is this a case of latch in center misuse?

M

minismom

Well-known member

• Jan 29, 2008

• #1

I saw this review of the RA on BRU (yes, I have nothing better to do). But this caught my eye. Is this guy perhaphs trying to install with latch in the center in a car he's not supposed to?

Good Seat
By Ben's mom from Saint John, IN on 1/4/2008
Pros:Comfortable, Easy to Adjust, Easy to Clean, Easy to install, Great Features, Lightweight, Sturdy
Best Uses:Back Seat, Infants, Toddlers
Describe Yourselfarent of Two or More Children
Bottom Line:Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
I do like this seat a lot, it is easy to install and move from car to car. My only con...I have 2 SUV's, one w/ latch and one with-out. Sadly I can not use the latch on this seat as the straps are to short to reach the pins in the cars. (both Ford Explorers) This seat does lock like a rock with the belt and is still great. I also have the marathon and that one's latch works great! If your not wanting the marathon this is the next best thing!!

 

crunchierthanthou

New member

• Jan 29, 2008

• #2

it depends on the vehicle. Britax does allow center LATCH, as does Ford in some cases (all? I'm not sure if it's across the board like GM).

I don't know what he means by them not reaching though. Even in non-standard spacing, the RA LATCH strap should be long enough.

 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor

• Jan 29, 2008

• #3

I agree with crunchy. The strap should be plenty long.

My experience with people thinking that the LATCH strap is too short is usually because they have the strap in the wrong belt path. I just saw it last weekend with an AO - Dad insisted there was something wrong with the seat because the straps weren't long enough to reach the lower anchors. Guess what - he was trying to install the seats RF with the LATCH belt through the FF belt path.

Another time, a mom thought her LATCH belt was too short. It turned out that her car did not even have LATCH and she was trying to feed the LATCH belt through her seat bight and connect it to the cargo anchors behind the seat!! Now that was scary.
Renee

 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus

• Jan 29, 2008

• #4

The only time I've ever seen the LATCH straps not reach was when they were going through the wrong belt path. If this person has only ever dealt with a LATCH'd MA, they may not be aware of the fact that there are two belt paths?

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Jan 29, 2008

• #5

I've had an EFTA with straps that were just barely long enough. Kia Sedona captain's chair and RFing EFTA (and yes they were in the right path, I had to look in the manual for how to switch them, and then when I was having problems I ran my hands through the entire system to make sure everything was flat and where it should be). The mom and I each were able to get an acceptable installation, and she preferred the LATCH as then the seatbelt wasn't going across where she liked to reach, but it was TOUGH. There was no extra strap on that.

Wendy

 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

• Jan 30, 2008

• #6

Ford and Britax allows 11-20 inch distances. The Explorer is 23 in the middle. (It's very easy to imagine it being too short on the RA, and it's very easy to imagine it reaching easily on the MA, even with the right belt path, once you know that distance and imagine the seats in question, isn't it?)

 

crunchierthanthou

New member

• Jan 30, 2008

• #7

23? wow. I knew Britax allowed up to 20 inches and couldn't imagine the center seat in the explorer was any wider than that.

Wendy, I've read that both the EFTA latch strap and tether are abysmally short.

 

fyrfightermomma

New member

• Jan 30, 2008

• #8

I'm confused...you can't always use center LATCH??? We have an 02 impala with three seperate sets of LATCH hooks. I've heard you can't use all three at teh same time(still dont understand why they have them then) but why wouldn't you be able to use the center ones if they are there?? My husband has an 03 Taurus and he only has two sets but they are offset. Are you allowed to use the two center ones if there are no other seats??? I've only used LATCH but had no idea there were some instances you couldn't use them. Please help!

 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician

• Jan 30, 2008

• #9

Eviesmama said:

I'm confused...you can't always use center LATCH???

Click to expand...

You always need to check your manuals, but generally, if there is a DEDICATED set of centre LATCH anchors, it's fine to use them. Some cars do have rules about how many sets of LATCH can be used at once, and whether they can be side-by-each or not.

Where the most confusion comes into play is when you only have LATCH in the outboard positions. Some vehicles (like my Ford Focus for example,) allow you to "borrow" the inside anchor from each outboard position to attach a carseat in the centre (when you do that of course, you cannot use the outboard LATCH positions as well.) Many vehicles DO NOT allow this configuration, but many parents are not aware of that and do it anyway.

So, in general summary: DEDICATED centre LATCH? Good to go! Only outboard LATCH? Proceed with caution for centre installs. And, as always, check your manuals!

 

Starlight

Senior Community Member

• Jan 30, 2008

• #10

If you have a set of dedicated LATCH anchors in the middle of your Impala, then you're good to go.

I don't have the exact diagram, but in many vehicles LATCH works like this:

o______o ---------- o______o

In yours, it works like this:

o______o o______o o______o

You can see, in the 1st scenerio, the center distance is much further than it is for the sides? That's not standard spacing, and is, in general, not okay. It's normally addressed in the vehicle manual if it's okay to use LATCH in the center position. If it's not addressed, assume its not okay.

HTH

ETA: I found the actual diagram. I'm not properly citing here, but it was posted by wendythomas

"LATCH for most vehicles works like this:

O_____O O_____O

So if you use the two inner ones you're not actually anchoring the carseat to the car. You're using two halves, instead of one whole.

Cars that allow center LATCH either have:

O_____O_____O_____O

or

O_____OO_____OO_____O

Some have offset LATCH anchors

A BA B C C "

 

M

minismom

Well-known member

• Jan 30, 2008

• #11

joolsplus3 said:

Ford and Britax allows 11-20 inch distances. The Explorer is 23 in the middle. (It's very easy to imagine it being too short on the RA, and it's very easy to imagine it reaching easily on the MA, even with the right belt path, once you know that distance and imagine the seats in question, isn't it?)

Click to expand...

That's pretty scary! I hope that's not what that person is doing. But unless I'm missing something there's really no way to contact someone who just left a review right?

 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

• Jan 30, 2008

• #12

Yeah, there's not much you can do to talk to reviewers . Sometimes you can leave your own review and link people to here, though