Question Ford Freestyle - retrofitting 4th rear tether anchor

Unregistered · Jul 6, 2010

I have a 6 seatbelt Ford Freestyle.

In 3 of the 4 rear seating (middle & back) positions, there are both the LATCH (or rather the Cdn equivilant, for which I forget the acronym) anchors and embedded in the back of the seat backs, the rear tether anchor points.

My question/problem is that come September, I will need to have 4 forward facing harnessed seats, and need to get an additional rear tether anchor installed for the 3rd row drivers side seat.

Has anyone had this done before? My local dealer doesn't think it CAN be done, but I'm almost certain it could, as I know they retrofit old vehicles that don't have them, so why can't they make it work here?

I am waiting to hear back from Ford's head office/customer service about this as well.

I just wanted to know if anyone else has successfully had a 4th anchor installed in a Freestyle.

(Returning a child to rearfacing is not an option at this point, and none of them are ready to go to a booster, only one can even legally be in a booster, and IMO he's not ready to safely ride w/o a harness)

carseatcoach · Jul 6, 2010

In general, dealers cannot/will not install additional anchors in vehicles that are factory-equipped with anchors, because there are no more approved anchor locations.

QuassEE · Jul 6, 2010

You cannot add an anchor--but I'm curious as to the weights and ages of the kids you'll be transporting? Since it's possible to go from rear-facing to a booster, it's also possible to never need a tether anchor. I suppose it's possible that you have a lot of 46lb 2 and 3 year olds, though

-Nicole.

Unregistered · Jul 6, 2010

I have a 36 lb 3 1/2 year old (he's mine). He rides in a Radian, FF. It's almost as old as he is, and as far as I know, he exceeds the RF limit for it.

Then, I have assorted daycare kiddos.
DC boy 1 is one week younger than DS, slightly heavier same height.
DC boy 2 has just turned 4, is taller than DS, and slightly heavier.
Those 2 never both need to be in the car, so they share a seat http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index.jsp?productId=2688796 (which is actually DS's 'spare' seat, sometimes in DH's truck ... we're really good at installing this one now)

DC boy 3 is only here for 7 more weeks, rarely goes in the car, is 15mth old and FF in DS's old Enspira (and yes, I know that he could/should be RF, but he is well beyond the legal limits to be FF, and since he will only be in my car a total of 3-5 times, I will defer to his parents on this one. I did tell them that he could go either way in that seat, and since he is their child, I will let them make the choice).

In September, I do not know for certain what children will be here during the day. I know I will continue to have DCB1 and DCB2, although not at the same time. I may or may not have 2 more children that are that FF size, and based on the families I've spoken to, it seems quite likely that I will end up with more 3 year olds that are FF. I won't have kindy students, so no one over the age of 5. I also need to work with the seats that I have already, as I cannot leave all the kids unattended to install seats every day. I will need to add one seat to this mix -- I can hope for a large, mature 4 year old who can sit in a booster, but I'm not banking on a 4 year old being able to be that well behaved in the 3rd row, where they are mostly out of sight. I can also hope for a wee little kiddo so I can RF them ... but I'm planning for the reality of having 4 three year olds.

If it's absolutely not going to work, I need to make sure I only take in children that are going to be RF for that seat.

In September, I'll have to drive my son to preschool 2 days a week, with the whole gang, so I have a couple months to sort this out, but don't want to leave it for the last minute.

I need to go register here, as I have some other questions not directly related to this situation

QuassEE · Jul 6, 2010

Since it's only one seating position without the forward-facing tether anchor that you need, and your son is the child who rides with you the most, either he or the youngest child should be rear-facing in your vehicle..ideally both. You would only need to purchase one seat in order to make your daycare situation both safe and legal.

One more thing--your car, your rules--that 15 month old, now that you know better from the forums here, needs to be rear-facing. The parents of children in your care should ideally be providing you seats--seats of YOUR choice. GOOD childcare is hard to find, and if that defines you then you'll have no problem convincing these parents to spring $300 to keep everyone as safe as you need them to be. At the end of the day, you're the one responsible for their care and safety and were anything to happen as a result of illegal or unsafe actions, the liability is on you. You want to make sure you've done everything in your power.

The Sunshine Kids Radian XT has a 45lb rear-facing weight limit, and solves the lack of a tether anchor issue. If you end up with all 3-4 year old 46lbers..only then do you have a problem. The only legal and safe option at that point would be to use your front passenger seat if it still has the tether anchor present? (I know the Windstars did..)

-Nicole.

QuassEE · Jul 6, 2010

Just realized you said Freestyle and not Freestar.. Doubt there's a tether anchor there, but I suppose you could look.

-Nicole.

SynEpona · Jul 7, 2010

QuassEE said:
Since it's only one seating position without the forward-facing tether anchor that you need, and your son is the child who rides with you the most, either he or the youngest child should be rear-facing in your vehicle..ideally both. You would only need to purchase one seat in order to make your daycare situation both safe and legal.

One more thing--your car, your rules--that 15 month old, now that you know better from the forums here, needs to be rear-facing. The parents of children in your care should ideally be providing you seats--seats of YOUR choice. GOOD childcare is hard to find, and if that defines you then you'll have no problem convincing these parents to spring $300 to keep everyone as safe as you need them to be. At the end of the day, you're the one responsible for their care and safety and were anything to happen as a result of illegal or unsafe actions, the liability is on you. You want to make sure you've done everything in your power.

The Sunshine Kids Radian XT has a 45lb rear-facing weight limit, and solves the lack of a tether anchor issue. If you end up with all 3-4 year old 46lbers..only then do you have a problem. The only legal and safe option at that point would be to use your front passenger seat if it still has the tether anchor present? (I know the Windstars did..)

-Nicole.

Unfortunately, I live in an area where childcare is not at all hard to find, in fact there is a major oversupply. Much of it is probably excellent care with overqualified caregivers as the school boards have not hired new teachers for several years, yet people keep graduating from teacher's college & then doing daycare. I prefer not to put my son in that un-tethered seat position & turn him back RF, as it's the furthest from the driver's seat, and impractical for our regular, non-daycare driving. Buying a 4th seat at this point is not really viable for us, we have one child and 4 seats as it is (the 4th is an infant seat that expires in 3mth, so it's not a factor for the fall driving, and the 15mth old is too tall for it already, so it's not a factor right now).

As I said, the 15 mth old is not going to be a regular passenger in the fall, and both his parents & I are satisfied with the current set up for the 3 more trips he might make in my car (we rarely drive during the day, in the summer, only once in the past 5 weeks).

There is no tether on the front passenger seat.

I think the best solution is going to be to limit the 4th childcare spot to a child that can RF from the beginning, but with the brilliant Ontario law of Lbs not age for the criteria to FF legally, and the 12mth mat leave ... most children start care already having been turned in their family cars. It will just have to be a childcare thing for them to RF here, which I have absolutely no issue with going forward with new clients. Converting existing clients is a separate issue.

mommycat · Jul 7, 2010

I want to point out that your spare seats, the 3in1s (Eddie Bauer and Enspira), are going to be outgrown soon by at least some of the kids. They both have a 40lb harness limit and the top headrest position can only be used in booster mode, so depending on torso heights they may or may not be close to outgrowing the harness by height. All three older boys are awfully close to that 40lb limit, by the sounds of it.

I would make sure that your new seat has nice, high limits, both weight and height. Personally I would ditch one of the 3in1s - when do they expire? Maybe you can sell them, 3in1s tend to go easily for a good price, it seems, since people love them. I would get a highback Graco Turbo booster and an Evenflo Maestro to replace it, or a Maestro and a Scenera if you get a baby instead of a 4yo. Even if the EB 3in1 is 3.5yo, you should be able to get close to 180*4.5/8=$100 out of it if it is in good condition. You could also ditch both 3in1s and replace with 2 Maestros and TB/Scenera, but only if you are sure you won't have 2 babies.

The Turbo you can find at Walmart for $65 and the Maestro is $129 at TRU or Zellers, and the Scenera often goes on sale for about $65 at Zellers ($75 regular price at Walmart). The Turbo gives great fit on younger booster riders and is just a nice booster and not too expensive. Boosters do tend to have 40lb/4yo/40" as minimums, so if you need to put someone in a booster make it someone who is 4yo. In terms of sitting well, they may surprise you. Also, do your belts lock at the retractor? In a pinch, you can lock the belt to keep the booster kid contained. The Maestro has 18" top slots same as the Radian and a harness limit of 47lbs. It turns into usually pretty well-fitting booster but doesn't adjust any taller - which doesn't sound like an issue for you anyway. The Scenera is narrow, 35lbs RF and 40lbs FF, with a very decent shell height for RF. FF the top slots are pretty low, but not a problem if you are using it for a baby anyway. (My DS2 still fits in it RF with over 1" above his head at 2.5yo.)

You could sell the 3in1s and put the money towards the new seats. 2 Maestros and a Scenera/Turbo would cost you 129*2+75=$333+tax, less the hopefully $200 for the 3in1s is $133 out of pocket.

SynEpona · Jul 14, 2010

Just wanted to update:

After talking to several people at Ford & at 2 dealerships, the final verdict is that Ford does not have an official part for this.

The unofficial word from the Ford's customer service HQ is that "you can just take it to any auto shop & they will install one". The unofficial word from the service manager at our old (much loved) Ford dealership is that "I'd do it for myself in my own vehicle, but we can't do it here for you, b/c there is no official part"

An Aurora · Jul 14, 2010

mommycat said:
I want to point out that your spare seats, the 3in1s (Eddie Bauer and Enspira), are going to be outgrown soon by at least some of the kids. They both have a 40lb harness limit and the top headrest position can only be used in booster mode, so depending on torso heights they may or may not be close to outgrowing the harness by height. All three older boys are awfully close to that 40lb limit, by the sounds of it.

I would make sure that your new seat has nice, high limits, both weight and height. Personally I would ditch one of the 3in1s - when do they expire? Maybe you can sell them, 3in1s tend to go easily for a good price, it seems, since people love them. I would get a highback Graco Turbo booster and an Evenflo Maestro to replace it, or a Maestro and a Scenera if you get a baby instead of a 4yo. Even if the EB 3in1 is 3.5yo, you should be able to get close to 180*4.5/8=$100 out of it if it is in good condition. You could also ditch both 3in1s and replace with 2 Maestros and TB/Scenera, but only if you are sure you won't have 2 babies.

The Turbo you can find at Walmart for $65 and the Maestro is $129 at TRU or Zellers, and the Scenera often goes on sale for about $65 at Zellers ($75 regular price at Walmart). The Turbo gives great fit on younger booster riders and is just a nice booster and not too expensive. Boosters do tend to have 40lb/4yo/40" as minimums, so if you need to put someone in a booster make it someone who is 4yo. In terms of sitting well, they may surprise you. Also, do your belts lock at the retractor? In a pinch, you can lock the belt to keep the booster kid contained. The Maestro has 18" top slots same as the Radian and a harness limit of 47lbs. It turns into usually pretty well-fitting booster but doesn't adjust any taller - which doesn't sound like an issue for you anyway. The Scenera is narrow, 35lbs RF and 40lbs FF, with a very decent shell height for RF. FF the top slots are pretty low, but not a problem if you are using it for a baby anyway. (My DS2 still fits in it RF with over 1" above his head at 2.5yo.)

You could sell the 3in1s and put the money towards the new seats. 2 Maestros and a Scenera/Turbo would cost you 129*2+75=$333+tax, less the hopefully $200 for the 3in1s is $133 out of pocket.

Yes, definitely check the headrests on those 3-in-1's. Either way, they need to be replaced soon since they will be outgrown by weight soon anyway.

QuassEE · Jul 14, 2010

SynEpona said:
The unofficial word from the Ford's customer service HQ is that "you can just take it to any auto shop & they will install one". The unofficial word from the service manager at our old (much loved) Ford dealership is that "I'd do it for myself in my own vehicle, but we can't do it here for you, b/c there is no official part"

Wow.. that's bordering on.. negligent. Were he the occupant protection lead at corporate, I might be inclined to listen.. but a random service manager at a dealership who probably has very little occupant protection knowledge and experience? No way in hell would I trust my child's safety to that person.

-Nicole.

bubbaray · Jul 15, 2010

Is this the same van that April has? Didn't she swap out the 2nd row seats for a 2nd row bench to give herself more TAs?? Someone here semi-recently converted their Ford van for the purposes of getting more TAs for FFg seats -- I'm pretty sure it was April.

Anjer · Jul 15, 2010

It's a Freestyle - which is their larger SUV, it's not a van...

Question Ford Freestyle - retrofitting 4th rear tether anchor

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