Earliest model year car with center shoulderbelt?

[scatterbunny]

What's the earliest model year sedan with a center shoulderbelt? Anyone know?

 

[southpawboston]

good question... i don't know the answer but i'm going to guess mid to late 90s? and as usual, it probably started first with high end cars like volvo and mercedes then trickled down to all the other cars...

 

[Dawn]

It depends greatly on the car. DH has a 93 Volvo and it has lap and shoulder belts in all positions.

 

[southpawboston]

^^^ yep, it had to be a volvo, lol... but very few other cars from 93 had them, i'm pretty sure...

 

[Jeanum]

As others posted, it will vary greatly depending on the model and manufacturer. It can also vary depending on the car's body style even within the same model year. For example, the first car we've owned with center shoulder belt is DH's '02 Saturn L100 sedan, while the '02 L-series wagon body style has a center lap-only belt (a big factor for buying the sedan instead of the wagon for us ). Center rear shoulder belts are finally going to become mandatory in another model year or two in the U.S. if I remember right.

 

[tjham]

I thought they already were until both my husband and son bought 2005 Ford pickups. *sigh* My husband's is even the King's Ranch model. But just plain old lap belts center rear, not even retractable ones! I was so disappointed (but like I could make them take the trucks back...yeah, right...)

 

[southpawboston]

the legal requirements differ in MANY ways between cars and trucks... not only in terms of seatbelt requirements but also crash worthiness, fuel efficiency and emissions output.

 

[southpawboston]

from the DOT website:

On December 8, 2004, NHTSA announced a final rule requiring that rear center seats in all new passenger vehicles be equipped with lap/shoulder safety belts. All passenger vehicles will be required to comply with the new rule by 2008, when NHTSA estimates the change will result in 10 to 23 fewer highway fatalities per year, and 245 to 495 fewer injuries. It comes in response to Anton's Law, passed to increase child passenger safety and to encourage the use of booster seats by older children.

"This rule will greatly improve safety for both children and older people," said former NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "One huge advantage is that lap-and-shoulder belts can be used with belt positioning booster seats, making the rear center seat the safest place for older children."

Manufacturers were not previously required to install shoulder belts in rear center seating positions, although many automakers did so voluntarily. Rear center seating positions are the favored location among parents for their children to ride due to their position furthest away from the point of impact in a side collision. As stated previously, booster seats must be used with the lap-and-shoulder belt system, never with the lap belt only.

Since 1989, NHTSA has required that all rear-window-side seats in new passenger vehicles be equipped with lap/shoulder belts. As of December 2004, 23 percent of new passenger cars, along with 51 percent of new vans and light trucks (SUVs and pickups), are only equipped with lap belts for use by rear-center-seat passengers.

In addition to cars and light trucks, the new rule applies to 12- and 15-passenger vans. Side-facing seats are exempt. The rule will be phased in by manufacturers, with half of model year 2006 passenger vehicles offering the lap/shoulder safety belts, increasing to 80 percent of vehicles in model year 2007 and 100 percent in model year 2008.

 

[LuvBug]

All passenger vehicles will be required to comply with the new rule by 2008,

so after 2008 all passenger vehicles should have L&S in all seating positions? I wonder how that is going to work in to the design of minivan's 3rd row. They will all probably be those ones that come from the ceiling.

 

[scatterbunny]

I knew they all had to have them beginning in '08, but I'm looking at mid-late 90's sedans right now and am hoping to find one with a center l/s belt.

 

[southpawboston]

I knew they all had to have them beginning in '08, but I'm looking at mid-late 90's sedans right now and am hoping to find one with a center l/s belt.

i'm guessing that only a few higher end european cars are going to have them for that age range. maybe it would be worth starting a new thread asking members if their car has them, and aksing them what make, year, and model they have?

 

[Jeanum]

The chart at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/safercar2000/table2.html has a column on the far right side for indicating which 2000 model year vehicles have a shoulder belt in the rear center position. I couldn't find a comparable chart for earlier model years but the 2000 model year list could help narrow it down some. If a vehicle had a shoulder belt in the 2000 model year, then it's possible it was also equipped with a center shoulder belt in earlier years, while 2000 models without center shoulder belts probably wouldn't have had shoulder belts in prior model years, KWIM? Hope it's useful for narrowing down possibilities.

 

[beebear23]

My '00 Focus has center shouldebelts and LATCH.

 

[emandbri]

I know the ford taurs sadan (not wagon) had one fairly early, don't know the year off hand.

 

[scatterbunny]

The Taurus is one I am leaning towards anyway, because of how wide and flat and carseat-compatible it generally is. I NEED to find out what model year the center shoulderbelt was added. I don't know how to go about finding out that info, though! I keep searching for pics of the interiors of the cars I am interested in, but they rarely show the backseat.

 

[emandbri]

wierd, I really thought it was earlier but looking at autotrader the earliest taurus I can find with a middle shoulder belt is a 2000.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=837

here is a 99
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...9&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=837
My dh has a 2000 camry with a shoulder belt in the middle but no headrest, it wasn't a problem before but now the kids are too tall so I have to use a high back there.

 

[scatterbunny]

Well, it looks like we have to deal with a lapbelt in the middle, there's no way we can afford something as new as 2000.

 

[Stresch]

We have a 97 Camry and it has lap/shoulder in the center, but no headrest in the center.

 

[chelle80]

My SIL has a 99 ford taurus that has the l/s belt, BUT the shoulder belt and lap belt are seperate and the sholder belt clips on to the lap belt. You can either use the l/s belt or just the lap belt. I hope that made sence

 

[nisi]

My SIL has a 99 ford taurus that has the l/s belt, BUT the shoulder belt and lap belt are seperate and the sholder belt clips on to the lap belt. You can either use the l/s belt or just the lap belt. I hope that made sence

Yep, that's a good description. In pictures, it usually looks like there's only a lap belt, but it's a shoulder belt that clips separately to the lap belt and retracts into the seat when not in use. Here's pictures of a '96.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200084510712
You can kind of see it in the picture of the back seat. Someone else made a good point, though, that the Taurus wagon probably doesn't have a center shoulder belt.

I still think that for what you need, the 96-99 Taurus/Sable is a very good choice... solid crash scores, big wide car seat friendly back seat, giant trunk, center rear shoulder belt, and TAs can be retrofitted. It might not be so great on gas mileage, but it's going to be heck better than your van was.