suburbans - what year did the benches get headrests?

[atthehip]

Does anyone know what was the first year that the back benches had headrests and shoulder belts (other than center positions)? We are look at the 93-98 ones and don't want to consider any without these.

Thanks!!!!
Cindy

[beeman]

96 sounds familiar to me (don't quote me on that though). IIRC the bolt pattern for the seat was the same across the whole body style, so you might be able to find seats with headrests out of the auto wrecker for not too much money. They are fairly simple to exchange, just make sure you get the right torque (specs will be in the service manual).

[skaterbabscpst]

It may have been an option as early as 95, but I'm pretty sure it was standard by 97.

[unityco]

My parents' '97 has them. It is a "deluxe" trim level with leather - I don't know if that has any bearing on it or not.

[atthehip]

would that be for the headrests only, or the shoulderbelts too? I wish I could just find some interior pictures somewhere online to know for sure!

I have talked to someone with a 93 for sale and she doesn't have headrests but I forgot to ask if there were shoulder belts...since we have 2 (almost 3) kiddos in boosters, we couldn't manage without those.

[skaterbabscpst]

I have a '93 Suburban.

There are no headrests, but there are shoulder belts. The one oddity is the automatic locking retractor on the 2nd row center lap belt. The 3rd row center has the same locking latchplates as all the rear seats. The front passenger seat has a switchable retractor on the lap portoin of the lap/shoulder belt. Weirdness that is GM. :rolleyes: lol

[Nisha]

We have some friends who have a '92 - it has l/s belts but no head rest.

[atthehip]

Thanks for your responses - what a huge help!! Are the benches w/o headrests short like the old caravans, or higher? My 10yo is in a lowback booster - is it actually possible to have a seatback high enough not to need a headrest? I'm probably reaching/dreaming here, lol!

I like the suburban for the room it offers, and the crash tests even in older models are very good. We have 4 kids, 1 LBB, 1 HBB, 1 47lb'er seat and a RF infant. We plan on having 1 more kiddo although if dh decided he was so inclined I'd be willing to have more. ;) At this point we are planning for the 6 of us, with 1 more to come in a couple years. We have 96 ply voyager on its last leg, but we *just* fit the way things are. If someone else like my mom needs to ride along, I'm the only one who can fit in the centre 3rd seat between boosters and it makes me sick to be back there!!

I know I could potentially get a Radian and open up a middle seat, but since we need another vehicle anyway, it'd be much nicer to have the cargo space when I get groceries or otherwise, and to be able to take an extra passenger if need be! So I was thinking the suburban (look at 93-98 models) might be our best choice? There are the 8 pass astro/safari's that have headrests (again, anyone know what year those started?), but crash tests are a little scary. I'm not willing to consider the older 8pass trio with their crash testing, and other suv's with the small 3rd seat seem not a great fit for a large family.

Of course my seat choices are somewhat limited also because we are in Canada, but generally speaking vehicles are near identical across borders(except that top tether anchors here are law - woohoo!). We will put in anchors wherever necessary - our mechanics are happy to do it for us.

Any suggestions or thoughts are very very welcome!!

[unityco]

We will put in anchors wherever necessary - our mechanics are happy to do it for us.

One thing of note... the only factory approved locations for tether anchors in older Suburbans are the third row seatbelts - so you have to give up third row passenger space to anchor second row carseats (and you can't put carseats that require a tether in the third row at all.) You can economize by tethering two second row seats to the one centre third row position if you use the tether adaptor on the female buckle, and tether the other seat to the male latch plate on the centre belt. There may be other tether solutions, but they're not "manufacturer approved". ;)

The approved tether adaptor looks like this - HTH! :)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_q4LocbyWVCg/SJtz6CkfYWI/AAAAAAAAAN0/A-1pBYWgD_Q/s640/CSO%20016.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_q4LocbyWVCg/SJtz3y-lhrI/AAAAAAAAANk/sTxUM3ufHiw/s640/CSO%20012.jpg

[skaterbabscpst]

The seatbacks in the older Suburbans are pretty low. Your kids will definitely need high-back boosters. The Radian installed very well in all the positions with a locking latchplate in my '93, but even a Radian was too wide to fit with two parkways in the third row.

I can fit a Regent, a Marathon and a third fairly wide seat in the 2nd row however, and I use the factory anchor (photo above) to anchor one seat and the 3rd row lap belt to anchor a 2nd seat, losing only the 3rd row lap belt position in order to anchor two 2nd row seats. If my hubby will move the stuff he has stored in my 2nd row I can post a pic of how I do it, but it's not too difficult to picture in your head. The factor retrofit anchor buckles into the 3rd row center female buckle. Then you shorten the seatbelt all the way and attach the tether for the second seat to the male end of the seatbelt buckle. You end up with two tethered seats but only lose one seating position.

Anyway, here is a pic of my boys in the third row of my Suburban... My older son has since then outgrown the Parkway but still has a TON of room in the Frontier in booster mode. (Heck, I'm 5 ft 8 and can almost fit in the Frontier in booster mode!!) So you may want to consider purchasing the Frontier just for use as a BPB. It's seems counter-intuitive, but it is the tallest booster on the market.


Also, the company that makes the EZ-On vest sells heavy-duty anchors for use with it. They specialize in finding locations where none may exist. So they may be able to find you a way to install tethers for the 3rd row, but that's the only option I'm aware of.

[atthehip]

Wow - the pictures help a ton! How did your boys find getting to the 3rd seat driver's side with two seats tethered? is that possible??

It's a bummer that we wouldn't be able to fit three in the 3rd...that's what I was hoping for, but that would be a couple years out. My 10yo dd is pretty petite (last I check 51 or 52 lbs or so). We have a parkway for my 8yo who is just under 59 lbs, and a Graco Cherished Cargo harnessed for my 45 lb-ish 5yo. All of our girls start out huge and then plateau for YEARS. LOL Our 7mo baby is rearfacing in a EFTA. So right now we have my 5yo tethered only...there should be no need to tether more than 2 seats at a time now or in the future with the next baby. Can all HBB be used without a headrest?

[skaterbabscpst]

It certainly took some careful climbing on their part. lol Or rather, on the part of the kid in that back corner. ;) I only have 3 kids, so it's not a combination we needed often.

When you do need three across in the 3rd row, you may want to just invest in an EZ-on 86-Y vest and use it with an older boostered kid (possibly the child in the parkway. I haven't tried 3 parkways across there. I only have two of them. lol)

Not all HBB can be used without a headrests, but most don't require it. Off the top of my head I think only the Dorel/cosco ones require it and maybe one of Evenflo boosters. The tallest boosters are the Sunshien Kids & Britax ones anyway and they do NOT require it.

[atthehip]

I assume we couldn't use 3 parkways in the 3rd without the shoulder belt anyway though right? It looks like the first year with headrests was 95. I found one in the buy&sell with pictures that had headrests. So maybe we can try to find that year because it would simplify things somewhat? It's really awesome to know what my options are. I can't believe how incredibly helpful you all are!!! Thank you so much.

[lovemyfamily]

My 2001 Yukon XL, does not have headrests in the center seating positions in either 2nd or 3rd row. Not sure if that is how they all are.

[skaterbabscpst]

The Parkway can be used with the 86Y harness with that center position, I just don't know if it would fit between two others.

I think that the '95 model year is the first with head restraints, and depending on how long you plan to keep the vehicle having those will make things easier in the long run.

[atthehip]

Why is it when it comes to minivans, it seems that (at least with the older more affordable years) either you get an unreliable van with decent or better crashtesting...or a reliable van with abismal crash tests? Is there no good option there?? I'd be willing to consider another van for now and go for the suburban in a couple years if need be...but :eek:

[skaterbabscpst]

I hear your pain! My "new" vehicle is a two door '96 Jeep Cherokee. We're }{ this close to not all fitting it in anymore.