Cannot figure out why this seat has no top tether

[amyd]

A friend has an 3-in-1 for her niece (Alpha Omega something or other) & the seat has no top tether on it:thumbsdown: She insists that it never had one. Are they removable?? I checked the manufacture date the last time I installed it in my car & it was made in 2006 so it definitely should have one, right? BTW, I won't be using it in my car again since I have a second seat now, but this little girl rides FFing in this seat everyday...is this safe?

[bubbaray]

AFAIK, its not legal to not TT a FFg seat anywhere in CAnada. NO FFg harnessed seats can be sold here without a TT.

I would contact the manufacturer (Dorel) and find out if one can be replaced. If not, I would trash the seat by removing the harness and only using it as a (crappy) booster.

Of course, its not "my" or your seat, so not sure how you deal with that. I would tell the parent its illegal to use a FFg untethered seat in Canada, but IME, most parents don't give a dam% about laws and just do whatever....

JMHO.

[QuassEE]

Yes, it came with a top tether, originally.
Although I hesitate to say it's "safe" to use, if the seat is used properly then the primary risk would be an increased head excursion.
It's absolutely NOT legal.
Any seat that is "incomplete"--as in: there are missing pieces--shouldn't be in use.. Who knows what else has been done to modify that seat?!

It's not actually a requirement that seats come with a top tether in Canada, but in order to meet head excursion requirements each seat sold in Canada does need a top tether in use. If a seat meets the requirements without, then it would not be required--no seats meet the necessary head excursion requirements, without.

I'm a bit out of it here, so hopefully I covered everything :)

-Nicole.

[canadiangie]

Yes, the tether strap is removeable on those seats. Could it be that she just doesn't remember taking it off??

It's replaceable.. though not these easiest of tasks; a little rough on the hands/fingers.

Have her call Dorel tomorrow.

[amyd]

It would have been my friend's sis who removed the tether if it was taken off...my friend doesn't know any better than I do what happened to it. Any chance that it came not installed initially? I'll mention to my friend tomorrow that she get her sister to call Dorel for a replacement.

Thanks, Ladies

[hipmaman]

No, I would think someone removed the tether strap and misplaced/lost it.

[QuassEE]

I'm going to stress this point again..and call me paranoid...

If a seat has been modified in order to remove parts in one fashion, there is absolutely a chance that the seat has been modified in other ways. If someone was ignorant enough to remove a necessary piece of equipment from the seat, they may have removed less obvious parts. I personally would not be comfortable recommending the seat be used unless the owner is aware 100% of what was done to the seat, and the missing parts can be replaced.

-Nicole.

[bubbaray]

Yeah, ITA with Nicole. If someone has modified a seat to that extent, who knows what else they've done to it. *I* wouldn't feel comfortable using such a seat. YMMV.