To Tether?

[scoutingbear]

I know that tethering the car seats is the safest...and the carseats are tethered in my car. But, dh drives a 2000 Nissan Frontier and there are no top tether hooks. We also ride in my dad's 1999 suburban and there are no top tether hooks. And, when I put up the third row seat in my car there are no top tether hooks. Besides the Apex (I think), are there any seats that HAVE to be tethered?

[BW1426]

I know that tethering the car seats is the safest...and the carseats are tethered in my car. But, dh drives a 2000 Nissan Frontier and there are no top tether hooks. We also ride in my dad's 1999 suburban and there are no top tether hooks. And, when I put up the third row seat in my car there are no top tether hooks. Besides the Apex (I think), are there any seats that HAVE to be tethered?

The Regent after a certain weigh and I believe I just read that the Frontier requires tethering after a certain point. Also the Recaro Start.

It's much safer to tether a forward facing seat.

You can get tether hooks installed in the Suburban for free. The Nissan I'm guessing you will have to pay for.

If available I would always put a forward facing seat in a tetherable position. It reduces head excursion by a ton.

[Jeanum]

The Apex does not require a tether anchor, but it does require a vehicle headrest or vehicle seatback at least as tall as the top of the child's ears to provide adequate support and whiplash protection. The Regent requires a tether anchor for certain installation methods and for kids weighing 50 lbs. or more. The Britax Frontier requires a tether anchor for kids over 65 lbs. in harnessed mode.

GM will retrofit one top tether anchor for free for owners of most pre-LATCH equipped GM vehicles, such as the 1999 Suburban. :thumbsup: GM dealerships have the current part numbers according to the LATCH manual as the part numbers change frequently. Refer the dealership to GM Service Bulletin Number 99-09-40-004 dated January 2000 for details about GM's retrofit policy.

Nissan does not have a free retrofit program, but it might be possible to install the tether anchor yourself once you obtain the part from a Nissan dealership's service dept. or possibly an online parts store. The Nissan tether anchor retrofit part number is 88894-89900 and costs approx. $15 per part. The 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup can have 2 tether anchors added if it's the regular cab, and 3 added if it's a crew cab model. There are 8mm weld nuts under the rear window for retrofitting the anchors. I believe there's a blurb in the owner's manual for the Nissan Frontier stating the anchor points are underneath the carpet below the cab's rear window (going from recent memory where I looked up the owner's manual online for another poster with a Nissan Frontier pickup).