lexcapade

Hey guys, I'm new to the boards here as I have just purchased a black/black '99 GS400 w/navi & nak. I have been reading the boards here for amost a week now and have found a lot of great info. And no flaming like a lot of other boards I have been on. This seems the most friendly community around. From what i have read many of you have families and kids.

I was wondering if there is a way to retrofit the child LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system from say an '02 into my '99. I did a search and nothing about this came up. The reason I ask is I love how secure you can get the child seat installed into a car that has LATCH anchors as compared to those without. Truth be said, I bought this car because my wife and I needed a car with 4-doors and my civic coupe wasn't cutting it any more. Plus, why not get a little style and luxury along the way right?

Anyways, if anyone of you have any ideas, please drop a line. Thanks...

99GS300

Congrats on the new car, and welcome!

I had the LATCH system installed in my 99 GS300 at the local dealer. They don't charge for the parts (some screws and brackets...wooo hoo!), but they did charge me for labor. I think it took 1/2 hour or so, and the LATCH system works great with our car seat.

My son will be 2 next month, and I have another on the way (due in June), so I'll be back at the dealer to have a 2nd LATCH installed soon.

Good luck,

David

lexcapade

Thanks. I like coming here because everyone seems down to earth and friendly. When I used to get on the forums for my civic, there were are too many teenagers mouthing off and stuff like that. Yeah, I don't have the car yet. It's on a truck getting shipped to my house. I think I got an alright deal. The car has a little less than 75k miles, clean CarFax, navi, nak, just don't know about HID, but not a big deal if it doesn't, I'll install it myself later if need be. I got her for $18900 from a Chrysler dealer in the Chicago area. They even paid half of my shipping cost, which is cool. I shopped long and hard for her, but I finally found her.

So, is it pretty standard procedure that the dealer provides the LATCH parts for free? If you don't mind me asking, how much did they charge you for the labor? Thanks for your reply. I just really want the LATCH system because it just works so much better. The price isn't a big deal because the safety and well-being of my little 17-month old doesn't have a pricetag. Just want to make sure they don't try to rip me off or something. Congrats on the kid on the way!

99GS300

definitely sounds like you got a nice deal on your GS!

I think the dealer is required to provide the LATCH components for free on cars that did not come standard with the system (2000 and newer I think were required to have the LATCH). My dealer charges $80/hour, which is probably a pretty good average labor rate for a Lexus dealer.

Good luck, and post some pics of your new ride once it arrives!

David

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

That's a killer deal for that car! Anyways, looks like you've got the LATCH system figured out. FYI, as your car is a '99, and since it has a navigation system, it automatically comes with HID headlights and seat warmers as part of a package--so no worries on that. HID on '98 GS400's were avaiable only as a single item option, not as part of a package with '99+ cars.

Welcome to the Club! Post some pics when you get it

PHML

iTrader: (33)

Im not sure if this helps.

https://www.clublexus.com/index.php/...iew/1836/1/59/

Pete

lexcapade

99GS300, I called up my Lexus dealer and they were only going to put the top anchor that is on the rear deck. Is that all you had done to your car? Or did you have the anchors near the seat belt buckle installed too?

99GS300

The top anchor is all that my child seat had. I have another seat in my Misubishi SUV that has both side and top restraints, so I thiink it is dependent upon your child seat. I can tell you this, with the top anchor and seat belt restraint, the seat in my Lexus is VERY secure. The local Police Department does a car seat check to ensure proper installation, and they said my installation met all of their safety standards.

airahcaz

Sorry, to what did this link point? Also, anyone have recommendations whether to get a child seat latch system installed, or is ok to just go with the existing seat buckles?

mk2tmr2

iTrader: (1)

My kid is only 6.5 months old, so he's still in his rear-facing infant seat. Since it's highly recommended you mount those in the center of the rear seat - you can not use LATCH with them. The LATCH on our cars is only made for putting the child seat in the left/right seats. The owner's manual should provide further details for you on that.

I use the center seat belt with my infant car seat (Chicco Key Fit 30) and it works perfectly. I can get the car seat in there so tight that it won't budge on both the GS300 and the RX330.

If you plan on mounting a seat in the side positions instead of the middle, then LATCH would come in handy. But, honestly, I'm not sure if it's necessarily *better* than using the seat belt. Just more convenient.

airahcaz

so middle seat in your GS300? that should work for me as well then

mk2tmr2

iTrader: (1)

Yup. Middle rear seat in the GS. Once you've installed it you literally should not be able to move the seat more than an inch. My kid's seat has a separate base that his carrier locks into. My method is to put down some rubber, no-slip shelf liner (the webbed stuff) and then put the base on top of that, then get in and kneel on the base with all my weight, and then lace the seatbelt through properly and crank it up as hard as I can. Once it's in like that it won't move.

I use the shelf liner because the plastic kid seat on the leather car seat is slippery enough that it'll move no matter how hard it's buckled in. The no-slip shelf liner adds plenty of friction.

airahcaz

how did you decide on center versus non center rear car seat installation, safety reasons onr convenience for 2 other rear passengers?

mk2tmr2

iTrader: (1)

Safety reasons. The center rear seat is the furthest point in the car from any impact that might happen. We took an infant car safety class at our local hospital and they were the ones who helped us get the seat installed in the car properly as well. I had tried it myself and was satisfied until they pointed out how much more firmly it could have been installed.

I'd highly recommend taking your installed car seat to the local fire department or hospital and have someone who is certified verify you have it installed properly. The statistic is that over 90% of infant and child car seats are not installed properly.

GSJake

iTrader: (21)

Thanks for the advice.
I had mine in the middle as I did read that is the safest place for it. I DID NOT go in and put my knee on it and tighten, which I will do first thing tomorrow.