LATCH or ISOFIX Carseat Attachment
11-14-2006, 11:58 PM
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LATCH or ISOFIX Carseat Attachment
Did the 2000 ML320 come from the factory with the LATCH attachments for infant car seats? If so where are they?
LATCH:
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. LATCH includes two lower anchor attachments AND a top tether. The term is often used generically to refer only to the pair of fixed lower anchors built into the bight or crack between the seat back and seat cushion. These anchors are specifically designed for carseat installation. When used, seatbelts are no longer necessary to install the carseat. The idea is to make it easier to install carseats safely, and to make it more universal among carseats and vehicles. LATCH will be found on infant seat bases, rear-facing, front-facing and combination booster seats that have an internal harness. Carbeds, Infant seat carriers, booster-only models and vests are exempt and may not have LATCH.
The LATCH system was originally called ISOFIX, a term still used in Europe. In Canada, it is the Lower Universal Anchorage System (LUAS) or CANFIX. It has also been called the Universal Child Safety Seat System or UCSSS. Some carseat companies have trade names for this system, for example, Britax uses the term "ISOFIT™". All of these names refer to the same universal anchorages that appear on a few model year 2000 vehicles and even more model year 2001 and 2002 vehicles. These are required by law in the USA for almost all model year 2003 and later vehicles. With the exception of the Volkswagen Passat and many Audi models since 1999, LATCH anchors cannot be retrofitted onto earlier model vehicles.
LATCH is not necessarily safer than using a seatbelt to install a carseat. A carseat installed properly with seatbelts should be just as safe as one using LATCH. The advantage of the LATCH system is that it should make it much easier to get a proper installation. In a vehicle that does not have LATCH anchors, a carseat with LATCH capability can also be used with the vehicle's seatbelt system instead of LATCH. If your carseat and vehicle are LATCH equipped, it is recommended that you use the LATCH system if it results in a good fit for the carseat. It is still possible that some combinations of LATCH carseats and vehicles will not work well together, and in that case it is preferable to use the seatbelts for installation if it is more secure. It is not necessary to use both the seatbelts and the LATCH system. Technically, it may be possible to use both, but only one or the other is needed. With some vehicles and carseats, the manuals may specifically instruct NOT to use both systems. More information about LATCH use can be found at these websites:
Thanks
Darren
LATCH:
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. LATCH includes two lower anchor attachments AND a top tether. The term is often used generically to refer only to the pair of fixed lower anchors built into the bight or crack between the seat back and seat cushion. These anchors are specifically designed for carseat installation. When used, seatbelts are no longer necessary to install the carseat. The idea is to make it easier to install carseats safely, and to make it more universal among carseats and vehicles. LATCH will be found on infant seat bases, rear-facing, front-facing and combination booster seats that have an internal harness. Carbeds, Infant seat carriers, booster-only models and vests are exempt and may not have LATCH.
The LATCH system was originally called ISOFIX, a term still used in Europe. In Canada, it is the Lower Universal Anchorage System (LUAS) or CANFIX. It has also been called the Universal Child Safety Seat System or UCSSS. Some carseat companies have trade names for this system, for example, Britax uses the term "ISOFIT™". All of these names refer to the same universal anchorages that appear on a few model year 2000 vehicles and even more model year 2001 and 2002 vehicles. These are required by law in the USA for almost all model year 2003 and later vehicles. With the exception of the Volkswagen Passat and many Audi models since 1999, LATCH anchors cannot be retrofitted onto earlier model vehicles.
LATCH is not necessarily safer than using a seatbelt to install a carseat. A carseat installed properly with seatbelts should be just as safe as one using LATCH. The advantage of the LATCH system is that it should make it much easier to get a proper installation. In a vehicle that does not have LATCH anchors, a carseat with LATCH capability can also be used with the vehicle's seatbelt system instead of LATCH. If your carseat and vehicle are LATCH equipped, it is recommended that you use the LATCH system if it results in a good fit for the carseat. It is still possible that some combinations of LATCH carseats and vehicles will not work well together, and in that case it is preferable to use the seatbelts for installation if it is more secure. It is not necessary to use both the seatbelts and the LATCH system. Technically, it may be possible to use both, but only one or the other is needed. With some vehicles and carseats, the manuals may specifically instruct NOT to use both systems. More information about LATCH use can be found at these websites:
Thanks
Darren
Last edited by Daranello; 11-15-2006 at 12:00 AM.
11-15-2006, 11:12 AM
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02ML320/06R350
Did the 2000 ML320 come from the factory with the LATCH attachments for infant car seats? If so where are they?
LATCH:
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. LATCH includes two lower anchor attachments AND a top tether. The term is often used generically to refer only to the pair of fixed lower anchors built into the bight or crack between the seat back and seat cushion. These anchors are specifically designed for carseat installation. When used, seatbelts are no longer necessary to install the carseat. The idea is to make it easier to install carseats safely, and to make it more universal among carseats and vehicles. LATCH will be found on infant seat bases, rear-facing, front-facing and combination booster seats that have an internal harness. Carbeds, Infant seat carriers, booster-only models and vests are exempt and may not have LATCH.
The LATCH system was originally called ISOFIX, a term still used in Europe. In Canada, it is the Lower Universal Anchorage System (LUAS) or CANFIX. It has also been called the Universal Child Safety Seat System or UCSSS. Some carseat companies have trade names for this system, for example, Britax uses the term "ISOFIT™". All of these names refer to the same universal anchorages that appear on a few model year 2000 vehicles and even more model year 2001 and 2002 vehicles. These are required by law in the USA for almost all model year 2003 and later vehicles. With the exception of the Volkswagen Passat and many Audi models since 1999, LATCH anchors cannot be retrofitted onto earlier model vehicles.
LATCH is not necessarily safer than using a seatbelt to install a carseat. A carseat installed properly with seatbelts should be just as safe as one using LATCH. The advantage of the LATCH system is that it should make it much easier to get a proper installation. In a vehicle that does not have LATCH anchors, a carseat with LATCH capability can also be used with the vehicle's seatbelt system instead of LATCH. If your carseat and vehicle are LATCH equipped, it is recommended that you use the LATCH system if it results in a good fit for the carseat. It is still possible that some combinations of LATCH carseats and vehicles will not work well together, and in that case it is preferable to use the seatbelts for installation if it is more secure. It is not necessary to use both the seatbelts and the LATCH system. Technically, it may be possible to use both, but only one or the other is needed. With some vehicles and carseats, the manuals may specifically instruct NOT to use both systems. More information about LATCH use can be found at these websites:
Thanks
Darren
LATCH:
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. LATCH includes two lower anchor attachments AND a top tether. The term is often used generically to refer only to the pair of fixed lower anchors built into the bight or crack between the seat back and seat cushion. These anchors are specifically designed for carseat installation. When used, seatbelts are no longer necessary to install the carseat. The idea is to make it easier to install carseats safely, and to make it more universal among carseats and vehicles. LATCH will be found on infant seat bases, rear-facing, front-facing and combination booster seats that have an internal harness. Carbeds, Infant seat carriers, booster-only models and vests are exempt and may not have LATCH.
The LATCH system was originally called ISOFIX, a term still used in Europe. In Canada, it is the Lower Universal Anchorage System (LUAS) or CANFIX. It has also been called the Universal Child Safety Seat System or UCSSS. Some carseat companies have trade names for this system, for example, Britax uses the term "ISOFIT™". All of these names refer to the same universal anchorages that appear on a few model year 2000 vehicles and even more model year 2001 and 2002 vehicles. These are required by law in the USA for almost all model year 2003 and later vehicles. With the exception of the Volkswagen Passat and many Audi models since 1999, LATCH anchors cannot be retrofitted onto earlier model vehicles.
LATCH is not necessarily safer than using a seatbelt to install a carseat. A carseat installed properly with seatbelts should be just as safe as one using LATCH. The advantage of the LATCH system is that it should make it much easier to get a proper installation. In a vehicle that does not have LATCH anchors, a carseat with LATCH capability can also be used with the vehicle's seatbelt system instead of LATCH. If your carseat and vehicle are LATCH equipped, it is recommended that you use the LATCH system if it results in a good fit for the carseat. It is still possible that some combinations of LATCH carseats and vehicles will not work well together, and in that case it is preferable to use the seatbelts for installation if it is more secure. It is not necessary to use both the seatbelts and the LATCH system. Technically, it may be possible to use both, but only one or the other is needed. With some vehicles and carseats, the manuals may specifically instruct NOT to use both systems. More information about LATCH use can be found at these websites:
Thanks
Darren
