3rd row minivans can only support so few top tethers?

Okay, bear with me, this is just an out there theory.

I was toying with the idea of asking the service department at the Hyundai place if they could install a top tether in the middle of the 60/40 split 3rd row. (I looked at the van several weeks ago, so please correct me if my memory's fuzzy, but I recall there being 2 full sets of LATCH in the 3rd row, one to each outboard position, and nothing in the middle. I'd love a top tether there to put a ffing car seat.)

Then I started to piece it all together... in the Entourage, there's one top tether to each side of the 60/40 split... in the Quest there's one top tether to the single bench 3rd row... in the Uplander there's one top tether to the 3rd row... in the Sienna there's one top tether to each half of the 60/40 split... in the Chrysler vans there's one top tether to the 3rd row... in the Odyssey there are 3 top tethers to the 60/40 split 3rd row BUT the middle tether doesn't anchor to the back of the seat, it anchors across the cargo area... in the Mazda 5 there are 2 top tethers, one to each side of the 50/50 split.

I've been wondering why Honda would choose such a weird location for that middle top tether. Is it because the 3rd row of a minivan can't support the stress of that many top tethers safely?

Or should I just shut up and go to bed???

I have no idea why some vehicles have more/less than others. I suppose they are required to have a "minimum" and some only prefer to do the minimum? While others go above and beyond? I have no idea.

But I don't think it's a matter of a bench not being able to support 3 top tethers. My Windstar has a top tether built into the bottom of the 2 middle captains chairs and the back bench has 3 top tethers, all built into the bottom of the bench.

interesting theory, and i think it does have merit. i was thinking the exact same thing (i like your thinking )

funny you mention about the ody's third row center tether anchor... it's the exact same setup as in my mazda3. the outboard tethor anchors are behind the 60/40 split seatbacks, but the center anchor is all the way at the back of the cargo area.

the idea struck me as well... if they put the center tether anchor behind the seat, it would have to be pretty much at the inboard edge of the 60-side split. i don't know if you've bothered to check to see how sturdy the seatbacks are, but in a 60/40 split seat in most cars, you can take your hand and physically bend the seatback fore/aft an inch or two at the split. it is not nearly as rigid as a "fixed" seatback or even a non-split folding seatback. by contrast, the closer you move to the outboard ends of the seatback, there is much less "give" in the seatback. the outboard anchors are located much closer to the two points on the car where each half of the seatback is attached.

imagine it this way: picture a shelf in a bookshelf. imagine that three corners of the shelf are screwed to the supporting walls of the bookshelf, but one corner is not. that one corner would have some up/down give, while the other three corners were very rigid, right?

well each half of the split seatback is the same way, only vertical, not horizontal . the outboard side of the seatback is very rigid, but the upper inboard corner has some fore/aft give. perhaps the mfrs thought that having a center anchor in the 60 split wouldn't be too sturdy... especially if the 60 split already has to support an outboard anchor.

momto1: in the windstar, does the third row bench have a split? or is it one piece? my guess is that it is one piece, in which case it could support three tether anchors.

Just to toss out there - mine's a 2001 Chrysler Voyager and has top tether in all 5 rear seating positions. It also has lower anchors in all of those, but you aren't allowed to use all 3 at once. It's either one, or both outboard, not an outboard and a middle. But if you did all seatbelt installs, you could use the top tethers on all 3.

Our car is a Suzuki XL7. The middle row seats 3 and is a 60/40 split. It has tethers on the back of all three seat positions. The third row seats two and has two tethers that anchor in the cargo area. Some vehicles are so different.

Kellyr2 said:

Just to toss out there - mine's a 2001 Chrysler Voyager and has top tether in all 5 rear seating positions. It also has lower anchors in all of those, but you aren't allowed to use all 3 at once. It's either one, or both outboard, not an outboard and a middle. But if you did all seatbelt installs, you could use the top tethers on all 3.

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Chrysler decontented their minivans the next year. We were told this was because of a new standard that required all anchors in the same row to be tested simultaneously, rather than individually. It was apparently a lot cheaper to remove some anchors rather than to re-inforce the seats and retest.

The 2005 Odyssey lacked 3rd row top tether anchors for the outboard seats, though they were present for 2001-2004. Honda added those again for 2006. Unlike the ones from 2001-2004, those in the updated Odyssey were moved to the back of the seat itself rather than on the tailgate sil. I don't know if the middle one is different for structural reasons or not, but it's a reasonable guess.

My KIA sedona has the one tether for the third row. The owners manual says not to install a seat on the split. It also says that the tether can slip between the slip and sould only be used for the one side.

What does your Hyundai manual say about third row tethering and carseats on the split?

Synchro246 said:

What does your Hyundai manual say about third row tethering and carseats on the split?

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Me?? I don't even own a minivan yet LOL! I'm hoping to test drive the Hyundai Entourage this weekend, so I'll post again if I can.

southpawboston, I absolutely get your explanation. What got me wondering was when when I looked at the Toyota Sienna, (an 06, I believe) the 3rd row had 2 full sets of LATCH-- one was the 40 side, and the other was the 60 side in the "midddle" position. The outboard side of the 60 split had nothing. Now I want to run back to the dealer and shake the heck out of the 3rd row LOL!

Momto1, how old is your Windstar? I'm wondering if it's the same 'syndrome' as Kellyr2's 2001 Voyager. I just looked at the Chrysler vans, and they only offer 1 set of LATCH in the 3rd row-- oddly it's inbetween the 2 seating positions on the 60 split of the bench. But according to southpawboston's theory, that would be the most reinforced place for LATCH, right?

CPSDarren, I was lurking at odyclub, and there was a post there about a bar under the 3rd row, and could you just top tether the middle position to that bar, rather than across the cargo area. That's what inspired my post here. What are your thoughts on that?

babygirllyndsey, how many lower anchors are there in your XL-7? Dh and I are looking at that one as well...

Thanks for all the help on this thread!

Kellyr2 said:

Just to toss out there - mine's a 2001 Chrysler Voyager and has top tether in all 5 rear seating positions. It also has lower anchors in all of those, but you aren't allowed to use all 3 at once. It's either one, or both outboard, not an outboard and a middle. But if you did all seatbelt installs, you could use the top tethers on all 3.

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2001 was the magical year they put all those tethers..THEN they did the testing with three seats and supposedly it didn't pass with all three hooked, and then they got rid of some anchors in 2002 (boo)

joolsplus3 said:

2001 was the magical year they put all those tethers..THEN they did the testing with three seats and supposedly it didn't pass with all three hooked, and then they got rid of some anchors in 2002 (boo)

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So wouldn't this support the theory that you need a larger (ie. stronger) than typical bench to support 3 tethers on it?

XmasEve said:

So wouldn't this support the theory that you need a larger (ie. stronger) than typical bench to support 3 tethers on it?

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Yes, though models like the Odyssey and Windstar did not remove their top tethers like Chrysler did.

XmasEve said:

CPSDarren, I was lurking at odyclub, and there was a post there about a bar under the 3rd row, and could you just top tether the middle position to that bar, rather than across the cargo area. That's what inspired my post here. What are your thoughts on that?

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Can you post a link to that thread at Odyclub please?

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=17455

I didn't realize it was such an old thread. And it looks like you posted on it back in August?