okay to leave locking clips on?

[diaperjoys]

Is it okay to use locking clips even when they aren't truly needed? I installed two seats for my brother-in-law, and I thought the belts didn't lock, so I used locking clips.

Someone from the board let me know later that the belts lock at the latchplate. Dumb me; just hadn't seen that kind of belt before. I'm sure it's common, but my vehicles you just pull the belt all the way out and let it click back in... (theirs is a '99Minivan; "Expresso", like a dodge caravan) Now we're back in NC, and they are in Idaho. I'm not sure I can convince them to have the seats checked, and don't know anywhere reliable to send them. The seats are in rock solid.

My brother-in-law used the latch strap to install, in a vehicle that doesn't have latch, so not sure I want to recommend that he reinstall the seats w/o the locking clips.

What should I do?

[crunchierthanthou]

He needs to reinstall them. Locking latchplates aren't complicated, they're just a little confusing at first if you haven't seen them before. The locking clips aren't necessarily a problem, but they can and will pop off in a crash. There's no point having that potential projectile if it's not necessary for a proper installation. Now the LATCH strap, that has got to go. Who knows what it is attached to or how it will perform in a crash.

All he needs to do is route the seatbelt through the appropriate belt path, buckle it, and tighten the lap portion of the belt as much as he can while pushing down on the seat. As long as the buckle is aligned, the seat should stay tight.

If it's not staying tight, you just flip the male end one half turn (180 degrees). By buckling it backward, it lines up the belt portions and allows it to function correctly. Here's a picture of a locking latchplate and how it works (this isn't the lightweight kind you see on lap/shoulder belts, but it's the same concept). Another way to figure out how they work is to sit in the seat and buckle the seatbelt. The lapbelt shouldn't budge when it's pulled on.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z157/crunchierthanthou/lockinglatchplate.jpg

His vehicle didn't come with tether anchors, but they can be retrofitted. Here's the info from the LATCH manual in case you still need it-

Chrysler will retrofit them for free, according to technical service bulletin 23-008-00 Rev B.

the part numbers are-
second row: 0484118AB (center and left outboard)
third row: 05018506AA (center and left outboard only)

The tether points are on the floor behind the seats.

[diaperjoys]

Thank you. I'll let him know. I think it might have been you that did the latch manual lookup for me, and I gave him the info on retrofitting, and I'm hoping he'll follow through. It was a very big step to the the 24mo. out of her ff garage sale seat and into a rf EFTA, but they are happy about it. I'm hoping they'll continue in this good trend. I feel terribly that I gave them wrong info about the locking clips. I'll let him know about the projectile danger, etc.

Thanks again.

[Defrost]

Where in Idaho?

[sfeitler]

He needs to reinstall them. Locking latchplates aren't complicated, they're just a little confusing at first if you haven't seen them before. The locking clips aren't necessarily a problem, but they can and will pop off in a crash. There's no point having that potential projectile if it's not necessary for a proper installation. Now the LATCH strap, that has got to go. Who knows what it is attached to or how it will perform in a crash.


I'm all for not using the locking clip if necessary, but from what the OP says, her brother-in-law is not particularly install-savvy. Would it be better to leave the seats installed as they are now--with seatbelt and locking clip--until he can either do the install and have a tech check it, or until OP is there again and can help install without the clip? Sure the clip is a possible projectile, but I'd think that risk is lower than the risks of having a poorly installed seat.

My understanding is, the OP redid the install and the LATCH strap isn't being used anymore?

-Sarah

[An Aurora]

I'm all for not using the locking clip if necessary, but from what the OP says, her brother-in-law is not particularly install-savvy. Would it be better to leave the seats installed as they are now--with seatbelt and locking clip--until he can either do the install and have a tech check it, or until OP is there again and can help install without the clip? Sure the clip is a possible projectile, but I'd think that risk is lower than the risks of having a poorly installed seat.

My understanding is, the OP redid the install and the LATCH strap isn't being used anymore?

-Sarah

I understood that the LATCH isn't being used either.

I think using a locking clip in a car with locking latchplates is technically misuse, but I don't see it as that big of a deal. That said, however, installing a RF seat with locking latchplates is really easy. If he were to unclip the seatbelt, take off the LC, reattach the seatbelt and tighten, he wouldn't even have to move the seat.

[diaperjoys]

My understanding is, the OP redid the install and the LATCH strap isn't being used anymore?

-Sarah

Just to clarify - Yes, I redid the install, and the LATCH is no longer in use. My BIL watched the installation process carefully, and took it well when I explained that hooking a latch strap to the underside of the vehicle seat isn't really a good idea. To do him credit, the he used the seat belt too, and the seat didn't budge when I checked it. He might do just fine; it's just hard to say.

[diaperjoys]

Where in Idaho?

Moscow