first vehicle....questions on tethers.

canadiannancy · Sep 15, 2009

So. we just purchased our first vehicle, and it is a 93 chevy lumina apv(van) with room for our kids. we currently have dd 4 ff in a evenflo triumph advanced, she is 42 lbs and fits fine. we have dd 3 in a aoe harnessed ff she is 38lbs and dd 2 in a ao ff she is 35lbs and ds 6 weeks in a grACO SAFESEAT rearfacing of course, he is almost 11lbs.

What I want to know is how to safely install the car seats in our vehicle. And also what the regs were with vehicles of that age being retrofitted with tethers in canada. PLease help.

Nennib · Sep 16, 2009

What ages are your kids? Is there a dd1? If so how old is she and what is she sitting in?

Have you checked to make sure dd3 and dd2 still fit in their AOE/AO by height? The very top notch at the back of the car seat where you move the headrest and harness up and down is for booster seat mode only, so you can only use the 2nd from top harness notch for the car seat mode. And the child's shoulders must be below where the harness slot is. Also, dd3 is 38 pounds (unless you have a brand new AOE) that seat will only harness to 40 pounds so even by weight she doesn't have much time left in that seat.

I can't comment on the tether retrofits. Hopefully a tech will come by and give you more help.

unityco · Sep 16, 2009

Nennib said:
What ages are your kids? Is there a dd1?

I think the OP did give the age of her kids by saying "dd 3", etc., not their birth order (if that makes sense - that's how I read it anyway.)

So "dd 3" would be her 3yo daughter.

There are a couple of things to look for in your vehicle. Because of its age, it may not have self-locking seat belts. You may have to use locking clips with everything but the SafeSeat (which has its own built-in lock-offs.) Also, ALL FF harnessed seats in Canada MUST be tethered, so you'll have to get anchors installed for those three seats. Someone with a LATCH manual (not me, unfortunately

) will be able to tell you part numbers and where those anchors can be installed.

I've heard some reports of GM dealers claiming they won't honour their free retrofit program on vehicles over 10yo, but according to their head office, that shouldn't be the case. (Just to warn you in case you have to fight.

)

That's not a very in depth answer, so please ask away if you need more clarification!

Jeanum · Sep 16, 2009

The GM service bulletin number 99-09-40-004a dated April 12, 2005 listed in the LATCH manual regarding retrofitting one tether anchor for free in retrofittable GM models is apparently only applicable to U.S. models from the 1989-2002 model year because it specifically says "GM of Canada and IPC Dealers are not authorized to utilize this service bulletin."

You could try referring the dealer to this bulletin and ask if there's a comparable bulletin that applies to Canadian vehicles. The LATCH manual doesn't list specific part numbers for retrofittable GM models because the part numbers tend to change over time and GM dealerships are supposed to have the current part information. I'd inquire at the GM/Chevy dealership about the cost and parts information, and ask for a quote for the parts and for the labor. It might be workable to acquire the parts and do the installation yourself with a torque wrench to save on the labor costs. :twocents:

first vehicle....questions on tethers.

canadiannancy

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