LATCH weight limit, non-locking/locking seat belt for Honda?

I saw some other thread saying that Honda has a LATCH weight limit of 40 lbs instead of 48 lbs. I can't seem to find any weight limit on the owner's manual of my Honda Pilot 2004. Can anyone point me to a reliable source that specify the weight limit for Honda SUVs?

Also, do I need to use a locking clip when I install Radian using safety belt? On the manuel, it says that vehicle with non-locking seatbelt is not compatible with Radian carseat. A store tech told me that the safety belt on my Pilot is "non-locking", therefore I need to use a locking clip to secure it. But when I asked someone at the Honda dealership, he told me that the safety belt is locking. I called Sunshine Kids and was told only really old cars have non-locking, so I don't need to worry. I am just confused.

Thanks!

Call Honda. I know their manual has no information, and the Radian says use with LATCH till 48 pounds, if they get enough calls, maybe they'll be more accountable and put their info in their books.

Yes, your seatbelts lock. You have switchable retractors, so when you pull the shoulderbelt out sloooooowwwly, it will get to the end, and then ratchet back in with a very quiet click click click sound, and they will remain tightly locked. (I doubt that person at the store was a tech if they didn't know that....and your manual will have the proper information, Hondas have fantastic seat installation information, except for the lack of a LATCH weight limit, ugh).

Good luck with getting an answer from Honda on the latch limits! I tried that once and was given 3 different answers by 3 different people. The first told me they had no limits, to use it to the limit of the carseat! I asked about a 65lb child in a car seat since the marathon/blvd/dec actually go to 65lbs and I had 2 marathons. The answer was it's impossible to have a 65lb child in a carseat! I told them I had 2 seats that both went to 65lbs, and I was then advised to NEVER use latch with either of them! The second person I talked to again told me they had no limits, and when given the same info said he personally wouldn't use it forward facing, which he assumed would be 20lbs! When I told him I would rear face to 33lbs he said I couldn't do that anyway! The 3rd person said she thought it might be 40lbs but it might be 48lbs, she wasn't sure but if I left her my info she would get back to me.....that was almost 1 year ago and I haven't heard anything. I wouldn't know my latch limits if someone here hadn't posted a link to a website with the limits!!

Yeah, they are clueless...utterly clueless...but they are the only more authoritative source than Saferidenews (which knows way more than they do, unfortunately!)... I was just hoping if enough mad mamas call and question and complain they'd *possibly* think to put it in their manuals.

Here's the SafeRideNews compilation of LATCH limits:

http://www.saferidenews.com/pdfs/LATCHApp_B_pg105.pdf

Thank you all for the helpful information! What's "saferidenews.com"? Is it a reliable source?

My car is at the Honda dealership today, I hope I can pick it up by tomorrow. I will ask the people there and will keep you posted.

By the way, I finally got my new version of Radian65 today!!

Yes, SafeRideNews is reliable. It is published by SafetyBeltSafeUSA ( www.carseat.org ).

How do you like the Radian?

Thanks, Scatterbunny. I asked the guy in the dealership today, and he had no clue what the weight limit is for Honda LATCH system. I also asked him about the safety belt thing, and he was so impatient, and told me to call Honda directly (I thought they were the authorized Honda dealer?!)

Anyway, there's also this safety belt issue. On Honda website, I saw a demo stating that the safety belt is locking and retractable - just pull the belt all the way, then release and let the safety belt take up the slacks. Just that easy? I tried to do that with the driver's seat belt today when I was waiting on a red light, it didn't lock. I don't know what's going on or maybe the second row is different from the driver's seat? Since my car is still in the shop, I can't quite test it yet.

And yes, I got my radian - the new model, finally! I had to switch the covers because I wanted the champagne color but SK were out of stock for that color, so Russ told me to just switch the covers. It is a very heavy seat, but sturdy too. I haven't had a chance to install it yet since my car is in the shop again (just picked up my car last Friday from the body shop and over the weekend discovered that there's a electric problem with my security system, probably related to the accident I was in.) I am too tired to install it on the rental car - over the past week, I had to uninstall/install the carseat so many times! I could never tighten either the Apex or the infant carseat enough on my own that I had to ask the people in the auto shops to help. And I am a size 6-8, 138 lbs, not so tiny - I don't know how other mothers are able to do it on their own securely.

I like the Radian so far, and really cross my fingers that it will work well in my car. The harness and crotch buckles and LATCH connectors are similar to the ones of Britax, pretty easy to use. And crotch buckles do NOT pinch my son's leg, which is a problem with Apex. It has the foam at most of the back, sides and even the seat area. But I noticed the foam is not as thick as Britax's. The seat cover is well secured on the seat with many hooks and clips. I have had this problem with Marathon that the seat cover gets loose each time my son gets into the seat. Oh, I am also surprised to see that my son's shoulder is almost leveled with the second highest harness slot(he's about 38 inches tall), I thought he would definitely use the second highest harness for a while. I guess I will need to change to the top harness soon. I hope Radian will last him for another 3 years or so. Can the harness slot be lower than the child's shoudler?

Your driver's belt won't lock like the other belts do. The driver's belt is set up to only lock in a sudden stop or crash. Your other belts WILL lock by pulling the shoulderbelt all the way out and letting it slowly feed back in, though.

I'm glad you love the Radian! It definitely seems like a high-quality seat. I have heard that Sunshine Kids allows shoulders over top slots, but haven't read the manual myself to verify.

Amaris said:

Good luck with getting an answer from Honda on the latch limits! I tried that once and was given 3 different answers by 3 different people. The first told me they had no limits, to use it to the limit of the carseat!

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Me too!!!! I get a different answer each time I call. I even had someone tell me that SafeKids was wrong! I spoke to some guy (I wrote down his name, but I can't find it right now), who told me that he was an expert on such matters and that there is no weight limit. They don't know what they are talking about over there at Honda.

scatterbunny said:

Yes, SafeRideNews is reliable. It is published by SafetyBeltSafeUSA ( www.carseat.org ).

How do you like the Radian?

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Saferidenews is published by www.saferidenews.com, but they are such great old pals with SafetybeltSafeUSA, no one can tell them apart

ifkt355 said:

Thank you all for the helpful information! What's "saferidenews.com"? Is it a reliable source?

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Yes, definitely -- CPSTechnicians are encouraged to subscribe to SRN to keep us updated

Hope you like the Radian

joolsplus3 said:

Saferidenews is published by www.saferidenews.com, but they are such great old pals with SafetybeltSafeUSA, no one can tell them apart

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Thanks for clarifying that, Julie!