Infant Car Seat
 

Alright, the due date is tomorrow and life without kids is no more. My question is: Where are the latch anchors for the child seat? I would like to put the kid in the middle so people can get to the back via the passageway behind the passenger seat. I see ancho points behind the seat, but they look like they are just tethers for a child's seat, not an infant rear facing seat. Also, if those are the correct anchors, the middle position only has 1 anchor behind it. The only one with 2 anchors is the passenger side seat. Does anyone know if the ex allows 2 latches on one anchor or what's the best scenario?

danny
2001 4x4 Ex PSD

I'm fairly confident that your 2001 Excursion does not have LATCH anchors. My 2000 does not, and LATCH was not mandated until Sept 1st, 2002. But - check your owner's manual to be sure. If it does turn out to have LATCH anchors, the manual should show you the location.

We've always used the 2nd bench's middle lap belt to secure our child seat. It has worked fine. Now that our son is facing forward, we are able to use the anchor behind the seat back, and we feel even better about it. Not to mention having a forward facing car seat is a WONDERFUL thing if you EVER want to have you AND your wife up front in your truck. :-)

And CONGRATS in advance on the new addition :-).

Unfortunately Ford did not put any latch anchors in the Excursion (we have a 2004), only the tethors. Not sure how they got around it or why they didn't put the $2 hooks between the seats, but they didn't. You'll just have to use the seat belt and try to get it as tight as you can. A good way to get the belt tight is by kneeling in the car seat (or base) and buckling the locked seat belt. When you get off the seat, it will be very tight.

i guess mine are just the tether anchors. another question then...the lap belt doesn't have a means of tightening it, it's only pretensioned, so what needs to be done?

I have a 2001. Pull the seat belt all the way out. You should hear it click. Then when you attach and let go you should not be able to pull it out again.

Kneeling on the seat is a good way to tighten sufficiently.

My wife is a trained car seat installation tech. The X does not have the LATCH anchors because it is exempt from the 2002 regulation due to weight, but they do have the tethers for the forward facing. As for getting the base tight, the best way is to lean back the seat (the 60% side) and then pull the seatbelt all the way out until it clicks. Route the seat belt per the instructions of the car seat and then kneel on the base with ALL your weight, bouncing up and down can help too. Then you can tilt the seat back all the way up and that will get it even tighter. If you have leather seats the only thing you should put under the seat base is the non-slip shelf liner. This will help protect the seat and keep it from sliding side to side. To check ANY car seat to see if it is tight enough you grab it at the belt path and pull side to side. The seat should not move, the car should move, not the seat. It takes a lot of practice. No car seat will damage the seat / leather. It might look that way after you take it out but the seat will go back to normal after a couple of hours / days. You can go to this website:

http://usa.safekids.org/tier2_rl.cfm?folder_id=1400


If you go to one of these car seat checks they will install the seat correctly and if it is an unsafe seat they will typically give you a new one free of charge. Over 90% of all car seats are installed incorrectly so this information can help anyone that has kids or transports kids.

LMAO. My (formerly) nice leather bench seat disagrees. The previous owner had a car seat in it - and when I purchased the truck, the leather was still stretched out from the seat. I placed my son's car seat on the passenger side, in hopes that the middle of the seat would return to normal after a while. No go. It's still very distorted. I'd call that damaged.

seat damage
 

Wife's response:

We have had our X for over a hundred thousand miles and 2+ years of fostering adopting and transporting random children, all in car seats. Our center row, center seat has had a car seat in it at least 98% of the time. We have zero seat damage from proper use of car seats. We do however take our seats out at least every other week to check the fit, clean them and leave them out overnight. A very anal DH keeps the leather cleaned and conditioned, spills are cleaned up as they happen.

Two weeks ago we did replace the left piece of leather on the front driver seat that was worn and looked bad from normal entry/ exit.

The way we see it, replacing the leather on the 60% split bottom is around $400, a funeral from improper car seat use is going to cost an easy $1000 and a child is priceless.

Sorry to rant, this is my 'hot issue'.

Thanks for all the help. I installed it with ya'lls expert advice. Geez, you'd think a fireman would know how to install a car seat....I guess that's why they don't let us do that anymore.

While you have had good fortune in your child seat VS leather interior challenges... Clearly "no car seat will damage the seat/leather" is not a factual statement. I have the proof... It's right smack dab in the middle of my bench. The leather is stretched far enough that it will NOT shrink back to normal. Its beyond that. How did this happen? Most likely by installing a child seat properly. If the seat is strapped in tight enough to hold secure, it most certainly has left somewhat of an indentation in the cushion. And obviously, this is going to stretch the leather at some point.

Luckily, I have a few choices without replacing any interior pieces. I can fold the center arm rest down and cover the bad spot, or I can just leave my son's car seat right there in the middle, covering up anything that would otherwise be noticable.

Don't sweat being passionate about this... We all take the safety and security of our children VERY seriously.

Use a Vinyl Car Seat Protector
 

I bought my daughter (22 mos) a high end seat that stays in the X. I use a "Vinyl Car Seat Protector" ($10 @ wally world) to help reduce any possible damage. It does absorb some of the pressure and now I will remove it once in a while for cleaning and leave it out until it is needed again to reduce any stretching. I plan on keeping the X until she and the others is out of the nest, so I want it to look good for a long time. "Thanks for the heads up". BTW, I love the teather, it is a welcomed improvement. I don't remember having a car seat as a child, I think I sat between my parents because I remember always looking at the ash tray. It was like the stone age compared to what is available or required today.

I also have a seat protector for the bottom cushion. I also placed a large towel folded, to increase thickness, behind the child seat to increase surface area of the child seat where it would contact the seat. That way, I have about 3 inches towel covering one inch of child seat. It is tougher to streatch the leather that way. 2.5 years and still Ford quality leather.

That reminds me, I love the third row vinyl much better than the front two rows of leather. I am looking forward to replacing the fronts with quality leather.

Im sorry but I am mad that ford did not put the ancors in for infant seats. Almost every ad you see for these trucks has a family in it. This is the family truck. Well I guess ford just does not care what a bunch of c..p.

First off... CONGRATS!!!

Car seats CAN damage your leather but there are ways around it. The easiest way that I have found from 3 years of experience is to get a nice thick bath towel and fold it a couple of times to make it nice and thick. Put it under the car seat/base.

As stated above using the lap belt will work fine. I personally sit in the seat and bounce up and down like mad until that thing is tight as can be. IT DOESN'T MOVE. Take is out regularly to condition and clean the leather and all will be good.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Ditto on the bath towl, I have four car seats... went out and bought five matching towls... oooh! there really great for emergancy clean ups too.