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IMO, that sounds like someone blowing smoke. A pendulum mechanism works by the pendulum swinging forward. A heavier vs. lighter pendulum should have no bearing on locking when the strap is jerked.
Change of subject: when looking at running boards, try to find out if they attach at existing mounting locations (holes in the frame of the vehicle) or if they would require new holes.
If they bolt up to existing holes, they should be a snap to install. Sounds like a perfect parent/daughter weekend project to me. If they require some drilling, you may want to consider professional installation (depending on how mechanically confident you are).
Yup. Someone who either doesn't know what they are talking about or is being intentionally deceptive. I wouldn't let them inspect my vehicle before consulting with a lawyer, at least not after that explanation. Plus any pendulum-type retractor is not going to respond to a jerk on the belt anyway. The best way to test the pendulum type is to have an adult in the seatbelt. At the same time you brake suddenly, they should pull on the shoulder belt to see if it is locked. If you can do the sharp braking on a steep downhill incline, you have an even better chance to trip the mechanism.
" The belt webbing retractor is designed to lock during very sudden stops or collisions. This feature allows the shoulder part of the belt to move freely with you under normal conditions. But in a collision, the belt will lock and reduce the risk of your striking the inside of the vechicle or being thrown out."
" The seat belts for both front seating positions are equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to remove slack from the seat belt in the event of a collision. These devices improve the performance of the seat belt by assuring that the belt is tight about the occupant early in a collision. Pretensioners work for all size occupants, including those in child restraints and will only deploy if the seat belt is buckled." :shades:
"The seat belts for both front seating positions are equipped with pretensioning devices that are designed to remove slack from the seat belt in the event of a collision. These devices improve the performance of the seat belt by assuring that the belt is tight about the occupant early in a collision. Pretensioners work for all size occupants, including those in child restraints and will only deploy if the seat belt is buckled"
MY BOOK DONT HAVE THAT PAGE WHAT PAGE YOU ON? Mine was a 2001 caravan but Im not sure if it was EX or not how would I know if I have a EX? When did they start putting PRETENSIONING device one caravans?
My wife loves the inegral child seat and the 3 sets of seatbelts in the second row of the Chevy Venture, but we know about the quality and reliability issues.
So, is there any other minivan that comes with, or you can get the integral child seat on and or the 3 seats in second row?
Looking forward to your sharing.
Our daughter has loved the integral built in child seat of her 1999 GC but her sister does NOT trust the integral built in child seat and uses child seats with LATCH.
The 8 passenger Sienna CE or LE have 3 legitimate seats in the 2nd row and an excellent child seat could be secured onto any of the 3 seats.
Poke around in the Edmunds new car pricing section or the Dodge corporate web site and you will be able to find out.
More importantly, the Chevy Venture recieved a POOR in crash tests, didn't it? I'd think about that before purchasing as my family vehicle.
I think their safety ratings are OK now, but I haven't checked them out. Anyone intesrested could go to the nhtsa and IIHS web sites.
But the shopper is looking at a Venture van, not the new Uplander CSV thingy(according to his/her post).
But I would rather get a Sienna CE or LE 8 Passenger model and install 3 top notch car seats in it rather than take a risk with the Venture's poor crash test ratings.
I did notice, on the Grand Caravans, the safety features that we have was either not available or an opition for other makes for the 01 new modle year . (Our van has all of the safety features that was available for the 01 new modle year.) The only safety feature that was an opition for the EX, was front driver and passenger side airbags. To which we have since the previous owner purchased it when they bought it brand new.
All I can say is this, you have got to do your research before you make any vechicle purchase. Look at all the standard equipment and the opitions that you can purchase. From my research, I learned that there is a lot of stuff in a vechicle that is unseen. I knew about every feature and how to use them on our van before we made our purchase. Also, I read the entire owners manual a few days after purchase, which I do with all vechiles that I purchased. You wouldn't believe how many people don't even do that. There is a lot of useful information in there pertaining to your vechicle. :shades:
Did they change the warranty terms???
How come if you research vehicles like 01 caravan at Msn.com and click safety tab they rate it Poor almost all the way on crash test rating but NHTSA rates it 4 and 5 star? Seems like a big difference to me.
You are correct about your assessment. When I was doing the research as to crash worthiness on our 01 DGC EX. IIHS gave our van a Poor rating because in one of two 40 mph test, there was a fuel tank fitting that cracked and leaked. Because Daimlerchrysler did not recall all 2001 models to fix this problem, is why it received an overall poor rating. NHTSA rated our van as a 5 and 4 stars.
So as you can see, you have to read the results to see why your vechicle received the bad rating. In our case, I would expect a fuel leak in any 40 mph accident in the real world. :shades:
Nissan Quest
Can anyone help me with this, please?
I had Ford Freestar rental over the weekend. I requested a luxury car and thanks to a late flight was out of luck. So it was either a small car, suv, or Freestar. I took the minivan since I had a long drive and figured it would do better on gas. I tried to convince the wife to sit in the backseat while I jammed the brakes to see if the seatbelts worked, but for some reason she just wouldn't go along with it.
I can see why there's no much talk about the Freestar on here. Nothing to talk about. T&C/Ody/Sienna are in a completely different league. Gas mileage was a whopping 17mpg, which is far worse than my Ody and probably in line with what I could have squeezed out of an Explorer.
Have we Odyssey owners scared the Dodge owners away since we are defending THEM? Where'd they go?
I suppose we could delve BACK into that endless debate of the merits of sto'n'go seating and vehicle stability control. On second thought, let's not.....
Agree on your assessment of the Freestar. It's almost like Ford (and GM for that matter) feel like there is a Federal mandate that they HAVE to cover the full range of vehicle types and so put out a half-hearted attempt at a minivan. Just to say "yep, we have a minivan too". Which probably appeals only to die-hard Ford fanatics.
Have you tried jerking them?
But I have an electric oven, I feel slighted here!!! Next time for fair and balance, please use Electric and Convection ovens - ok?
ROFL.
Wow, post number 2,000! I feel special.
Ok, I'm over it.
Ummmmmm, lessee.....
If you turn an electric oven on and check it a few minutes later, a good test to see if it's working are the orange glowy things are....glowing. But even though those orange glowy things look pretty, don't grab one, it will be hot. But it you turn on a gas oven and check it later, you won't see those little glowy things. But that doesn't mean the gas oven isn't working.
I can't help you with convection ovens. But I'm fairly sure that regardless of the type, it will hurt if you shut the door on your head.
Now I'm sure that claireS will be along any minute to try herding us cats back onto the minivan path again.
OMG!! I thought this was Edmund's appliance shopping area? It's not?
OMG!! I thought this was Edmund's appliance shopping area? It's not?
Back to the Kenmore forums for you, dennis.
What class of automobiles could best be described as the 'appliance' of passenger vehicles?
Answer: Minivans
Since this is the "minivan shopping" thread, I don't think that discussion of 'appliances' is COMPLETELY out of bounds.
Maybe 90% out of bounds, but not completely. Besides, a little humor never hurt. If you really want to go back to the usual hurling vindictives at one another's choice in minivans, I suppose we could. But isn't there already enough of that over in the Ody vs. Caravan thread? :sick:
AMEN to that.
Your thoughts on this?
Nah. My eyes glaze over whenever I see the words word "stove" or "oven", so everything looks just fine here.
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Need help getting around? claires@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
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Minivans can carry many appliances in the back. Fridge, washer/dryer or stove/oven, though not all at once. Stow N go make it easy for those impulse appliance buys.
Your thoughts on this?
I've always considered the Caravan the choice for bargain used buying. It's a nicer vehicle with a low price on the used market. How much cheaper is a freestar on the corner lot? I've not shopped so I can't say, but the prices I've seen on 2 year old program Caravans screams deal. And it's a far better vehicle IMHO. The Freestar reminded me of driving a Taurus, which I'll do anything to avoid at the rental counter.
Comparing the Caravan to the Freestar head to head as new vehicles, the Caravan is far better (IMO) on several fronts. These advantages exist whether the vehicles in question are new or used. The Freestar would ONLY make more sense to purchase used if, for some reason, a Freestar were considerably cheaper than a comparable Caravan with similar mileage.
Come to think of it, a dealer here advertised some ex-rental Grand Caravans at $13,990 so I guess the Grand Caravan is cheaper...
i still have my original 05 windstar (140k with original tranny lol, gotta be rare) just as a backup beater. can't believe ford hasn't updated the look in 11 years.
The 3 belts has become less important in recent days.
The dodge/chrysler seem to provide the most flexibility. We are going to spend more time at a toyota dealer tomorrow.
Thanks again.
According to Automotive News inventories as of March 1, 2006:
Model/Days Supply
Caravan/57
T&C/62
Freestar/55
Monterey/120
Uplander/73
Relay/158
Odyssey/52
Quest/138
MPV/85
I would say Ford tightened their production belts pretty hard. I'd also say the minivan market has dried a bit for the Dodge/Honda since their inventories are both up a bit. Here are the numbers from July 1, 2005:
Caravan/47
T&C/42
Freestar/77
Monterey/316
Uplander/51
Relay/98
Odyssey/26
Quest/75
MPV/129
Toyota does not report inventory by model. Overall here is the inventory by manufacturer for March, 1 2006:
DaimlerChrysler/65
Ford/80
GM/90
Honda/50
Nissan/68
Mazda/72
Toyota/41