Third row seat, no tether - safe or not?

[Jan06twinmom]

My husband and I are looking for a new vehicle and the Hyundai Santa Fe is on our short list. It has a third row seat, but that seat does not have top tethers.

We have 3 year old twins. They would probably either be in the Radian 65 or the Britax Decathlon carseats. There is a slight chance that we would use the Evenflo Triumph (old one with a 40lb limit) for my DD who is petite.

My DS is about 40lbs and ff in the carseat. My DD is about 30lbs now and is currently still rf in the Decathlon or the Radian, but I'm guessing she'll only be rf for another 3-6 months. If she is in the Evenflo, we just had to turn her to ff.

Would it be safe to put our children back there on occasion even though we wouldn't be able to use a top tether? If I remember correctly, I don't think either of our carseats require the top tether even though we've always used them.

I don't understand why the 3rd row on several SUVs don't have the top tethers, esp. when you consider that those smaller rows would be more comfortable for children to sit in than adults.

Thanks for your help!

--Melanie

[aisraeltax]

i know that car is on your short list, but arent there many that do have a top tether in the 3d row? can you revise your selection of potential cars? how long are you going to keep the new car? seems like you will need the top tether for several years.

[Jan06twinmom]

We actually aren't finding many SUVs with the tethers in the 3rd row. We looked at the Suburu Tribeca and it does have the tethers in the top row. However, we really didn't like that vehicle as much as the Santa Fe.

I don't remember if the Honda Pilot had the tethers and I couldn't find them in the Toyota Highlander when I looked. But these other vehicles are much larger, cost quite a bit more up front (I think $8000+), and are less gas efficent. Our list is fairly short because we are really trying to avoid a large gas-hog SUV and we're looking at vehicles that have good reviews and are safe.

We keep cars for a long time. This vehicle is replacing a 1996 Ford Ranger. Our twins will probably be teenagers before we replace it.

[Melanie]

We actually aren't finding many SUVs with the tethers in the 3rd row. We looked at the Suburu Tribeca and it does have the tethers in the top row. However, we really didn't like that vehicle as much as the Santa Fe.

I don't remember if the Honda Pilot had the tethers and I couldn't find them in the Toyota Highlander when I looked. But these other vehicles are much larger, cost quite a bit more up front (I think $8000+), and are less gas efficent. Our list is fairly short because we are really trying to avoid a large gas-hog SUV and we're looking at vehicles that have good reviews and are safe.

We keep cars for a long time. This vehicle is replacing a 1996 Ford Ranger. Our twins will probably be teenagers before we replace it.

Just want to let you know the Honda Pilot DOES have tethers in the third row in all 3 seating positions. At least the 07's do.

It's just dumb that all vehicle manufacturers aren't putting tethers in the third row. I just crossed the Mazda CX-9 off my list because of this (and it was a great vehicle otherwise). A lot of people that need a third row would have 3 kids in car seats, especially now that some of the boosters are tethering. How are the third row passengers supposed to get in if the second row seat is full of car seats? Climb over?? Through the hatch??

[aisraeltax]

i dont know what your budget, but there are some 2006/2007 Mercedes R320CDI's out there...get an avg. of 25/27 mpg (its a diesel) and there are top tethers in 2nd and 3d row and lower tethers in 2nd and 3d row.

we just bought a 2007 and I love it...actually spent less on it than a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid fully loaded.

they arent the easiest car to find....we got ours out of state but if you can find one w/ more than 7500 miles on it, they are legal in all 50 states.

we are committed to this car for 10 years, so longevity was a huge issue for us.