Let me get the Regent thing strait

[mak101376]

Re:

I would think if Toyota had a limit it would be on the list, it seems weird that they wouldn't have updated it. A Toyota would be my first choice anyway for quality and reliability. I went through heck to get a tether anchor installed in my Previa for my Regent, and not only do most of the people you talk to not have a clue what a tether is, they certainly don't know anything about weight limits.

I personally think the limits they are placing on the LATCH and tether are simply based on the maximum weight of most seats. 40 lbs US and 48 lbs Canada, right? It still annoys me that Britax requires you to use a tether in a situation where you are going against vehicle manufacturer recommendations. It sounds like a great way to get out of liability if anything were to happen. Either way, you're breaking a rule, and you can't tether to something that is probably stronger like a seat anchor (in my van, the seat anchors are much thicker metal, and are held down with IDENTICAL bolts to the one they used to install the tether anchor) because it hasn't been tested that way, and never will be.

I think it comes down to personal choice. It is almost certainly going to be safer to be in a Regent instead of a booster, and to use the tether strap even above stated limits.

 

[Synchro246]

Before getting a vehicle not on the list, I'd check with the manual and then call the manufacturer. I am pretty sure I've heard that Toyota does indeed have a 40 or 48 lb limit.

Ok thanks!
When car shopping I will be making a point to read the manual. I wonder if they are available online.

The more I think about it the less I want a regent. If I have my son in a boulevard until 65lb or the max height- How much less safe is it to move him to a Belt positioning seat instead of trying to keep him in a 5-point harness?

 

[ts_peach]

ok, so trying to understand this, as regent was on my list to consider.

if using a seatbelt install in a car with the top tether/seatbelt rated for 40 lbs the regent would be unusable after 50 lbs because you can't tether the top and the instructions require it to be so?

so who can use the seat until the full 80 lb limit? only a few come close with the 60 lb mark.

 

[Synchro246]

Would Britax actually make a seat that is virtually unusable due to the fact that it can't be installed following their instructions?

I am starting to wonder this. Are they just planning on car manufacturers raising the limits? I LOVE britax, but I wonder if this tether limit/requirement discrepancy is a way for them to shirk responsibility somehow. I tend to think it was just poor planning though.

 

[Synchro246]

ok, so trying to understand this, as regent was on my list to consider.

if using a seatbelt install in a car with the top tether/seatbelt rated for 40 lbs the regent would be unusable after 50 lbs because you can't tether the top and the instructions require it to be so?

.

I think so.

 

[Synchro246]

60lbs if it's a shell seat (hard plastic seat like the Regent or any carseat in general). The 80lbs if it's a harness/vest means a Safe Rider Vest which acts like a 5pt harness but without the actual hard shell seat. While a great system not sure how convinent it would be for everyday use.

Thanks!
I didn't know about these. I want to find out more- like how it has a top tether.

 

[jen_nah]

ok, so trying to understand this, as regent was on my list to consider.

if using a seatbelt install in a car with the top tether/seatbelt rated for 40 lbs the regent would be unusable after 50 lbs because you can't tether the top and the instructions require it to be so?

so who can use the seat until the full 80 lb limit? only a few come close with the 60 lb mark.

Please read the article I posted. It will be your parental choice to use any high weight limit seat past the manufactures tether limit.

But, Like the article stats by the time the top tether fails the carseat & tether have done their job in protecting the child.

As a senior tech & a mother of a child over 40lbs in a Regent in a Chevy truck with top tether limits of 40lbs. I am still using and will continue to use the top tether until my dd outgrows her Regent. But, Please know this was my parental choice and educated decision with all the data out there.

 

[jen_nah]

So what cars manufactures a latch system capable of safely holding a regent? I called toyota and was told 48lbs, a friend called and was told 40, so it seems they are out also. Would Britax actually make a seat that is virtually unusable due to the fact that it can't be installed following their instructions? Also, is it, in your opinion, dangerous in any way to still have my 45lbs son tethered? Again, he is in a marathon that is installed with the seatbelt, not latch connectors.

Toyota's stand on the lower anchors is to follow the carseat manufacture guidelines which on Britax seats are 48lbs for the lower anchors.

 

[Synchro246]

So if we *can't* use the regent according to Britax's instructions are we absolving them of liability?
Is this as big of a deal as it seems? Failure is pretty rare, right?
I guess this is what bothers me most about using the regent in an "incompatable" car. Is this neurotic?

 

[jen_nah]

So if we *can't* use the regent according to Britax's instructions are we absolving them of liability?
Is this as big of a deal as it seems? Failure is pretty rare, right?
I guess this is what bothers me most about using the regent in an "incompatable" car. Is this neurotic?

First the carseat wouldn't fail in restraining your child as the top tether is not the only thing securing the carseat to the vehicle. Top tethers help reduce head excurision.

My parental choice is to keep using the top tether on her Regent. My thinking and feelings are if we were in a crash and the top tether by chance failed in a crash she would be far better protected then if she was in a booster seat.

Like the article said there has been no real world cases of failure. But, You have to do what you are comfortable with doing.

 

[Kellyr2]

ok, so trying to understand this, as regent was on my list to consider.

if using a seatbelt install in a car with the top tether/seatbelt rated for 40 lbs the regent would be unusable after 50 lbs because you can't tether the top and the instructions require it to be so?

so who can use the seat until the full 80 lb limit? only a few come close with the 60 lb mark.

It's not "unusable", its just not what the car manufacturer recommends. Read that link posted on page one, it explains the whole situation VERY well. Like I said, I use my Husky, with my 50 lb ds, and plan to continue until he outgrows the seat. And I tether it.

 

[Synchro246]

First the carseat wouldn't fail in restraining your child as the top tether is not the only thing securing the carseat to the vehicle. Top tethers help reduce head excurision.

My parental choice is to keep using the top tether on her Regent. My thinking and feelings are if we were in a crash and the top tether by chance failed in a crash she would be far better protected then if she was in a booster seat.

Like the article said there has been no real world cases of failure. But, You have to do what you are comfortable with doing.

Hmm maybe I won't let the tether weight limits weigh so much into my decision for which new car. I think I really want to harness to 80lb, I just feel uncomfortable "breaking the rules". I guess I am going to have to think long and hard. Good thing I have time.

 

[mak101376]

Re:

Another thing to think about is if you can use the long belt path, the top of the seat is already being held back by the seatbelt, so there might not be as much strain on the tether as there otherwise would be.

If you try the long belt path and it is close but not quite long enough, try putting it under the cover, and recline the seat and put it back up after the belt is latched. I got a couple more inches by putting it under the cover instead of over.

 

[ts_peach]

i did read the article and was just trying to understand if i go by both the car seat requirements and the car manufacuters then it shouldn't be used past 50 lbs .

i understand that i can make the choice to do it and it probably wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Kellyr2]

Oh, okay, yes, if you're completely following both instructions, you can't use it past 40, 48, or 60 lbs, depending on the vehicle.
I really just think that a tethered regent is safer than a booster, so that's why I go that route.

 

[Dillipop]

Just to you know, I can use my tether in my hyundai until 80 pounds. Talked to customer service about a year ago, right after I bought my car. There is no reference to weight limits in the manual, so I just had to ask.

There lower anchor limit is what the restraint manufacturer says. Same with the top tether. They obviously have tested and believe the latch system is truly adequate to do what is has to do to 48 pounds and 80 for tether anchor.

I read the following some time in the last couple years on this board and I am trying to remember the gist of it. If anyone knows where this info came from, I'd love to know and love to hear more from them... The top anchor is only there to prevent the head from moving to far forward and possibly hitting something in the car. All US seats have to pass a certain excursion limit without the tether, under 50 pounds. That is why tethers are NOT required on any seats except the regent. They can not be required on a seat that is used below 50 pounds. At 50 pounds, manufacturers can require tether use to meet the head excursion guidelines, hence the regents tether rule.

So, my real point in this post is... if you are worried about following all manufacturers instructions...get a hyundai (or a kia, they are the same company.)

 

[Synchro246]

OK so I went and read thru the instructions again. I wanted to see if they said you could anchor to other things besides the tether anchor. In short, it says no. It does say not to modify the vehicle without the advice from the vehicle manufacturer. I know car companies often have tether anchors to install, and I was wondering if anyone knew if they made higher limit ones for the special needs seats or HWH?


ETA I went on to re-read my other britax manuals. I have been using the tethers incorrectly. Soooooo. Now I feel like a dope and like I just can't do it right (so why do it at all-not really).