1997 RAV4 tether question

[wendytthomas]

(I posted this in the regular car seat forum as well, but the mom mentioned that Canadian and Australian RAV4s from 1997 got tether anchors immediately retrofitted or installed I thought I'd ask here as well)

I've got a mom with a 45 pound 3 year old. She just got a Madison Regent (drooooool. Piper came over and said how much she wanted it) and she hasn't got tethers in her car. She's in a RAV4, 1997, and I gave her the part number to have it retrofitted, but the dealer quoted her $90 PER anchor to install. So I was wondering if anyone knew where in the back they go and can a person just install them? $90 per sounds like a complete rip off, or that the guy doesn't know what he's ordering and so he's assuming it's an hour of labor each. She doesn't want to pay $180 for two tether anchors (she's got a RFing Marathon for her 19 month old) for a seat that cost $219 and that she can sell for that and then buy a $150 seat that doesn't require tether anchors.

She's leaving for a trip on Thursday, the anchors should be in tomorrow. If she can't install the anchors herself tomorrow then she's going to uninstall the Regent and put back in the FPSVD she has that her daughter still fits in. We'll work on the Regent again when she figures out the tether situation. The lap belt is not an option as there's the Marathon in there and there's NO way the seats will fit next to one another. I'm happy to go and help her install them, I've at least seen the weld nuts in a Honda's trunk for the anchors to go through, but she has no idea where they go (besides in the trunk) and there are no instructions with her manual. Is it as simple as drilling or cutting a hole in the fabric and screwing it in?

Anyone? Thanks!

Wendy

[QuassEE]

1997s weren't required the pre-drill for SUVs in Canada, so guaranteed it won't be pre-drilled. However, the price they're asking is unreasonable for a $15-20 part and 5 minutes of labour. Most shops do their labour in 15 minute increments, so they should only be able to get them on 15 or 30 minutes of labour MAX for drilling and threading (takes 5 minutes per anchor, really less if you do three at once).. So I would ask for a breakdown of parts cost and then ask why they're being charged more than .25 labour. It should really be under $100 to get all three done, and if they quote more than .25 for labour I'd really put them on the spot...

Alternately, her (or her husband?) can drill the holes, following Toyota's location instructions.

-Nicole.

[wendytthomas]

I don't know how handy she or her DH are with drills. She drives the stick shift and won't teach him because he's accident prone. :-) But heck, *I* can deal with a drill, so I would assume they can as well.

I am going to pass along what you said. Thanks!

Oh, do the location instructions come with the tether kit?

Wendy

[Neatfreak]

Would a non-dealership mechanic install the anchors, if she supplied them?

[snowbird25ca]

Would a non-dealership mechanic install the anchors, if she supplied them?

I think it would really depend on the mechanic & if she had all the specific specs about where to drill etc.