So - ummm Evenflo Manual....

babygirlsmom1005 · Feb 14, 2010

I was reading though the Generation 65 owners manual and came across this:

Page 4 Top Tether Warnings:

"The top tether strap MUST be used if your vehicle has a plain lap belt that only locks during a sudden stop or crash (emergency locking retractors) AND/OR if your vehicle seat belts whose buckles extend from a slot in the vehicle seat cushion in front of the crease where the seat and back cushions meet. Otherwise the child restraint cannot be installed tightly, increasing the risk of injury to your child. Check your vehile owner's manual to see if your vehicle has emergency locking retractors."

Did that read like I thought it did of basically use the top tether to make sure the seat is installed tightly

(and if it did

)

wendytthomas · Feb 14, 2010

Well, an ELR lap belt would require a belt shortening clip as well, and forward of the bight belts can be tricky, so I can see why they would say that. I think the wording is poorly done, though.

Wendy

2BunniesMommy · Feb 15, 2010

Saw that too and was a bit concerned by it.

mommycat · Feb 15, 2010

That part about the seat cushion sounds wrong - did you miss a word or two or is that exactly what it says? Because if so, it is either really really poorly written or my first suspicion was that it's some sort of copy/paste error. That sentence doesn't make sense to me.

Pixels · Feb 15, 2010

I've seen similar wording in other manuals.

It's important that the restraint be properly positioned pre-crash. With an ELR lap-only belt, without top tether, the restraint may slide forward on the seat, to the side, or even tip over through normal driving, and not be anywhere close to where it should be at the moment of impact. The top tether would add a lot of stability to the seat and make sure that it's approximately in the right spot when the ELR locks the belt at impact.

There's nothing wrong with using the top tether to tighten an installation. Certain vehicles, you have to connect and adjust the tether before you can even position the restraint. The important thing is that the installation is tight. It doesn't matter how much of the tightness comes from the lower anchors or seatbelt and how much comes from the top tether. Most manuals will tell you to connect lower anchors or seatbelt, connect the top tether, and then check for movement.

mommycat · Feb 15, 2010

Ok, NM my previous post -I found it online, it makes more sense there... guessing you just skipped a part of the text to save typing time:

• The top tether strap MUST be used if your vehicle has
a plain lap belt that only locks during a sudden stop or
crash (emergency locking retractors) AND/OR if your
vehicle has seat belts whose buckles extend from a slot
in the vehicle seat cushion in front of the crease where
the seat and back cushions meet. Otherwise the child
restraint cannot be installed tightly, increasing the
risk of injury to your child. Check your vehicle owner’s
manual to see if your vehicle has emergency locking
retractors.

The seat belt warnings section says:

Use only with vehicle seat belts that can be pulled tight
and will stay locked.

and the standard "must not use if the seat moves over 1 inch" spiel. So really, that should technically make ELR installs moot as they would not stay within the 1" movement, would they? (I've never seen one in relation to car seats.) So it may be more of a CYA in case a parent decided it did meet the movement test, the TT would make it worlds safer?

skiersnowboarder3 · Feb 15, 2010

Pixels said:
I've seen similar wording in other manuals.

It's important that the restraint be properly positioned pre-crash. With an ELR lap-only belt, without top tether, the restraint may slide forward on the seat, to the side, or even tip over through normal driving, and not be anywhere close to where it should be at the moment of impact. The top tether would add a lot of stability to the seat and make sure that it's approximately in the right spot when the ELR locks the belt at impact.

There's nothing wrong with using the top tether to tighten an installation. Certain vehicles, you have to connect and adjust the tether before you can even position the restraint. The important thing is that the installation is tight. It doesn't matter how much of the tightness comes from the lower anchors or seatbelt and how much comes from the top tether. Most manuals will tell you to connect lower anchors or seatbelt, connect the top tether, and then check for movement.

ELR lap belts require a BSC with installation. And, no, you should not use a tether to mask a bad install. The tether is meant to be the secondary form of connection to the vehicle, not the primary.

babygirlsmom1005 · Feb 15, 2010

babygirlsmom1005 said:
I was reading though the Generation 65 owners manual and came across this:

Page 4 Top Tether Warnings:

"The top tether strap MUST be used if your vehicle has a plain lap belt that only locks during a sudden stop or crash (emergency locking retractors) AND/OR if your vehicle seat cushion in front of the crease where the seat and back cushions meet. Otherwise the child restraint cannot be installed tightly, increasing the risk of injury to your child. Check your vehile owner's manual to see if your vehicle has emergency locking retractors."

(and if it did )

mommycat said:
Ok, NM my previous post -I found it online, it makes more sense there... guessing you just skipped a part of the text to save typing time:

The top tether strap MUST be used if your vehicle has
a plain lap belt that only locks during a sudden stop or
crash (emergency locking retractors) AND/OR if your
vehicle has seat belts whose buckles extend from a slot
in the vehicle seat cushion in front of the crease where
the seat and back cushions meet. Otherwise the child
restraint cannot be installed tightly, increasing the
risk of injury to your child. Check your vehicle owner’s
manual to see if your vehicle has emergency locking
retractors.

I thought I typed the same thing?

TechnoGranola · Feb 15, 2010

babygirlsmom1005 said:
I thought I typed the same thing?

I think you missed this part of one sentence "has seat belts whose buckles extend from a slot in the vehicle seat". You can edit your original post and add it in if you'd like.

babygirlsmom1005 · Feb 15, 2010

TechnoGranola said:
I think you missed this part of one sentence "has seat belts whose buckles extend from a slot in the vehicle seat". You can edit your original post and add it in if you'd like.

LOL yeap I missed it (didn't leave it out, just typed too fast and totally missed it)

So - ummm Evenflo Manual....

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