Question Booster or 5pt harness in a non-primary vehicle, for a 5.5 year old?

PikkuMyy · Apr 27, 2012

If you had to replace a car seat (after a collision) for an almost 5.5 year old (over 45 inches and 45 lbs), would you buy a 5pt harness or a booster? This is *not* for a primary vehicle. The vehicle it will be going into is a '98 Mercury Sable and both outboard seat belts have fraying. There is no tether anchor (although I have advised the owner to get them installed).

At this point, I'm just not sure if it's worth the extra expense when he has *maybe* a year of use left in the Nautilus (seat being replaced) harness.

If you'd choose to go with a booster, what booster would be most stable in the center of the back seat? It also has a weird seat belt where the shoulder belt hooks onto the lap belt. Is that ok to use with a booster?

Brianna · Apr 27, 2012

I'm curious what your seat belts look like- both the shoulder attaching to lap part, and to see how much fraying there is. Can you post pictures?

vonfirmath · Apr 27, 2012

Depends on the maturity of the kid.

We are starting booster training our kid after age 5 in our non-primary car (we need his car seat for younger sister and decided to try a booster instead of buying a new seat) so my answer would be to get a booster.

I'm pretty sure we're getting a high back Turbobooster although I'm still exploring options.

PikkuMyy · Apr 27, 2012

It's my ex's car but I can try to get pictures since I plan on picking up the Nautilus he had in his car when he crashed it this morning. I told him to get the seat belts replaced and at least one tether anchor installed but I can't make him do it. :\ I refuse to have my son ride outboard because of the frayed seat belts though.

Brianna · Apr 27, 2012

Oh

I hope everybody in the car was okay. Is there a lap/shoulder belt in the center?

PikkuMyy · Apr 27, 2012

Brianna said:
Oh I hope everybody in the car was okay. Is there a lap/shoulder belt in the center?

It was just my ex driving. He's fine, just shaken up. As far as I know, no one else was in the car. My son was with me. Replacing the car seat is going to fall on me. The insurance company won't even pay for the damage to his vehicle, let alone replace a car seat. I'm guessing he had no collision coverage.

ETA: The center seat belt can be used with just lap belt or both. The lap portion, if I recall correctly, is with a locking latch plate. The shoulder belt comes out of a retractor at the top of the seat back and hooks onto the lap belt. I'd never seen one like it until I installed my son's seat.

Lenae · Apr 27, 2012

PikkuMyy said:
It was just my ex driving. He's fine, just shaken up. As far as I know, no one else was in the car. My son was with me. Replacing the car seat is going to fall on me. The insurance company won't even pay for the damage to his vehicle, let alone replace a car seat. I'm guessing he had no collision coverage.

ETA: The center seat belt can be used with just lap belt or both. The lap portion, if I recall correctly, is with a locking latch plate. The shoulder belt comes out of a retractor at the top of the seat back and hooks onto the lap belt. I'd never seen one like it until I installed my son's seat.

My parents had a seatbelt like this in the center of their 2001 Monte Carlo.

Phineasmama · Apr 27, 2012

I'm using a booster for our 5yo DD in our secondary vehicle. She only rides there two mornings per week and it's like a .5 mile drive

If I were going anywhere far away in that vehicle I would put her FR85 in it instead though because I don't trust her to stay in position for a long time. For short rides though I'm okay with it and she has to start booster training sometime!

HaileysMommy · Apr 27, 2012

If your ex won't replace the seat or have anchors installed do you trust him to make sure your DS sits properly the whole time? That would be my only concern.

PikkuMyy · Apr 27, 2012

HaileysMommy said:
If your ex won't replace the seat or have anchors installed do you trust him to make sure your DS sits properly the whole time? That would be my only concern.

He's generally good about keeping our son safe in the car (seat installed correctly, removes bulky jackets, uses harness correctly) but you have a point. From a legal standpoint, I don't think I can demand that he install a tether anchor. It's not required by law. However, I will make it more clear to him why I want an anchor in there and remind him that it's free to get 1 anchor installed. I'll give him the phone number for the dealership and everything!!

I'm going to post pictures in a minute but after inspecting the seat belts again, my son is not going in that car until he replaces at least one of the rear seat belts anyway. I already told him that, very firmly.

PikkuMyy · Apr 27, 2012

I stopped by my ex's apartment and picked up the crashed Nautilus. While there, I took a good look at the seat belts in his back seat. OMG. Not only are the outboard seat belts fraying, the center lap belt felt like cardboard! I know I was able to tighten it before because I had installed the Nautilus there. Today, I could barely loosen it OR buckle it, for that matter! No way would I put a booster in that position! I asked my ex if my son spilled something in the seat but he just said that the previous owner didn't take very good care of the car. He's only had this car for a few months.

I told the ex that our son is not riding in the car until one of the seat belts is replaced. It may take a while because he's broke. Him being unable to drive E will be a royal pain because he normally drives E to school in the morning. I have to be at work at 7:15. School starts at 8:15 and there is no busing since it's a charter school. Back to carpooling we go! *sigh*

(rear) Driver outboard

(rear) Passenger outboard

Center shoulder belt

Center lap/shoulder belts connected

Brianna · Apr 28, 2012

That's a cool center seat belt! I wonder what the car manual says about booster seats there. I agree he needs at least one of those belts replaced asap!

Sent from my DROID4 using Car-Seat.Org

PikkuMyy · Apr 28, 2012

Brianna said:
That's a cool center seat belt! I wonder what the car manual says about booster seats there. I agree he needs at least one of those belts replaced asap!

Sent from my DROID4 using Car-Seat.Org

He doesn't have the manual either. Sigh. I'll try to search for one. I've searched the threads before and found that it was ok but I'd like to see the manual.

PikkuMyy · May 5, 2012

I got my ex to replace the driver's side rear outboard seat belt. It's MUCH better! He's also made phone calls to have a tether anchor installed.

I ended up buying an Evenflo Maestro, which works perfectly for my car pooling situation. I'm giving my Nautilus to the ex to use in his car. However, until he gets a tether anchor in there, I feel more comfortable with my son in a light-weight booster rather than the heavy Nautilus. I had an extra Evenflo Big Kid Amp high back that gives a horrible fit in my car but worked out perfectly in my ex's car! My son hopped in and said "I can buckle myself" and he sure did! He's only been on a few booster rides in my car but he's had to use a HB TB for carpooling so I've talked to him about making sure the seat belt is through the seat belt guide and how to route the seat belt under the arm rests and to pull the seat belt snug. I'm so proud of him!

E wasn't very cooperative with pictures but here are a few:

Brianna · May 5, 2012

It looks great, glad you found a solution

Sent from my DROID4 using Car-Seat.Org

Question Booster or 5pt harness in a non-primary vehicle, for a 5.5 year old?

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