What car seat for an old 1995 Pathfinder?

Hello, all! After agonizing for some time, we will be getting Britax Regents for our almost 3 year old boys. They are quickly outgrowing their Evenflo Triumphs heightwise and soon, weightwise.

The dilemma now arises with the grandparents car. They have an old Pathfinder. Given the age of the vehicle, it would seem to make sense to put in as safe a car seat as earthly possible. The problem is that their vehicle does not have an anchor (at least not that I can find) to attach the top tether. The boys' Evenflos are not tethered down now with the seat belt installation because I can't find one. Nissan is clueless. With the increased car seat weight, plus boys' weights, I do not want to continue without a tether. In addition, I'm not sure the head rests are sufficient. To top it all off, they do not want to drive our car.

So how can I find a car seat with the following requirements?
-harness greater than 40 lbs.
-harness slot heights greater than 17 inches.
-does not require a top tether
-can provide head support independently of the car's head rests

Does anything like this exist?

Thanks!

Unregistered said:

Hello, all! After agonizing for some time, we will be getting Britax Regents for our almost 3 year old boys. They are quickly outgrowing their Evenflo Triumphs heightwise and soon, weightwise.

The dilemma now arises with the grandparents car. They have an old Pathfinder. Given the age of the vehicle, it would seem to make sense to put in as safe a car seat as earthly possible. The problem is that their vehicle does not have an anchor (at least not that I can find) to attach the top tether. The boys' Evenflos are not tethered down now with the seat belt installation because I can't find one. Nissan is clueless. With the increased car seat weight, plus boys' weights, I do not want to continue without a tether. In addition, I'm not sure the head rests are sufficient. To top it all off, they do not want to drive our car.

So how can I find a car seat with the following requirements?
-harness greater than 40 lbs.
-harness slot heights greater than 17 inches.
-does not require a top tether
-can provide head support independently of the car's head rests

Does anything like this exist?

Thanks!

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Have you checked with Nissan to get top tethers added? I know they can't add the LATCH but they can add tethers (as far as I know).

If they can add the tether than I would just use the Regents.

I don't know if the Radian has to be tethered or not but you may want to look into that seat.

The Regent can be used without a tether to 50lbs. The Radian doesn't require a tether, harnesses to 65lbs, and has 18" top slots. The original Safeguard childseat is expensive ($450), but doesn't require a top tether, harnesses to 65lbs, and has a 19.5" top harness setting. The headrest requirement is that the boys ear tops be at or below the top of the vehicle seatback. If you try the boys with the Apex installed in the grandparent's vehicle and they have several inches between the tops of their ears and the top of the seatback, they could use the Apex as a harnessed seat until they get too tall for the seatback, and then move to a dedicated booster that provides head support.

Any forward-facing seat is made safer by top-tethering, but a '95 vehicle will need to be retrofitted. This is usually free or very cheap. The parts were only about $15 for my 1991 Honda Accord. They're pricier ($68) for my dh's truck. The dealership may or may not charge to install them. A tech with a LATCH manual could tell you how much it will cost--start a new thread asking for the tether anchor parts # and service bulletin to take to your dealer. When I bought my '94 Mazda MPV and called dealerships to ask about top tether anchors they acted like they didn't have a clue, either...until I called with an actual part number.

The Apex has 17 inch top slots, same as the Marathon, about an inch and a half taller than the Triumph's. It must always be used with vehicle seatback or headrest at least to the tips of the child's ears, so depending on how high the seats are in the Pathfinder, it may or may not be a viable choice.

I'd get top tether anchors and get Radians if they install well (try before you buy or order at Target.com and return in-store if they don't install well), because it has the tallest top slots of the 65 pound weight limit seats (except for the pricey Safeguard). If Radians are out, Apexes would work if the vehicle has adequate head support. If not, I'd go with Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxes, or go all out and go with Regents.

I know you can retrofit top tethers in a 95 Pathfinder, we did in our 88 Pathfinder, but I don't have my LATCh manual handy right now to look up the part numbers. A friend of ours worked at the Nissan dealer and installed them for us, no problems at all. Jenny's advice is great, but definately try the install out before you buy, especially if you are going with the Radian. Good luck!