RF Marathon install in 05 VW Jetta wagon

I'm a long-time lurker on this board (guess I just get a kick out of reading about carseat safety!), and I'm posting now because I need some help about the install of my friend's marathon in her car for her almost 1-year-old.

She has been using her Marathon in the center seat of her Jetta wagon, with the backwards (Australian?) tethering method. She (and I) can't really find a good spot under the driver or passenger seat to thread the D-ring tether adaptor - that's why she's been using the Australian method.

She wants to turn her daughter FF when she turns 1 because it's so hard to get the baby in and out. I told her all about extended RF and that I'd try to find help on this forum to get a good tether spot to put the D-ring so baby can stay RF.

So, first question is: where can you attach the tether for RF in an 05 jetta? The bar under the front seats is flush to the floor and i don't think we could get the D-ring adaptor under it.

I was searching the forum to see if this question has been answered already (I couldn't find the answer), but I DID find a post that said you can't use LATCH in the center position of a VW! My friend has been using LATCH in the center seat.

SO, second question is: Should I tell her to switch to seatbelt install instead of LATCH?

Thanks for any help you can provide

I'm not a tech, but I have had to weasel a d ring underneath a seat track that was against the floor. I put a twist tie through the loop of fabric on the end of the piece and fed it through by pulling on the twist tie. The carpet compressed enough to get the fabric through.
If that won't work the marathon doesn't have to be tethered while rearfacing. If the jetta doesn't allow latch borrowing then she needs to use the seatbelt for a center install.

Thanks for the twist tie idea - Does anybody else have experience finding a place to put the RF tether in a Jetta?

First - yes, she needs to use the seatbelt in the center position with a VW.

Second - there really isn't a good place to use the RF tether in that vehicle as far as I know. I have an 04 Passat and my sister has an 02 Jetta. The way they put the front seat in both cars is identical and I believe the 05 Jetta is more or less the same as the 02. She can either not use the tether at all (which is perfectly acceptable) or make the parental decision to tether to a non-approved location.

There is a hole you can tether to on the seat track if you remove the plastic track cover, but that's not an approved spot either because it causes the tether to angle slightly back towards the child restraint which Britax doesn't allow.

I don't believe that VW allows borrowing of LATCH anchors, so yes, she probably should switch to a belt install (maybe someone has a LATCH manual handy to check on that?).

Personally, I would rather she keep the seat RFg without tethering it (which is not required for RFg installs by either Britax or Sunshine Kids) than see her turn a 1yo FFg.

If you can't convince her to keep her child RFg, at least have her TT the seat.

No, no borrowing lower anchors in a VW (we have an '01 Golf) so she definitely needs to use the seat belt in the center.

As for the RF tether, if you can't find a place to tether it, then don't. It's optional on the Britax convertibles, and RF without the tether is still much safer than FF with the tether.