Where to RF tether in a '99 Subaru Legacy?

[stayinhomewithmy4]

I helped my DH's cousin install his new Decathlon RF today in his '99 Subaru Legacy sedan and I had an H of a time trying to find a place to tether it to. I couldn't tether it to anything under the seat. There just wasn't a spot under there at all (that I could find), so I tethered it to the buckle stalk of the passenger seat. The Decathlon is in the center, which is where they want it. Does anyone know of a better spot in one of these cars? Is it okay to tether it to the buckle stalk? It seemed okay, but not solid like a seat does when it's tethered to the actual vehicle seat. The passenger seat is very rarely used, btw, if that makes a difference. His DD is 1 yr old (today! ) and is a tiny little peanut, and she'll be RF until she hits the limit!

[twokidstwodogs]

I had Roundabouts tethered RF in my 1999 Forester. I don't know if the seat design is the same as in the 1999 Legacy, but my 2006 Legacy has a similar seat design as my Forester, so I'm guessing so.

The best tether spot I've found is the inside post bolting the driver's seat to the floor. The metal part of the post attaches to the part of the car frame that becomes the hump on the floor in the center of the middle row. (I hope that made sense!) You have to remove the plastic housing around the post, but once you do, there's just enough room to get the D-ring around it. I don't know if there's a similar place on the passenger seat, but I would think so.

Let me know if you can't find the place, and I'll upload a picture of my RF MA tethered to my 06 Legacy. That might help.

[stayinhomewithmy4]

Is it difficult to remove the plastic housing? I'll have to look again, but I won't be seeing them again for a couple of weeks. Do you think it's okay around the buckle stalk for now? I'll call him and try to explain it to him, but he's not very car or car seat savvy, so I don't think he'll be able to figure it out. Thanks for your reply!

[twokidstwodogs]

Originally Posted by stayinhomewithmy3

Is it difficult to remove the plastic housing? I'll have to look again, but I won't be seeing them again for a couple of weeks. Do you think it's okay around the buckle stalk for now? I'll call him and try to explain it to him, but he's not very car or car seat savvy, so I don't think he'll be able to figure it out. Thanks for your reply!

I'm not sure whether the buckle stalk is okay. A tech can answer that for you. But if you can get this spot to work, it's a great RF tether location.

Tell him to start by pushing the front seat as far forward as possible. Then he should look at the place where the front seat attaches to the center hump on the floor of the rear seat. There should be a largish piece of plastic that is right up against the center hump. (Again, I'm assuming that the 99 Legacy sedan is like my 99 Forester and 06 Legacy.) That's what you need to take off to find the tether location. It's not hard to pull the plastic off. It just pops off and, if I remember correctly from my Forester, pops back on as well. (The hard part is remembering where you put it when it's time to turn the seat FF.) Once you pop the plastic off, you will see that there is a piece of metal that is parallel to the floor of the car. It is bolted to the center hump on the floor. The metal piece is about three inches wide, and there's just enough room between it and the center hump to slide the D-ring around it. Once it's through the metal piece, the D-ring will slide back close to the bolt and be far out of the way of the front seat. It will not interfere at all with the seat mechanism.

I hope this works for him. I tried to take a picture, but couldn't get a good shot in the garage with my dark interior. I'll try again later.

[stayinhomewithmy4]

Thanks again! That's a great description!