Installing tether anchors in my van

[Abra Cat]

Hi. I have a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan that I am trying to get tether anchors installed in. I took it to the dealership today and was told that they can't install anchors behind the back row of seats, and they can't install them behind the middle row because we have captain's chairs instead of a bench seat. This sounds like total nonsense to me, not to mention they charge $52.40 to install an anchor (I had three anchors installed in my old 1995 car— never once been charged, never any trouble to install them). Anyway, the anchor I was having installed today was for my 3 1/2 year old son's combo seat, but if I can't have a tether anchor installed in back I'll put him in a booster, since he's big enough. But I'm expecting a baby in a few weeks and a year from now I'll be wanting to put him in an anchored car seat, and according to my local dealership, this won't be possible. Does anyone have any idea whether it's possible to have tether anchors installed somewhere (anywhere?) in my van? Thanks!

[Joolsplus2]

Ok, here's what the LATCH manual says:
"DaimlerChrysler will install tether anchors in certain older model year Chrysler Group vehicles free of charge. Please have the dealer refer to Technical Service Bulletin 23-08-00 Rev. A for details on the provisions of this policy.
The phone number for their corporate office (I believe...it is given as the main phone number) is 1-800-992-1997

Tether anchor information for Caravan/Grand Caravan for model year 1996-2000: Second row, center= N/A. Second row, outboard 04864118AB. Third row, center and outboard 05018506AA

Tell us how it goes!

[Abra Cat]

Thank you, Julie. I didn't think to specify in my original message though, that we don't have a LATCH carseat; it has a top tether. Do you think that still qualifies? Thanks again!

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, sorry...the LATCH manual is just the manual with all the tether information in it...it used to be called the tether manual, but now it covers everything. The information I gave you was for top tethers only (the lower anchors can't be retrofitted).
:)

[Abra Cat]

Oh, good to know! I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!

[sbaker]

Julie,
Sorry to break into your conversation...Maybe you can help me. My mom has a 1999 Cadillac Seville that doesn't have tether anchors behind the back seat. Do you know if they can be installed in her car?
THANKS!

Just my two cents...
:) :+ :)
Sara
Mom to Rayce 02/09/02
Baby #2 due 01/05/04

[Joolsplus2]

Sure thing :)
First, the number for Cadillac is listed as 1-800-458-8006.
Then, they have what's called a Technical Service Bulletin (#99-09-40-004) that says: "One Child Restraint Seat Top Tether Hardware Package will be provided per vehicle to the retail customer at no charge for installation" (additional packages can be purchased, though)
"If the customer requests installation of a Tether Hardware Package some time after delivery, the package is to be provided free of charge. Hardware packages include installation instructions which are easily followed and can be installed by most customers. However, should the customer request the dealership's assistance to install the Tether Hardware Package, it is to be installed at no charge to the customer"

It seems fairly straightforward... just call your local dealer and make sure they have one in stock, and give them the number of the technical service bulletin if they seem confused...they can just look it up in their computer and it shouldn't be any trouble...I hope!

[Abra Cat]

Julie, I was just reading your replies in the message titled "a question on tethering a rear-facing Marathon" and I was wondering if I could do something similar in my van, with my son's forward-facing combo seat? I'm going to a car seat inspection towards the end of the month, and I wanted to mention this to them if it's an option. Thanks!

[Joolsplus2]

YOu mean, can you use the leg of the seat behind the forward facing seat as a tether anchor, rather than install an approved tether anchor? If that's the question, definitely NO...

An approved tether anchor for a forward facing seat takes a HUGE amount of force (the weight of the child + the weight of the seat x the number of miles per hour the car is traveling=hundreds or thousands of pounds) in a crash, that a solid structural nonmoving part (seat leg) is not designed to tolerate.

On the other hand, a rearfacing seat only exerts a very small amount of pressure on a tether point...the rearfacing tether just keeps the seat from rebounding AFTER the initial force of the crash (weight of child + seat essentially after the car has stopped = *not* thousands of pounds..but im not sure how much exactly)....

If that's not what you were asking, I'm sorry!

A forward facing harnessed booster seat does not NEED to be tethered...it passes government mandated testing without being tethered, BUT, when tethered to a tether anchor, the seat performance can improve considerably.

Please tell me if I'm off-base here, and I'll try to figure out where I'm going wrong. :-/. I think seeing a tech will be a great way to find out a lot of great information specific to you car and your seat :)

[Abra Cat]

Nope, you understood my question just fine. Oh well, figured I'd check on that. I know the seat is safe without the tether, but that extra protection is comforting, you know? ;o) I'm definitely hitting the inspection in a few weeks— my baby's coming soon (hopefully!), and I need his seat installed, too. Thanks for the advice, Julie!


>YOu mean, can you use the leg of the seat behind the forward
>facing seat as a tether anchor, rather than install an
>approved tether anchor? If that's the question, definitely
>NO...
>
>An approved tether anchor for a forward facing seat takes a
>HUGE amount of force (the weight of the child + the weight
>of the seat x the number of miles per hour the car is
>traveling=hundreds or thousands of pounds) in a crash, that
>a solid structural nonmoving part (seat leg) is not designed
>to tolerate.
>
>On the other hand, a rearfacing seat only exerts a very
>small amount of pressure on a tether point...the rearfacing
>tether just keeps the seat from rebounding AFTER the initial
>force of the crash (weight of child + seat essentially after
>the car has stopped = *not* thousands of pounds..but im not
>sure how much exactly)....
>
>If that's not what you were asking, I'm sorry!
>
>A forward facing harnessed booster seat does not NEED to be
>tethered...it passes government mandated testing without
>being tethered, BUT, when tethered to a tether anchor, the
>seat performance can improve considerably.
>
>Please tell me if I'm off-base here, and I'll try to figure
>out where I'm going wrong. :-/. I think seeing a tech will
>be a great way to find out a lot of great information
>specific to you car and your seat :)

[Joolsplus2]

Phew, ok...well, hope everything goes well for you (baby and carseat check, lol), and post back with news!