StatusInsurance Institute for Highway Safety | Highway Loss DataReport Institute Family matters 2 of 3 minivans earn acceptable or good rating in passenger-side test 4Risk of noncrash fires ALSO IN drops after recalls THIS ISSUE Vol. 53, No. 5 4Red light camera program August 16, 2018 guidelines spotlight safety Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey outperform Toyota Sienna in passenger-side small overlap test; LATCH ratings are mixed he Toyota Sienna stumbled, the Chrysler Pacifica turned in we saw some structural deficiencies on the right side that still need an acceptable performance and the Honda Odyssey finished addressing.” T strong in the Institute’s passenger-side small overlap front The Pacifica earns an acceptable rating in the passenger-side small crash test. overlap front test, and the Odyssey earns a good rating. Results for The 2018–19 model minivans are the latest group to be put through the Odyssey first were released in September 2017. The Sienna earns the passenger-side small overlap test. A small overlap crash occurs a marginal rating in the passenger-side small overlap test. when just the front corner of the vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole. IIHS began rating vehicles for oc- Safety cage shortcomings cupant protection in a driver-side small overlap front crash in 2012 Starting with 2015 models, Toyota modified the structure of the and added the passenger-side test last year to make sure occupants Sienna to improve driver-side protection but didn’t make the same on both sides of the vehicle get equal protection. changes to the passenger side. As a result, the Sienna’s structure rates Manufacturers are making fast improvements to secure a good or poor in the passenger-side test. acceptable rating in the passenger-side test, one of the requirements “A safety cage must be strong enough to resist intrusion in a crash to earn a 2018 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award. to protect the people inside, no matter where they sit in the vehicle,” “In our latest passenger-side tests, we didn’t find any perfor- Zuby says. mance issues with safety belts or airbags like we did when we evalu- In the Sienna’s case, the structure allowed as much as 20 inches ated small and midsize SUVs earlier this year and midsize cars last of intrusion in the lower occupant compartment and more than 16 year,” says David Zuby, the Institute’s chief research officer. “Instead, inches of intrusion at the dashboard. 2 | Status Report — Vol. 53, No. 5 Small overlap front crash ratings for 2018–19 minivans DRIVER SIDE PASSENGER SIDE Passenger Passenger injury measures restraints & Head & Hip & Lower leg Overall Overall Structure kinematics neck Chest thigh & foot Honda Odyssey G G A G G G G G Chrysler Pacifica G A M G G G G G Toyota Sienna A M P G G G A A Good G Acceptable A Marginal M Poor P A strong safety cage resists in- trusion in a crash to protect occu- pants. The Sienna (far left) rates poor for struc- ture in the pas- senger-side test due to as much as 20 inches of in- trusion into the lower occupant compartment. In the Odyssey, the occupant com- partment held up reasonably well to earn an accept- able rating for Toyota Sienna Honda Odyssey structure. “The intruding structure crumpled around the test dummy’s legs. front crash prevention and have acceptable-rated headlights. Better A real right front passenger would sustain possible injuries to the headlights would have secured TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards for right hip and lower leg in a crash of this severity,” Zuby says. these minivans. Intrusion also was an issue for the Pacifica. Marginal ratings for To earn a 2018 TOP SAFETY PICK, a vehicle must have good rat- structure held this minivan back from achieving the top rating in ings in all IIHS crashworthiness tests except the passenger-side test. the passenger-side small overlap test. Measures from dummy sen- Other requirements are a front crash prevention system that earns sors indicated low risk of injury, helping to offset the less-than-stel- an advanced or superior rating and headlights that earn an accept- lar structural rating. able or good rating. Fiat Chrysler introduced the Pacifica in the 2017 model year to To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK+, a vehicle also must earn an replace the Chrysler Town & Country and upgraded protection in acceptable or good rating in the passenger-side small overlap front small overlap front crashes on both the driver and passenger sides, test and a good headlight rating. beginning with 2017 models built after August 2016. The Pacifica’s passenger-side rating is based on two crash tests, LATCH ratings one by IIHS and the other by Fiat Chrysler as part of the IIHS fron- “Since minivans often serve as family haulers, parents in the market tal crash test verification program. for a new one also should keep in mind where their kids will sit, es- The Pacifica and Odyssey are 2018 TOP SAFETY PICKs. They pecially if more than one needs a child restraint,” Zuby says. were among the qualifiers when IIHS announced initial winners of Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) is a system of the 2018 awards in December 2017. Both earn a superior rating for attachment hardware for child restraints that is intended to simplify August 16, 2018 | 3 Toyota Sienna The Sienna’s airbags cushioned the dum- must have good or acceptable LATCH there my's head, but the dashboard pushed against (with or without borrowing). its knees in the test. An IIHS engineer (right) The good+ designation is intended to measures a second-row seat in the Honda encourage manufacturers to give parents Odyssey as part of the LATCH rating program. greater flexibility when seating children in a vehicle. How 2018-19 minivans rate for LATCH “The Odyssey is a good example of the steady improvements we have seen in Good+ Honda Odyssey LATCH ratings in just three years,” Zuby Acceptable Dodge Grand Caravan, says. “Honda factored in LATCH when Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna redesigning the Odyssey for 2018, boost- Marginal Chrysler Pacifica ing the minivan’s rating from accept- able to good+ by making the second-row Honda Odyssey For more information go to iihs.org/ratings tether anchors easy to find and the lower anchors easy to maneuver around. In ad- The Odyssey is a good example of the steady improvements IIHS has seen in LATCH rat- dition, the Odyssey model we tested has ings in just three years. Honda factored in LATCH when redesigning the minivan for 2018. two good LATCH seating positions in the second row and two acceptable positions in installation. Child restraints installed with Sedona and Sienna rate acceptable, and the the third row.” LATCH are more likely to be put in correct- Pacifica rates marginal. The LATCH ratings are an indicator of ly than restraints installed using the vehicle The good+ rating is for vehicles that meet how easy it is to achieve a correct, tight safety belt, IIHS research has shown. the criteria for a good rating and provide installation of a child restraint in a given Even with LATCH, installation errors are additional seating positions with easy-to- vehicle when using the dedicated child re- common. The Institute’s LATCH ratings use LATCH hardware. straint attachment hardware. While child are based on key ease-of-use criteria that Minivans and other three-row vehicles restraints need to be properly installed, have been shown to minimize mistakes in must have a third additional good or ac- the LATCH rating doesn’t have any direct installing lower attachment straps and top ceptable LATCH seating position (without bearing on safety. Although it is difficult to tethers. The top tether keeps the child seat “borrowing” an anchor from another posi- achieve a good installation in a poor-rated from pitching forward in a crash, and all tion) and tether anchors in all rear seating vehicle, it is generally not impossible. In ad- forward-facing restraints need them. positions to earn a good+ rating. The ad- dition, children are just as safe in restraints Among 2018 minivans evaluated, the ditional tether anchors must meet at least that have been properly installed with vehi- Odyssey earns a good+ rating for LATCH 1 of 2 tether anchor criteria. If the vehicle cle belts as in restraints that have been prop- ease of use. The Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia has a second-row center seating position, it erly installed with LATCH. n 4 | Status Report — Vol. 53, No. 5 Risk of noncrash fires drops after recalls but persists, suggesting unmade repairs hen a vehicle not involved in a compared with motorcycles not subject to fires for the microcar than other compara- crash catches fire, oftentimes an a fire recall. After being recalled, the fre- ble vehicles. W electrical issue or fuel system quency of claims fell to 15 percent. NHTSA’s investigation led to Mercedes- defect is to blame. When things go awry, “Our work shows that recalls reduce the Benz in May issuing a recall for the 2008–09 the results can be costly in terms of prop- risk of a noncrash fire, but they don’t elim- ForTwo, affecting 42,781 vehicles. NHTSA erty damage and potential injuries, so it is inate the risk. Much risk remains because says the rear insulation mat in the ForTwo’s crucial that vehicle owners heed recall no- not all recalled vehicles are repaired,” says engine compartment may deform, deterio- tices and service bulletins and get repairs Matt Moore, HLDI senior vice president.