FR 90 with no top tether option

My 5.5 year old is going to be needing 2 new seats due to school pick up. At the moment she is happy in a Frontier 85 I plan on replacing with a 90 soon. My first thought is to to get 3 FR 90s because she has Autism and likes things the same. She will be in the harness as long as allowed because she cannot sit properly in just booster mode at this age. Dh's car is my problem car as it has no latch system so no tether option. My car is a 2003 Ford Focus with Latch, she has to sit behind the driver because of a RF sibling. We do have top tether in this car. Grandmother's car she can sit in any slot, this car does have a top tether, this car is a 2005 Mercedes SUV. Dh's car is a 2002 Ford Explorer and she would most likely sit behind the driver so her sibling could ride along at times. There is no top tether which I don't like. Should I go ahead with 90's or is there a better option. I am the only one who can install a car seat and no they really are not going to learn and in the other cars except mine they will need to be removed at the last minute so reinstalled quickly so we were getting these for the ease of install.

I found this for the 2002 Ford Explorer

crunchierthanthou said:

According to the LATCH manual, the 2002 has top tether anchors, but not full LATCH. You'll have to install with the seatbelt, but will be able to utilize the top tether for a forward facing child.

Do you have a 2 or 3 row Explorer?

The 2 row/5 passenger has a tether anchor for each rear seating position. The outboard anchors are the U shaped metal rings on the floor. For the center position, use either anchor at the rear of the floor in the scuff plate.

The 3 row/6 or 7 passenger has the same U shaped anchors on the floor behind the second row (2 or 3, depending on bucket or bench seats). The third row uses the two anchors in the scuff plate.

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I think the Frontier 90 would be a good choice in your case.

Having no lower anchors does not always mean no top tethers

You need a harness that will last a long time and an easy, quick install, right? I can't comment on the tether, but this has the tallest harness and probably the easiest seat belt install, so I'd say your situation is what it's made for.

bethng said:

Having no lower anchors does not always mean no top tethers

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No, it doesn't but this one doesn't seem to have any tether on top or the bottom. I searched every inch hoping there was some point hiding I could find, but it is before they had to install them I guess. I'm worried when she gets to a higher weight it might be an issue. She is roughly 48 pounds at the moment and the Frontier 85 has several years to go before she outgrows it and has to move to the booster mode and the 90 has a little more room. I was just hoping the 90 with no tether wasn't going to be terrible. I am comfortable with it otherwise and know they have the best chance of my inlaws and husband using it correctly and it fits her well otherwise.

duckmama said:

No, it doesn't but this one doesn't seem to have any tether on top or the bottom. I searched every inch hoping there was some point hiding I could find, but it is before they had to install them I guess. I'm worried when she gets to a higher weight it might be an issue. She is roughly 48 pounds at the moment and the Frontier 85 has several years to go before she outgrows it and has to move to the booster mode and the 90 has a little more room. I was just hoping the 90 with no tether wasn't going to be terrible. I am comfortable with it otherwise and know they have the best chance of my inlaws and husband using it correctly and it fits her well otherwise.

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There should be U shaped anchors on the floor. They might not look like the top tethers you have in your sedan, or be marked by the top tether anchor symbol like you're used to seeing.

According to the LATCH manual, he has top tethers. What version of the Explroer is it? The Sport 2-door or the 4-door SUV?

For the Sport, the tether anchors are the squared cargo tie-down rings behind each outboard seat. No center TA in the Sport.

For the 4D SUV, the outboard anchors are U-shaped metal rings on the floor behind the seat. The center position can use either of the two cargo tie-downs on the tailgate sill.