2017 Expedition EL-Child seats / Top Tethers

[JoeyJohnson]

Hi!

My husband and I are probably going to purchase a 2017 Ford Expedition EL XLT on Saturday. We've got an option of buying one with about 70,000 miles on it for $23,000, so that sounds like a good deal (right?).

We have 3 children, with our fourth on the way in February. This Expedition will be the main family vehicle. Our kids are aged: 6 years, 3 years, 6 months and then a newborn in February, he and the 6 month old will be about 10 months apart. Our 6 year old still rides in a car seat, and I would dearly like to keep her in the car seat for at least 2 more years. Ideally, we would have the youngest two riders in the 2nd row, and the 6 and 3 year old in the 3rd row. However, the 3rd row only has one anchor for the top tether. I don't care about the lack of LATCH in the 3rd row, it truly doesn't matter to me, but the top tether is important. Is there a way to get a second tether retrofitted for the 3rd row? I need it to be safe, and if it's not possible, then I will put up with having 3 in a row in the 2nd row.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[jkayca]

I'm not sure about retrofitting a tether. To be honest, I would look at a minivan instead of an Expedition. Much better suited for larger families. My old Oddy had tether anchors on the back of the third row and I'm pretty sure most other minivans do too.

Of course, once your kids graduate to booster seats, tethers or LATCH systems aren't needed as the seat belt does all the work.

 

[Habbibie]

Being a father of 5 (oldest is 5 years old) I have to agree @jkayca, the expedition isn't exactly suited for car seats and a double stroller, a minivan is so much more practical and convenient especially if you're not taller than 6ft too.

Behind the 3rd row seats there is two tie downs strap in my 2005, i would latch each seat to one, but the no child seat anchors is annoying.

Also it would make it so much easier for the kids to access the 3rd row if the center seat in the 2nd row is removed

 

[AllBoostNoEco]

Thought this might help shed some light on how the single factory tether is attached to the seat back. It’s basically bolted on to the steel frame, which runs the full width of the seat. I, personally, would have zero qualms about popping the seat back cover up, drilling another hole, and using a 90-degree angle bracket, grade 8 bolt, and a short sewn runner (used in mountain climbing and rated to take a massive amount of load) to tether a child seat anywhere along that frame.
Alternatively, I would drill a hole in the actual steel hinge the seat is bolted to the floor with and do the same. Only way any of that is moving is if the entire seat breaks free of the truck.

 

[Black]

I'm not sure about retrofitting a tether. To be honest, I would look at a minivan instead of an Expedition. Much better suited for larger families. My old Oddy had tether anchors on the back of the third row and I'm pretty sure most other minivans do too.

Of course, once your kids graduate to booster seats, tethers or LATCH systems aren't needed as the seat belt does all the work.

I Could not get out of the mini van fast enough.
Hated every minute of it.

A 6 year old should be well tall enough for a high back booster using the seat belt. I too am keeping my kiddos in a car seat as long as possible. But do have a high back belt positioning booster for a 5 year old in the Wife’s Highlander 3rd row as a car seat just is not good back there
There are some really good high back boosters that are going to be as equally as safe as a car seat utilizing a seatbelt and not the latch system.

 

[jeff kushner]

FWIW: as you can see in my sig....I was driving these while raising only 3 children but we bought my wife a T&C Minivan, 17K miles for about the same money years ago....we always took the van on trips...much nicer ride then my truck and as was mentioned...stroller room to boot!

jeff

 

[Black]

FWIW: as you can see in my sig....I was driving these while raising only 3 children but we bought my wife a T&C Minivan, 17K miles for about the same money years ago....we always took the van on trips...much nicer ride then my truck and as was mentioned...stroller room to boot!

jeff

We bought a Sienna when wife was about to have the 3rd thinking it would be a great family mover. Nope, nope, and nope. What a terrible riding vehicle seats were no where near as comfortable as my EL.
Torque steer and handled awful on the 2 lane country roads we traverse.
Double BOB stroller barely fit in the rear cargo section, had to be bungee strapped to the rear head rest to stay in place.
Kids constantly closing and opening the sliding doors.
EL has far more room both for people and cargo. Drives much better than the Sienna.
So glad we got rid of that thing.

 

[chuck s]

Second row bench seat has 3 tethers. Bucket seat version only has two.

The bucket seat version offers much more convenient access to the third seat. If you get the bucket seat version pick which three children you value most. (Sorry, couldn't resist and solutions have been offered.)

Most 4-year olds (or 40 pounds) can use a belt positioning booster seat and the lap/shoulder belts which don't require a tether and probably have no way to use one.

-- Chuck

 

[JoeyJohnson]

First of all, let me say THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE. I appreciate your responses, and I appreciate the lack of "you're turning your kids into millennial weaklings by not letting them bounce through the car". Thank you.

With regards to buying a van; yes. I am absolutely IN LOVE with the Chrysler Pacifica, it would fit all of our kids very well, including my 3 year old nephew that I will be watching occasionally after baby#4 is born. It's awesome. The storage. The gimmics, the bells and whistles, holy moly. I could go on forever and love the van to death. However, friends of ours with 3 kids got rear-ended at a high speed a few weeks ago. By freak chance, my friend had taken the kids on an outing in her husband's truck, and while she was sitting at in intersection waiting to turn, the guy behind her was busy on his phone, did not see that she was at a full stop (there was a stop sign there and busy traffic going the other direction!) and though he saw her at the last minute and tried to swerve, the rear end of the truck bed was dented in passed the rear tire. My friend and the kids were totally fine, but had they been in the van, in the third row, those kids would not have been fine.
So while my husband and I have looked at cars, and I have sang the glory of a minivan, we feel the sturdy (truck)frame of a large SUV will offer our children and ourselves more protection than a van built on a carframe will.
(Example: The fuel system passes. The third row does not.)

Also, I don't trust my daughter to stay in a booster seat properly. I've done "tests" with her, and with the fullest kindness in her heart, she quietly slips out of the booster to pick up a toy for her brothers. This does not happen in the car seat.

Being a father of 5 (oldest is 5 years old) I have to agree @jkayca, the expedition isn't exactly suited for car seats and a double stroller, a minivan is so much more practical and convenient especially if you're not taller than 6ft too.


Behind the 3rd row seats there is two tie downs strap in my 2005, i would latch each seat to one, but the no child seat anchors is annoying.

Also it would make it so much easier for the kids to access the 3rd row if the center seat in the 2nd row is removed

I am hopeful that our double stroller will fit in the trunk of the EL. We're looking at "the one" on Saturday, and hopefully it will work out. I dislike the height of the car, I dislike not being able to walk to the back, but we're looking for safety over (so very much) convenience and comfort.

Good point. Maybe I will be able to fit two car seats in the 2/3 part of the 3rd row. I will bring our Dionos.

I Could not get out of the mini van fast enough.
Hated every minute of it.

A 6 year old should be well tall enough for a high back booster using the seat belt. I too am keeping my kiddos in a car seat as long as possible. But do have a high back belt positioning booster for a 5 year old in the Wife’s Highlander 3rd row as a car seat just is not good back there
There are some really good high back boosters that are going to be as equally as safe as a car seat utilizing a seatbelt and not the latch system.

Really? That's hopeful! Do you have any names of these super safe boosters? Are there any boosters that have the chest clip and the crotch strap or really only the seatbelt ones? If that's the case, then the one tether in the 3rd row might not be an issue with me. I am sure a great booster like you are referring to will be cheaper than asking our mechanic to weld in a second tether.

We bought a Sienna when wife was about to have the 3rd thinking it would be a great family mover. Nope, nope, and nope. What a terrible riding vehicle seats were no where near as comfortable as my EL.
Torque steer and handled awful on the 2 lane country roads we traverse.
Double BOB stroller barely fit in the rear cargo section, had to be bungee strapped to the rear head rest to stay in place.
Kids constantly closing and opening the sliding doors.
EL has far more room both for people and cargo. Drives much better than the Sienna.
So glad we got rid of that thing.

So here was our selling point of SUV vs. Minivan. We test drove the Pacifica and I fell in love. We test drove a Tahoe (not XL) and my husband fell in love on my behalf. To get back to the dealership, we had to take a left on a busy intersection/highway. As we waited to go in both cars, we felt the Pacifica "move" as the semis and small cars flew by us. The same scenario in the Tahoe, we did not feel a thing. I also had no illusions of fitting our huge double (jogging) stroller in the Pacifica/Sienna/Ody. I brought it to our car shopping trip, but when I saw the cargo space, I just kind of gave up of laying that thing down flat.

 

[JoeyJohnson]

View attachment 27105 View attachment 27106 View attachment 27107 Thought this might help shed some light on how the single factory tether is attached to the seat back. It’s basically bolted on to the steel frame, which runs the full width of the seat. I, personally, would have zero qualms about popping the seat back cover up, drilling another hole, and using a 90-degree angle bracket, grade 8 bolt, and a short sewn runner (used in mountain climbing and rated to take a massive amount of load) to tether a child seat anywhere along that frame.
Alternatively, I would drill a hole in the actual steel hinge the seat is bolted to the floor with and do the same. Only way any of that is moving is if the entire seat breaks free of the truck.

So, thank you for these pictures. Thank you very, very much. I am going to take these to our car mechanic, if we buy the EL. He has little kids too, and understood what I meant by "top tether" and said he was willing to look at the car and what I needed. This was much better than the reply I got from the 4 ford dealerships I called. I'll also show it to my husband. He might be brave enough to do this, whereas I can paint, bake a very cake and garden like a boss. I don't weld though. Ha.