Topic: IIHS tests LATCH restraints in 100+ vehicles with new rating system

[Autos_Editor]

IIHS tests 102 vehicles and rates the LATCH system - only three receive top marks
Read More...

[Noto]

Now please keep in mind, just because a vehicle receives a “poor” rating, it doesn’t mean your child is unsafe. It just means the LATCH system is difficult to install correctly, so if your vehicle is rated acceptable, marginal or poor, please consider taking your vehicle to a professional to verify you have been securing your child and their seat safely.

excellent concluding remark.  I agree wholeheartedly.

[Fobroader]

Here the firefighters run a program a few times a year on the proper way to bolt the seat in your car and to properly harness your kid.

[mixmanmash]

This is about the stupidest rating system.  They rate a minivan not at the top because the tether point is low.  Big f***ing whoop.  You can easily tether it by going to the third row, or from the hatch area if the seat is installed in the third row.

[mixmanmash]

Here the firefighters run a program a few times a year on the proper way to bolt the seat in your car and to properly harness your kid.

This.  Even some specialty baby stores run a similar program.

[Kris78]

What an odd list...

I've found the hardest part of a cart seat install is getting it tight enough, which tends to be a function of the car's size. I would wager that most folks would have an easier time installing a car seat properly in a Sienna than in a Focus.

[Solstice2006]

Very strange list indeed.  I took my rear facing car seat, and forward facing car seat into Mazda.  Tried it on the 3 and the 6, I found the 6 much easier!   And they have it rated as poor? I have pulled them in and out in to my in-laws Escape, and my parents Sedona without a problem.  I do recall that my 2002 Nissan Sentra, was very difficult to remove the seat, the bottom (bite area) was so far under the seat cushion, very difficult to access. 

I hope this list isnt used as a benchmark for anything.  That the customer doesn't read too much into this.  Crash ratings at much more important...

[Fobroader]

If kids ever happen for us....this is what I want 

[tooscoops]

The LATCH system exists to ensure that child safety seats are secured properly, that’s not to say alder vehicles not equipped with LATCH aren’t safe anymore. LATCH is just supposed to take eliminate the chances of incorrect installation.

odd for you guys to miss two mistakes that close... my morgan has a frame that is made of ash, but i think that's as close to an alder car as you will find. and "take" seems to have been left in the second sentence by mistake...


anyway, the issues are not with the latch systems... since when do parents get the pass and not have to actually put any effort into their kids safety? the ease of putting seats in should be rated, but it should just be which ones are easier... not some kind of doom and gloom issue where they make it seem that one is safer than the other.

[Northernridge]

Just for fun I searched vintage safety seats... 

[ThePointblank]

Very strange list indeed.  I took my rear facing car seat, and forward facing car seat into Mazda.  Tried it on the 3 and the 6, I found the 6 much easier!   And they have it rated as poor? I have pulled them in and out in to my in-laws Escape, and my parents Sedona without a problem.  I do recall that my 2002 Nissan Sentra, was very difficult to remove the seat, the bottom (bite area) was so far under the seat cushion, very difficult to access. 

I hope this list isnt used as a benchmark for anything.  That the customer doesn't read too much into this.  Crash ratings at much more important...

This is what they are saying if you look at the individual ratings:

Mazda 6:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/mazda/6-4-door-sedan

It appears the Mazda 6 got hit really bad on the driver's side, which affected its rating.

Mazda 3:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/mazda/3-4-door-hatchback

It's rated as acceptable because the lower anchors are too deep in the seat.

[Solstice2006]

^ Thanks for the link.  Still think it's dumb, as accessing the anchors on the drivers side is no different then the passengers side.   I don't find them deep, I don't want them sticking out.  They are about an inch in.  I would agree, if it was an inch, and below the seat cushion, angled down. But it's not.  Think they are being just a bit too picky.