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Child seats

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  mchin 
#1 ·
I have done a search and it seems that 02 and later cars have the Isofix/lLatch system in the back seat.

I have an 03 and have the tether anchors across the back shelf. I have split fold rear seats and I cannot find the latches that are supposedly between the bench and the seat back.

I looked in the manual and it seems that it says the latches are there but there is also a note for folding seats which appears to indicate that I am supposed to somehow use the third(middle) seat belt to form some type of attachment point instead of the latches bolted to the frame.

Any help would be appreciate as I intend on using the car to haul the family which includes two child seats.

Thanks again.

Michael.
 
#2 · (Edited)
How old are your kids? Are they forward or rear facing? In my 01, my child seat is secured in the middle via the seat belt with a lock on the seat belt itself to prevent it from slipping. Actually, the base is connected and the rear facing seat pops in and out. The tether I think are for forward facing seats only.

No matter what, have your local police or fire department inspect it. We did this and it was a great help. Its a free service here in CA.

mchin said:
I have done a search and it seems that 02 and later cars have the Isofix/lLatch system in the back seat.

I have an 03 and have the tether anchors across the back shelf. I have split fold rear seats and I cannot find the latches that are supposedly between the bench and the seat back.

I looked in the manual and it seems that it says the latches are there but there is also a note for folding seats which appears to indicate that I am supposed to somehow use the third(middle) seat belt to form some type of attachment point instead of the latches bolted to the frame.

Any help would be appreciate as I intend on using the car to haul the family which includes two child seats.

Thanks again.

PS - on my wife's RX300, the latches were just a set of u shaped hooks that you connected the seat to via a set of clips. Using that method does seem to give a somewhat more secure and stable connection. It took me a few minutes to find it though.

Michael.
 
#3 ·
Hi Osodog.

My kids are three and soon to be one (8/8/05).

I realize that the tethers are for the foward facing only and I currently use the seat belts in the locked position to hold down both seats. However, I am told that with the Isofix system it is easier to get a more secure and tighter hold down of the seats which is what I am after.

thanks for the response Osodo.

Btw -- my wife does not own an RX300 and don't know where the "P.S" came from in the quote listed in Osodog's reply.
 
#5 ·
ISOFIX/LATCH should be on the 2 outboard seats. They were standrad from 01 or 02, can't remember. If you slide your hand between the seatback and the cushion, you should be able to feel the U-shaped metal rings on either edge of the seat. It took me a while to locate it in the M5 which has the fold down seats. When you slide your hand right where the center portion of the seat cushion borders with the side cushion, just feel for the end of the seat cushion and bend your fingers to follow the curve and you should be able to feel the metal rings.

By the way, there is a weight limit on the LATCH system, where if your child is over 40 lbs., I think, seat belt should be used instead.

John
 
#6 ·
Osodog -

I sincerely appreciate you taking to the time to reply. no need to apologize for trying to help.

John --

I will go back and try and find the latch again. I was not aware that there was a weight limitation with the use of Isofix as well. My wife mentioned that she believed that even with the Isofix the seat belt should still be used and I thought the point of the Isofix was to avoid the use of the seatbelt which I thought was less effective than the Isofix.

Thanks again to both of you for your imput.

take care.

Michael.
 
#7 ·
mchin said:
Osodog -

I was not aware that there was a weight limitation with the use of Isofix as well. My wife mentioned that she believed that even with the Isofix the seat belt should still be used and I thought the point of the Isofix was to avoid the use of the seatbelt which I thought was less effective than the Isofix.
You are correct about not using the seatbelt when connecting with LATCH. It was designed to make a foolproof mounting of the seat, as so many seats are mounted improperly when seatbelt is used. Once the weight limit has been reached, seatbelt should be used insead of LATCH. I suppose one can use both at that point. I believe the weight limitation has to do with the PATCH harness' ability to hold the seat in its place in an accident.

John
 
#8 ·
mchin said:
Osodog -

I sincerely appreciate you taking to the time to reply. no need to apologize for trying to help.

John --

I will go back and try and find the latch again. I was not aware that there was a weight limitation with the use of Isofix as well. My wife mentioned that she believed that even with the Isofix the seat belt should still be used and I thought the point of the Isofix was to avoid the use of the seatbelt which I thought was less effective than the Isofix.

Thanks again to both of you for your imput.

take care.

Michael.

Did you find the anchors? They are definitely there. I have an '02 and had trouble finding them at first. They are buried and a bit tough to get to. Be careful latching the belt it is easy to mar the leather.
 
#9 ·
If you go to your local fire department they will install at no charge. At least they do that in CT. Other states might be different and might charge a fee, but it is more than worth whatever they may charge. Fire department personnel have all the latest info. and installation techniques. Good Luck:flag:
 
#10 ·
Thanks to all.

Found them finally on Saturday morning. As others had previously posted there is a tag on them just like a mattress or pillow tag. I actually found the tags first.

CEC - its funny you should mention damaging the leather. once I found the lacth I couldn't help but thinkt that I would need to find a way to protect the seats from the latch since I would need to bury the latch deep into the space between the seat back and cushion. I guess I also have a one track mind of how to protect the car at all costs.

BTW over this holiday weekend I decided to give the other car a break and haul the family around in the beast. Boy, I don't think I will ever use our other car for family trips ever again unless space is an issue. what fun to drive even conservatively.

Thanks again.

Michael.
 
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