UAS more than 1 seat?

[jonshepi]

We have a 2000 Jetta, unfortunately we don't have an owners manual with the car.

There are 4 UAS clips in the back seat. We absolutely need to have I seat free in the back for another adult, so one CR needs to be in the middle and one on a window seat.

:question:Can I attach both using UAS, one of the clips will have 2 CRs attached to it?
Or is it safer to have one on UAS and one with the seat belt?

TIA

[TerisBoys]

You cannot hook 2 seats to one anchor, no. You'll have to use the seatbelt for one seat and UAS for the other.

[CDNTech]

In addition, you are *NOT* allowed to use UAS in the center position. Using one anchor from each outboard position to install in the center is referred to as borrowing and Volkswagon does *not* allow you to do this.

You will need to install with seatbelt in the center position. You can install with seatbelt OR UAS (not both) in the outboard position... although a seatbelt installation will generally give you more room to get an independent installation in the center.

[jonshepi]

Thanks for the quick responses. It's just what I needed to know.

[QuassEE]

Depending on the restraint, I'm 99% sure you need to do BOTH seatbelt installs. You need to install the outboard seat, push it all the way to the side towards the door along the beltpath, then switch your retractor and tighten the seat in. Then install the centre seat and do the same. If you use LATCH in the outboard position in the Jetta, it makes it difficult to install a CR in the centre seating position. If you have any really narrow seats, it might not be as big an issue.

-Nicole.

[K's Mama]

In addition, you are *NOT* allowed to use UAS in the center position. Using one anchor from each outboard position to install in the center is referred to as borrowing and Volkswagon does *not* allow you to do this.

Slight hijack here, but why exactly is it not allowed? I have no problem with this, but my DH (an engineer) thinks that it should be just fineto *swap* positions...

[BW1426]

Slight hijack here, but why exactly is it not allowed? I have no problem with this, but my DH (an engineer) thinks that it should be just fineto *swap* positions...

It's not crash tested that way. Or it is crash tested and it failed. We don't know which of the two it is.

[QuassEE]

Distance and directionality differ... and yeah, we don't know if it failed or just hasn't been tested.. (excluding Mazda and Ford, which do permit centre LATCH use.)

[mommycat]

Slight hijack here, but why exactly is it not allowed? I have no problem with this, but my DH (an engineer) thinks that it should be just fineto *swap* positions...
From what I have read so far it appears that aside from a possible difference in anchor spacing, the anchors are reinforced as sets and using anchors from separate sets introduces some unwanted flexibility. I imagine it to be sort of like standing in the stirrups of two separate horses as opposed to solidly in the stirrups of a single saddle- there's no guarantee that the two horses will work well together and then you are less than stable. Those car makers who allow borrowing apparently reinforce all the way across.

[skydancer]

Here's a fairly thorough explaination:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=33718

I love the horse analogy!!! Make's it so easy to visualize why it's not a good idea!! :-D