assembly" or "anchor plate and mounting hardware" in the owner's manual, and the detailed installation instructions are in the vehicle owner's manual, not with the retrofit part. The hardware retails for approx. $13 per anchor according to the LATCH manual. The '98 Accord can have up to three top tether anchors retrofitted, and there are three 8mm weld nuts in the rear filler panel (aka the "package shelf" immediately behind the back seat). The bolt should be tightened to a 16 lb-ft torque (22 Nm). If a torque wrench is not used, the instructions say to contact the Honda dealer to verify proper installation.

Happy retrofitting. :)

[Honda Owner]

THANK YOU ALL for your terrific feedback. We will look forward to trying all these things and will report back.