Child Seating Front Passenger Seat

salivan · 05-21-2013, 10:13 AM

I am having a 4-year old guest for camping and trying to figure out if a child car seat will work in the front passenger seat. The Ford manual says there is an anchor hook on the lower back of the seat for a tether hook, but it looks like the hook may have been removed when the swivel was installed. I have bench seats in the rear and seat belts, but no shoulder belts or anchors, so the child seat will have to go in the front. It looks like I could bolt an anchor hook on the wood frame for the swivel seat right above the fire extinguisher. I don't see anywhere else to set an anchor hook for the tether. This can't be a unique problem ... or is it?

Philip

**rionapo** · 05-21-2013, 10:47 AM

For general child safety: http://www.safercar.gov/parents/RightSeat.htm.

Can you disable the right side air bag?

carringb · 05-21-2013, 10:52 AM

There is a passenger airbag cutoff kit made for your van/dashboard. Ford dealer probably don't put them in often, but U-haul service centers have done LOTS of them, since U-haul added them to the entire fleet of '97+ E-series.

audisnapr · 05-21-2013, 11:02 AM

I'm guessing a 4y/o is in a booster seat, not a traditional car seat which uses the lower and rear anchors. If in a booster seat, all you will need is the factory installed 3pnt seat belt... only if the passenger airbag is disabled.

If the passenger airbag is not disabled and you do not have a 3pnt seat belt in the back bench for a booster seat or anchors to use with a car seat, then you have no safe (or possibly legal) way of transporting the 4y/o in the van that I am aware of.

BrianW · 05-21-2013, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carringb

There is a passenger airbag cutoff kit made for your van/dashboard. Ford dealer probably don't put them in often, but U-haul service centers have done LOTS of them, since U-haul added them to the entire fleet of '97+ E-series.

Interesting! I checked with four different Ford dealers, and none of them were willing to install such a switch, and they said it wasn't available as a part (kit) either.

Do you have any more info on this?

86Scotty · 05-21-2013, 12:03 PM

Just unplug the plug under your passenger seat. The airbag light will flash and then go solid. You will have no airbags, so be careful. For one trip this is what I would do.

When you plug it back in, the system will return to normal, after ignition cycle of course. It probably stores a code but it didn't set any lights on mine. (I didn't unplug this for your same purpose, I merely forgot to plug it back in after the seat was out. I didn't find it for about a month, but I didn't look either. I just assumed the airbag light was another request from one of my vehicles to have money spent on it).

As with all advice, it may not be for you. you may find this ridiculous and dangerous. I understand it might not be something everyone might want to do.

salivan · 05-21-2013, 03:38 PM

Wow ... way more complicated that I figured ... not to mention the "lawyer" aspect. This is a 1-night trip down the coast and the dad of the 4-year old has agreed to just follow along in their rental car. Problem solved. I still don't know what I would do if it were my 4-year old and a long-term situation.

Thanks for all the input.

LenS · 05-21-2013, 04:32 PM

I had an airbag deactivation switch added to my GM van several years ago. It is a keyed switch. To have it professionally installed I had to get a waver from HTSA before it could/would be installed. The GM dealerships would not do the modification w or w/o the waver. Getting the waver was not a big deal, just took filling out a form and mailing it in.

If the rear bench was not OEM (Ford or GM) installed I would not trust it for precious cargoes.