radian and latch

flutie128

New member
I have read here that the new radian can latch until 80 pounds. I thought that you could only latch until the car's limit. What is different about the new radian?
 
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Pixels

New member
The new Radians (SL models) have SuperLatch. It's a heavy-duty set of hardware for LATCH on the carseat. Sunshine Kids says that you can disregard your vehicle's LATCH weight limit and use it all the way up to 80 pounds IF your vehicle was manufactured on or after September 1, 2005. Note that I said manufactured. There is a plate on the sill of the driver's door that will tell you your vehicle's DOM. Most 2005 model year vehicles would have been made before that date, and some 2006s as well.

What's so special about 9/1/05? As of that date, the standards for LATCH in the vehicles changed. Sunshine Kids says that their Radians with an 80 pound child will not put more force on the vehicle anchors than the federal testing standard.
 

flutie128

New member
Thanks for the info. Both of our cars are pre 2005. I am not sure about disregarding the vehicle instructions though. What about cars that don't have a limit print in the book?
 

Pixels

New member
Since your vehicles are pre-2005, you can't use LATCH beyond your vehicle limits.

I understand your concern about disregarding vehicle limits. As a tech, I can't ever tell you to disregard anything written in the manuals. But you're right, many vehicles don't list a weight limit in their manuals, and the only way that we (or at least I) know about them are through this website and/or through the LATCH manual.

Whether your vehicle has a weight limit in the manual or there's one they don't tell you about, I tell parents about their vehicle's weight limits. Any decision to disregard the vehicle's weight limit and to listen to SKJP that it's okay has to be a parental one. Do I think it's the worst decision in the world? No. Can I tell you that it's okay? No. Would I install my child's seat that way in my vehicle? I'm not sure.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
LATCH connectors on seats will fail long before the LATCH hardware in a car. Sunshine Kids' new connectors and webbing are stronger, and also more evenly distribute force along the anchors.

Vehicle LATCH limits are likely in place more as a way for them to cover their butts.

Keep in mind that most people don't even know there are LATCH limits to be ignored (and that includes a lot of vehicle customer service people).
 

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