I was asking yesterday and car seat safety and stuff well last night Jades seat broke (my fault) so I had to go out at 8:30pm and buy a new one. I bought the Apex 65 Elite. Have you heard anything about this raves or negatives? Please let me know.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 09:32 pm:

I installed one for a parent at a seat check a couple weeks ago. It's a combination car seat that harnesses up to 65 lbs. and transitions to a belt positioning booster. Although I'm not typically a Cosco fan, this is a reasonably priced option for a car seat that harnesses past 40 lbs.. One big con is that it requires a vehicle seating position with a headrest or high seat back. This means the Apex doesn't offer enough head support to allow it's use on a low back bench seat. This is unusual for a harnessed car seat and CPS Techs suspect this will be an area of misuse since a lot of parents don't read the instruction manual.

You have a fairly new van, right? If you install it using LATCH - Be aware that LATCH anchors have weight limits (either 40 or 48 lbs.) depending on the vehicle manufacturer. If your vehicle owners manual doesn't list the LATCH weight limits I can look it up for you. When the child reaches the LATCH weight limit the car seat must be installed using the seat belt. Always use the top tether when it's in the harnessed mode.

Reviews:

Cosco Apex

By Tonya on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 08:58 am:

Thanks Trina. I have the Latch on now and the seat belt I will undo the latch when she hits the weight limit. If you could look that up for me I would appreciate it. I also have a 04 Dodge Caravan so the seat is a high backseat with the headrest. She will stay in the seat until she is too big for the seat so for many more years. I haven't read the book all the way through but I did start on it.

What do you mean by "Always use the top tether when it's in the harnessed mode."

By Trina~moderator on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 09:23 am:

When installing a car seat you use either the vehicle seat belt or the lower LATCH anchors but not both at the same time.

There is a tether strap attached to the top of the back of the (Apex) car seat. The end of the tether strap has a hook on it that attaches to the tether anchor. Do you have Jade in the middle row in one of the captains chairs? If so, the tether anchor is located on the lower back of the captains chair. Always tether the car seat when it's in the harnessed mode. When you eventually transition it to a belt positioning booster do not use LATCH or tether.

According to the LATCH/Tether manual, the LATCH and tether anchor weight limit for Dodge is 48 lbs..

More info here: LATCH and Tether Information

To find CPS Techs in your area:
SeatCheck.org

By Tonya on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 10:04 am:

I will undo the seat belt then I thought the more holding it in the better. My van does not have an anchor for the top tether. Only the bottom one. To me it doesn't seem like that would be safe to only have the carseat held in by the bottom tether.

Jade is in the captain chair behind the passanger seat. I think I am going to look for a CPS tech area in my area that I can take my van and seat to to have someone show me exactly what to do.

Thank you Trina for your help I really appreciate knowing I can come to you with questions.

By Trina~moderator on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 11:13 am:

You're very welcome. All LATCH positions have top tether anchors. It's part of the LATCH system. LATCH = Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. Just looked up your van in the LATCH/Tether manual-
Dodge Caravan 02-05
Second Row: Outboard - 2 LATCH with tether anchors on lower back of seat
Third Row: Center - Tether anchor on lower back of seat
Outboard - None

This means your middle row captains chairs both have LATCH and tether anchors. Your third row has no LATCH positions, but the center seat does have a tether anchor.

By Tonya on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 11:32 am:

I am going to look in the manual and see if it shows me where the top anchor is at and see if I can install it properly before tomorrow.

I called and made an appointment for tomorrow at the Police station for a CPS tech to help me install it properly. Again thanks Trina.

By Trina~moderator on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 11:38 am: