Which older minivans have...

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
lap/shoulder belts and headrests in all positions? I'm looking at 2005-2006, not a Sienna or Odyssey because I just don't want to spend that much. This will be our second vehicle. It probably won't be used much, primarily for spring & fall soccer seasons, which totals less than 6 months out of the year, and probably mostly locally. Also, there are 8 of us, so we won't all even fit in these other vans, which contributes to the will-sit-in-the-driveway-most-of-the-time factor. I don't want to spend more than $5000. In my searches, I am seeing lots of Caravans/Grand Caravans, Town & Countries, and Freestars, and a few Sedonas. It looks like the T&C has a lap-only belt in the center of the 3rd row and Caravans maybe don't have a headrest in the center of the 3rd row? Are there any other issues that I should be aware of?
 
ADS

MommyShannon

New member
I know there are a lot of booster incompatibilities in the 3rd row if the T&C and it's counterparts. They also only have 1 top tether in the 3rd row.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Okay, thanks, I forgot about the Uplander. We used to have an '04 Freestar and I think it had lap/shoulder belts and headrests in every position. We got rid of it a few yrs ago, though, so I might not be remembering correctly.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I know there are a lot of booster incompatibilities in the 3rd row if the T&C and it's counterparts. They also only have 1 top tether in the 3rd row.

Hmmm, I'm trying to decide if this would be a problem. If it has a lap-only belt in the middle of the 3rd row, I won't be looking at it anyway. Does anyone know?
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I think I have verified that the 2005 T&C and Grand Caravan/Caravan all have lap-only belts in that rear center spot. And if the Uplander doesn't have a headrest in that spot, then I think I'm going to eliminate all of those from my search. At least I'm starting to get it narrowed down.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
My '06 Sedona has shoulder belts and headrests in all positions and 4 full sets of LATCH.

Do you like it? I might have to bump up my price range a bit, but I think this is what I'm going to look for. In other threads, I've seen people say to look for '06 or newer. Is there a reason to avoid the '05 Sedona?

ETA: Never mind. It looks like the '05 doesn't have a headrest or shoulder belt in that spot.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Do you like it? I might have to bump up my price range a bit, but I think this is what I'm going to look for. In other threads, I've seen people say to look for '06 or newer. Is there a reason to avoid the '05 Sedona?

ETA: Never mind. It looks like the '05 doesn't have a headrest or shoulder belt in that spot.

I think I've heard that 2006 MY was when Hyundai took over and reliability went up (not to mention a big overhaul of the Sedona starting with MY 2006). I might not have that quite right. But yes, 2006 or newer is what I've heard again and again. (We have a 2008 and are very happy with it!)
 

agave

New member
I think I've heard that 2006 MY was when Hyundai took over and reliability went up (not to mention a big overhaul of the Sedona starting with MY 2006). I might not have that quite right. But yes, 2006 or newer is what I've heard again and again. (We have a 2008 and are very happy with it!)
That's exactly what I was told when I was shopping.
 

valleyfam

New member
My 05 Freestar has headrest and shoulder belts in all positions. Tether Anchors and Latch 2 in the middle and 1 in the center back. If you look at the Freestars there should be a black clip attached to the drivers side headrest in the back row. It is what makes the middle shoulder belt fit correctly. If it is not there the belt comes straight down from the ceiling and you won't be able to use it. You can buy a replacement from Ford. It took a bit for me to get the parts guy to understand what I wanted a new cost about $30.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Thank you all for your help! I have narrowed my list down to an '06 Sedona or a Freestar. It would seem so funny to buy a Freestar again, one MY newer than the one we used to have. It was so small, I remember 3-across being difficult in the 3rd row, but at least I could do it, and I will likely not usually have more than 4 kids at a time in it this time around anyway. If I find a really good deal on an Uplander, I might look at that too. My youngest won't grow out of a HBB for a good 8 yrs, and I doubt we will have this vehicle that long, so the no-headrest position wouldn't be as big of an issue as I originally thought.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
When I was pregnant with #7, I thought we'd have to get rid of our 8p van. But we decided to hang onto it for just me & the kids. Then when #8 came along, we realized that I didn't even need to carry all the kids around at once. So my Safari, which was supposed to be a stop-gap between the 6p F150 and getting a full-size 12 or 15p has ended up sticking around as my daily driver. We don't even insure the big van except when we're going on a family trip. Once your older kids are able to babysit, you'll almost certainly be leaving some kids at home most of the time.
 

Keeyamah

Active member
FYI, the 2004 Freestar does have L/S belts and headrests in all positions. My mom has one and yes, that back seat is crazy narrow. I've put an Evenflo Amp in the back, but it was for a friend and her 6 yr old, so no 3-across. But I also have two radians I could play with if you want me to. And a Scenera, Truefit, Sureride, Harmony Literider/ youth booster. As well as the Amp and a FR85, but I'm betting the FR85 is too wide for a three across (although it will install back there with a small overhang).
 

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