HOnda and the 40pound Latch limit

twokidstwodogs said:

Since she's a tech and has liability issues to worry about, Jen_nah may not be allowed to tell you this.....

....but many of us who own Hondas have chosen to use the top tether anchors beyond 40 lbs, on the grounds that (a) it's probably fine beyond 40 lbs and (b) even an inadequate tether would likely be helpful in a crash. When our older daughter hit 40 lbs, we switched to seatbelt installation for her Marathon, but kept using the top tether. I will do the same for my younger one.

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...A tether reduces head movement in a frontal crash, and this third point of restraint is considered to be increasingly beneficial for children at higher weights and heights.

The likelihood of a tether failing completely when anchoring a HWH-CR occupied by a child weighing more than 40 pounds is considered highly unlikely and has not been seen in real-world crashes. If the anchor, tether hook, strap, or connection to the CR were to fail, it would do so late in the crash sequence. It already would have restricted forward motion of the top of the CR significantly while still attached, absorbing crash energy in the process of deforming, stretching, and/or breaking. Both would result in considerably reduced head excursion compared to what would happen if the CR were not tethered...

It should be noted that in the few documented cases of tether failure in extreme dynamic tests, it has often been the hook or the connection point to the child restraint that has failed, not the anchor itself. Tests of a tethered CR for FMVSS 213 is considered severe, as the tether anchor on the sled bench is much more rigid that <sic> is likely in an actual vehicle. In the real world, the sheet metal around the anchor would bend under severe conditions, absorbing some additional crash forces.

Furthermore, the very slim risk of a tether pulling out in a extremely severe crash should be seen in relation to the substantial benefit of reduced head excursion due to tether use in much more common, lower force crashes as well as more severe crashes. Some manufacturers express concern about the rare event in which tether hook or anchor hardware might pull out completely and fly forward, still attached to the tether strap, possibly hitting the child or another passenger. Although this is a theoretical possibility, the very low probability of this happening, combined with the relatively minor injury potential from such hardware when compared to other injury-producing effects of such a severe crash if the seat were not tethered-needs to be weighed along with the more probable benefits of the tether. As with some other "warnings" issued by manufacturers, this may be intended to cover all possible injury scenarios that might confront them in court rather than to provide realistic advice.

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jen_nah said:

Yep, Honda has a 40lbs lower anchor limit. Once your child reaches 40lbs you then need to start using the vehicle seatbelt to secure his car seat if he is in a higher weight limit carseat.

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twokidstwodogs said:

Jenny, I know from reading these boards that the Honda top tether anchor can safely go beyond 40 lbs, but do you know whether Honda has said so? If I remember correctly, our Honda manual said that the LATCH limit was 40 lbs. But maybe I'm wrong and they just said lower anchors? It doesn't change what I'll do when DD hits that weight, but I'm curious.

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myrmom said:

thank you...once he hits 40 pounds i will switch to seatbelt and top tether anchor..

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