Installing a LATCH car seat in an E36 BMW

As many of us were taught at a young age by a health teacher, sibling, parent, or creepy uncle, when two people love each other very much a stork plants a cabbage seed that grows into a bun which is placed in an oven until it’s fully baked at which point the mommy eats it and it grows in her tummy into a baby that, after a few heavy breaths, comes out clean and happy. Then you have to carry that baby around in your car.

With all of today’s over-reaching nanny laws, long gone are the days of kids riding in the back of pickup trucks having knife fights while chugging lead paint. Now kids are supposed to be buckled in and aren’t allowed to stand on the dashboard at 80mph (thanks Obama).

LATCH in an E36 BMW

Modern front-facing car seats use a three point tether system called LATCH – Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (how convenient is it when acronyms just happen to work out like that?). The E36 never came with the lower anchors, and most didn’t come from the factory with the upper tethers, but the accommodations for the tethers are often already in the rear parcel tray. You can order the right parts from BMW to complete the tether point.

Though all of the necessary parts can be ordered from BMW, I chose to source some of them locally. No need to ship a 5/16 bolt and washer over here from Germany, we already have plenty shipped here from China.

Here is a list of the parts to order. Grab them from your local BMW dealership or order from any of the online parts distributors:

• 72118187599 – “Support, child seat”
• 72118187598 – “Covering cap”

That’s it. Now here’s what you need from your local hardware store:

• 5/16 bolt, standard thread, 1.25-1.5 inches long
• 5/16 washer
• 5/16 ID spacer, 1/2″ long (a stack of 5/16″ washers would work, too)

Now tear out the back seat, pull the c-pillar trim, and yank off the parcel tray cover.

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Note the pre-punched holes above each seating position.

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Tear out the yellow insulation plug from the position you want to use. Now go into the trunk and locate the threaded hole that you just uncovered.

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After installing the bolt from above

Now put the rear parcel tray back into place, and mark the back of the parcel tray by sticking a screw, pen, or anything that fits up through the hole. Now take your drill and drill the parcel tray at the mark. Use a drill bit the same size as the outside diameter of your spacer or washers.

Reinstall the package tray and hopefully the hole you drilled will line up with the tapped hole underneath.

Slide the spacer down into the hole you drilled.

Now put the bolt through the washer, through the anchor, down into the spacer, and tighten it in the threaded hole.

The covering cap snaps on top of the bolt to hide it. Boom, you’re done.

Drop in the car seat of your choice and strap it tight.

An optional piece from BMW is part number 51711852586 – “Blind plug.” This exists to cap off a hole that has been drilled but doesn’t have a tether point bolted in. I chose to drill out the center and passenger side locations, I can move my tether and spacer if I ever need to put the seat to the side. Until then, the blind plug is in place to cover the hole.

And there you have it. Now the child that you may or may not have purposely brought into this world is ruining your life just a little bit less.