ELR in third row of 2012 Town and Country?

Ssmith · May 23, 2015

Does the Town and Country have Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) that locks in an emergency or a crash in the third row center?

If so how can I safely install a FF Radian? I've read that an emergency locking retractor alone is not enough to install a car seat: the seat belt MUST be locked pre-crash when a car seat is installed.

So how do I do this?
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aporthole · May 23, 2015

It will either have a locking latch plate (male end of buckle) or a switchable retractor. If you buckle the seat belt, grab the lap portion and pull it straight up, and no slack is transfered from the shoulder portion to lap portion when buckled then it is a locking latch plate. If the selt belt slides freely from shoulder to lap portion through the latch plate then it must have a switchable retractor where you pull the belt ALL the way out slowly to the end and allow it to retract back locking as it goes so no slack can be pulled back out from the retractor.

aporthole · May 23, 2015

As a side note, forward facing Radians are known for being incompatible in the center of the 3rd row in that vehicle much of the time. Some people have been successful in installs there but it seems to be quite difficult. Many times you can get it tight with less than an inch of side to side movement at the belt path but when you pull from the front it slides forward more than an inch.

Ssmith · May 23, 2015

Does the Town and Country have Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) that locks in an emergency or a crash in the third row center?

If so how can I safely install a FF Radian? I've read that an emergency locking retractor alone is not enough to install a car seat: the seat belt MUST be locked pre-crash when a car seat is installed.

So how do I do this? I need to FF my 7yo in a Radian RXT.
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Dillipop · May 23, 2015

The town and country may have light weight locking latch plates instead of the pull all the way out and ratchet back in that seems common in other brands. If this is the case, when buckled, the lap belt is locked at this latch plate holding the car seat in the correct position. In a crash, the ELR will also lock, keeping the seat in position. You may install the radian with this type if belt.

The ELR belt that can not be used is the one that doesn't have a way to lock the belt before a crash in any way. For those, you'd need a belt shortening clip of it's just a lap belt or a locking clip if it's lap/shoulder.

But a 2012 vehicle seat belts will lock in some way for a car seat installation .

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Carrie_R · May 23, 2015

If you cannot figure out the locking mechanism, you could also try to contact a child passenger safety technician in your area. They'll be able to educate you on your vehicle's seat belt systems and help you get a good install on your Radian

Cnidaria · May 23, 2015

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59135

aept · May 23, 2015

I have a similar van. Mine is a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan. In my van the third row center locks at the latch plate. It only locks the "lap" portion, basically. The shoulder part that comes out of the ceiling will not be locked but that is ok. The lap portion locking will be what holds the seat in place, along with the top tether, of course.
The radian is tricky there but IME it can be done.

ELR in third row of 2012 Town and Country?

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