Acadia/Tether use question

Hi! this is my first post to this forum - I have learned a ton reading over the last few days - thanks for all of your knowledge, I have gotten sucked into this website for hours on end!

So, I think that I want to buy the GMC Acadia (same vehicle as Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave).
I currently have 3 children (but would like to plan for a 4th)

DS 3.5 years old about 35 lbs
DS 2 years old about 25 lbs
DD 5 months old about 13 lbs

What I really want to do is put the two boys in the 3rd seat in the outboard positions and the baby in one of the captain's chairs and then if/when there is a 4th kid it will go in the other captain's chair but until then the captian's chair can be used to provide easy acess to the 3rd row.

The 3rd row only has one tether anchor in the center position (I think? at least that is all I can readily see). I feel fine about using the seatbelt instead of the Latch for the seat install but I don't know about not tethering- it makes me nervous.

So, I guess these are my questions.
When is the tether supposed to be used (weight recomendations)?
Is it a big safety compromise not to use it?
Are there seats that are "safe" without it?
I am assuming that you can't tether the outboard seats to the middle anchor?
Are there additional tether points in the Acadia? or can they be put in aftermarket?

any advice that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

bobo said:

Hi! this is my first post to this forum - I have learned a ton reading over the last few days - thanks for all of your knowledge, I have gotten sucked into this website for hours on end!

So, I think that I want to buy the GMC Acadia (same vehicle as Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave).
I currently have 3 children (but would like to plan for a 4th)

DS 3.5 years old about 35 lbs
DS 2 years old about 25 lbs
DD 5 months old about 13 lbs

What I really want to do is put the two boys in the 3rd seat in the outboard positions and the baby in one of the captain's chairs and then if/when there is a 4th kid it will go in the other captain's chair but until then the captian's chair can be used to provide easy acess to the 3rd row.

The 3rd row only has one tether anchor in the center position (I think? at least that is all I can readily see). I feel fine about using the seatbelt instead of the Latch for the seat install but I don't know about not tethering- it makes me nervous.

So, I guess these are my questions.
When is the tether supposed to be used (weight recomendations)?
Is it a big safety compromise not to use it?
Are there seats that are "safe" without it?
I am assuming that you can't tether the outboard seats to the middle anchor?
Are there additional tether points in the Acadia? or can they be put in aftermarket?

any advice that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Click to expand...

First off, welcome to the boards.

I have a Saturn Outlook with 2nd row bench, so my manual and interior is slightly different from yours.

My manual explicitly states that only the middle position can be used in the 3rd row with a seat requiring a top tether. It says not to secure a child safety seat outboard in the 3rd row, but only because there isn't a tether anchor there - this is probably Canadian specific since all ff'ing seats have to be tethered here.


So, I guess these are my questions.

1. When is the tether supposed to be used (weight recomendations)?
   
   GM vehicles all have LATCH rated to up to 48lbs. General concensus is that tether anchors can and should continue to be used above that weight because in the event a tether anchor fails, it will have already done it's job.
   
2. Is it a big safety compromise not to use it?
   
   Whenever possible, it's always better to tether a ff'ing car seat. In Canada it's required by law, in the US it's optional. Is it a big safety compromise? I think for me it would depend on the seat - the Radian has lower than required head excursion numbers even without a tether, so if I was going to use a seat untethered, that would be it. This is a hard question for me to answer though because all seats are tethered here.
   
3. Are there seats that are "safe" without it?
   
   The Radian is usually a top choice in situations where a top tether isn't available. Seats have to pass FMVSS standards both tethered and untethered - depending on whether the tether is being used or not, there is a different amount of head excursion that is allowed. Unless a car seat manual indicates that a tether is required when ff'ing - or if you're in Canada, then a seat is "safe". SafeEST however, would be to have it tethered.
   
4. I am assuming that you can't tether the outboard seats to the middle anchor?
   
   This is correct. Too much of an angle, and the vehicle manual says not to.
   
5. Are there additional tether points in the Acadia? or can they be put in aftermarket?
   
   No, what you see is what you get. Vehicles that come with pre-installed tether anchors and LATCH usually can't have any more tether anchors retrofitted.

Having only 3 tether anchors might not cause problems for you since you'll have the youngest rf'ing for at least a couple years after birth. There's a 3yr age gap between your oldest and youngest right now, so by the time a 4th child would be born, you'd be looking at what - a 4yr age gap at the least? Then new baby would rear face until at least age 2, depending on weight, torso height etc... So that would put your oldest at the very least being 6 yrs old... so I guess you could need that 4th tether anchor depending on the age gap...

For now, I'd probably put the 3.5yr old in the back and have the younger 2 in the captain chairs. The 3.5yr old can probably climb in on his own and then you'd just have to reach through and buckle him up... if there's enough of an age gap between new baby and oldest, then it'd be easy to get a narrow booster to fit beside a ff'ing seat in the 3rd row. The back seats are roomy, so I don't see there being a problem fitting a booster next to a seat in the middle.

Those are my thoughts anyways... Have you read the vehicle manual at the dealership? They should let you read the manual and that will help answer your questions as well. I can tell you what's in mine, but there could be slight variances between the 2 manuals, so it's always best to check for yourself. :thumbsup:

Thanks for your reply!

This forum just saved me from buying a car for a year or more! I drive a Dodge Magnum as my everyday car (3 carseats across the back).

I have really been wanting to have a vehicle that could handle light offroading with my family (DH and 3 kids) so I wanted to buy an Acadia.

We have a Jeep Liberty and didn't think that I could fit 3 carseats in the backseat. BUt through reading a lot of posts on here, I learned about the radian and I just ordered 3 of them for the Liberty (it measures like it should fit, I hope so!) so now I don't need to buy a new car (at least until or unless I have a 4th)! yay! thank you! :thumbsup:

bobo said:

Thanks for your reply!

This forum just saved me from buying a car for a year or more! I drive a Dodge Magnum as my everyday car (3 carseats across the back).

I have really been wanting to have a vehicle that could handle light offroading with my family (DH and 3 kids) so I wanted to buy an Acadia.

We have a Jeep Liberty and didn't think that I could fit 3 carseats in the backseat. BUt through reading a lot of posts on here, I learned about the radian and I just ordered 3 of them for the Liberty (it measures like it should fit, I hope so!) so now I don't need to buy a new car (at least until or unless I have a 4th)! yay! thank you! :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

While Snowbird25 gave you all the same advise I would have given you just beware the Radian does have a high rate of incompatiblities. Save all your receipts & boxes just in case they do not install well.

thanks for the advice!

Per a post on here, I bought the seats from carseatelite and got the insurance just in case... but my fingers are crossed, we'll see!