Latch to 80 lbs?

I was reading some recent forums, and now I have another question.
We have a brand new XTSL for my son that I helped buy by selling the XT. I like the steel frame and SIP, and narrow design. So another brand seat right now is not something I want. Love my Radian for our main van.

He is FF and almost 5, at 46 lbs. We have a new Honda (40 lb. latch limit). The reason I sold the XT was because I could not get a good seatbelt install (that satisfied me 100%). With latch I get great results! Some techs say they would not use SL past the limits. I am torn by this.

If SK tested it to 80 lbs. then I ought to be able to put an 80 lb. child in there latched. If it was unsafe and failed, imagine the lawsuit!!!

Now, my kid won't get near 80 lbs. before he is too tall for the seat, but he could hit 60, perhaps. He is only 46 lbs. now so I am not worried at all that he's latched.

After reading these forums, I decided that I should always follow what the manual says. In years past, I was clueless and probably compromised safety. (Didn't know straps had to be below in RF, etc. as a new mom).

So...I am trying to be perfect and follow the manual. It says latch to 80 lbs. is safe. But experienced techs are saying don't do it. I am torn! (again, we won't make it near 80 lbs). I am not going back to the poor seatbelt install. My latch install is very good. He loves his seat. I hope I am not doing anything wrong. I am following the manual.

Radian allows use of the super latch up to 80 lbs if your vehicle allows for it as well. If your vehicle manual gives a set weight, then you must discontinue use of latch and install with a seat belt at that number. There really is a select number of vehicles that revert to the car seat's limits. I'm not positive about your car, but if it says 40#, that's the limit. Sorry

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There is nothing in the manual, no.
2011 Odyssey.

The 40 limit is generally what Honda limits have claimed to be in the past. But the manual has no limit for this new van.

SL is supposed to work with any car after a certain date in 2005, I read. I did not read anything about only certain cars. ?

SKJP says you can use LATCH up to 80 with any vehicle, regardless of what the vehicle manufacturer says, as long as the vehicle was manufactured after a certain date.

Honda says 40 pounds, period. It has never been in their manuals.

NHTSA is considering making a rule that car seat manufacturers would not be allowed to use LATCH over 65 pounds.

Interesting... any idea what that magic year is?

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Just watch your SL in the Odyssey -- that is a model that has commonly had SL loosening issues. If you're using it, check it every time.

It is 2005. And sure enough...our spare car is 2005 but since I don't know the DATE our car was made, I won't risk that. It has to be September from what I read.

But the van manual says use the seat to the height and weight of the child seat.
So I can't see I am doing anything wrong using SL past 40 lbs, as there is NO limit in the manual. And I am using the seat per the SK manual.

I will look for loosening, yes. FF too there are issues?
It is in very well right now.

bnsnyde said:

It is 2005. And sure enough...our spare car is 2005 but since I don't know the DATE our car was made, I won't risk that. It has to be September from what I read.

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There's a month on the sticker on the inside of the driver's side door.

The DOM of the vehicle is on a sticker in the driver's door jamb. A 2005 model year vehicle was probably made before 9/1/05, the cutoff date for SuperLatch.

RF issues seem to be more common than FF issues but it has happened both ways. Is it easy to push down on the tilt lock?

Without weighing in on whether or not you should use the SL feature, here's what I know about LATCH.

It's standard across cars. Honda doesn't make their own, or if they do they make it to the same specifications as Subaru, BMW, Nissan, etc. There's a standard width, standard bar size, standard everything.

The concern had been for years that the LATCH connectors on the carseats would break around 48 pounds in a crash. Not as much that the metal in the car would break, but that the connector would break.

So what SK was was make a bigger and stronger connector. One that could withstand, in theory, 105 pounds in a crash (80 pounds of child, 25 pounds of carseat).

On September 1, 2005, all cars were required to undergo a LATCH standard change. That's why that date is magical. Whereas we discuss FMVSS213 when we talk about carseats, FMVSS225 covers LATCH (and for those geeks who are interested, FMVSS208 covers car safety systems like airbags and seatbelts. FMVSS stands for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards).

Now, it's up to you if you feel comfortable with it. As you've noticed, Honda doesn't mention anything in their manual. And if you call three times you'll get three different answers. The 40 pounds came from the engineers, rather than the customer service reps. I have no way to tell you if they're being conservative and just trying to cover their bums. I do know that LATCH is standard across the board, and that there was a required change (I believe to how strong the bars are, but I'm not sure on that) on September 1, 2005. I know that SK says their connectors will withstand forces to the maximum limits of the seat. Do with that information as you will.

Wendy

My 2006 was made 8/2005 so it's 40lbs for me but I'm not buying one unless I can get a good install RF and FF

Awesome information, Wendy. Thank you. It helped confirm what I understood about latch, etc. after doing lots of research.

The world of car seats is very complex. Don't engineers, customer service people, vehicle makers and carseat makers ever communicate to standardize information?

bnsnyde said:

Awesome information, Wendy. Thank you. It helped confirm what I understood about latch, etc. after doing lots of research.

The world of car seats is very complex. Don't engineers, customer service people, vehicle makers and carseat makers ever communicate to standardize information?

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:ROTFLMAO:
:ROTFLMAO:
:ROTFLMAO:
:ROTFLMAO:

Um, no. Without the LATCH manual most of us would be up a creek sans paddle. They went and got all of the information together from engineers about each car, and from each carseat manufacturer. That's about the best there is (and I'm so lucky, I get to work with a lot of these people!!).

Wendy

Double post by flakey phone

If I wasn't so exhausted, I'd run out to my car in the dark to see when my 2006 Odyssey was made. Pretty sure it's before that magic date. Not that it matters much, but I didn't realize the 40lb LATCH limit at first and had my 41/42ish 5-year-old's Boulevard installed with LATCH at first.