Hi, I have a 1996 850T wagon. I just bought a Graco Snugride infant seat for the car, and installation is not going so well.

First, I cannot ascertain if my car has the LATCH system. The 850 owner's manual makes reference to child restraint anchorages, but not LATCH. It reads, "Volvo cars can be fitted with Child Restraint Top Tether Anchorages in the rear seat." (p. 39). Does this mean I could, or should, buy special anchorages from the dealer? The manual continues, mentioning that there are anchorage points in the car, hiddern under palstic. Can I use the Graco's LATCH belts/hooks with these anchorage points?

Second, I installed the seat using option 2, i.e., use the seatbelt and not LATCH. But this just doesn't seem too secure which makes me think (a) I did it wrong or (b) it's not as good a method as LATCH.

All suggestions welcome! Thanks.

--Dan L.
96 855T, 98k miles
93 Camry Wagon, 116k miles

I have a 97 w/ two car seats.

850s do not have LATCH anchors; that came along a few years later. The latest Consumer Reports did some tests of car seats and found that the belts supplied with seats to work with LATCH points are not as strong as seat belts and some samples broke (!) in their tests. I am no longer feeling left out that we don't have LATCH. The LATCH belt (as opposed to seats with rigid LATCH clips) seem to me to be a kludge with little benefit over seat belts -- they work exactly the same way. I guess they can be beneficial in cars with oddly positioned belts, but the Volvo belts are well-positioned for car seats as it is.

You *can* install the seat perfectly using the Volvo belts; they work better for car seats than any other I've used, due to the locking latch plate and how they are positioned. See tips from NHTSA here:

First, make sure to slide the red button on the back of the latch plate (part of buckle on the belt) over to the car seat position. This causes the latchplate to lock the belt in position so it remains tight on the car seat. Run the belt thru the car seat and pull out lots of slack on the belt so you can get a good grip on it. Then put your knee on the seat base, grab the belt directly above the buckle and pull up hard. The trick is to look for the plastic buttons on the seat belt and make sure they do not get bound up in the buckle as you tighten. These buttons keep the belt from retracting too far when the seats are folded down, so you don't want to break them off. Once the belt is tight, it will stay tight. Then feed the slack back into the retractor so the belt is tight and not bound up along its length. In an accident, the belt is held tight, not by the locking latchplate, but by the retractor.

If your Graco is like ours, there is an adjustable foot to level the base. Start with that retracted and then turn the knob after you have the seat installed to take up any additional slack.

The top tether anchors are a different thing altogether. This is a strap from the back of a forward-facing child seat to a bracket mounted behind the seat. You have the mounting points for them, but probably not the brackets. You should be able to see where it mounts from the cargo area; the middle bracket is not visible. Get the brackets at a dealer -- I've been meaning to get them, but have not done so yet. You don't need these for a rear-facing car seat.

Good luck!

-Eric

Having a problem w/ URLs here! The links I referenced in the two posts are:

1. NHTSA page
   
2. Car-Safety.org
   

following on my own message, here is another article with very good coverage:


In particular:

"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."

"Should" is key here, and would depend on what you are comparing to.

-Eric

In our '97 sedan it was pretty easy with the infant and toddler seats. I have used the seatbelts to fasten them exclusively. I did add a tightly rolled towel under them to support the side to side movement but they are in there tight. Also, the buckle on the seatbelts should have a switch to stop the belt from loosening or sliding through the buckle when tightened. It works for me.

The LATCH system is newer (I think only became widespread around 2001 - 2002). Your 850 does not have the LATCH system.
On the backside of your rear seats you will see a plastic plug behind each seating area, that when you you pry off you will discover the anchor housing for the baby/infant seats. The anchors themself you can purchase from Volvo (not too expensive) and they just screw in and you are ready to strap the seat down.
I went through the exact same problem you did two years ago.