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Acura MDX and car seats
I am thinking of buying an Acura MDX and wanted to know if anyone out there drives one that can tell me if there is room for 2 car seats next to each other. I have the Britax Marathon and will use a Graco infant car seat once my baby is born. So my question is.... is there enough room for the Britax and Graco next to each other?
Or 2 Britax' next to each other. I am trying to avoid putting them at each window.
Thanks!!
Or 2 Britax' next to each other. I am trying to avoid putting them at each window.
Thanks!!
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Comments
The center position is not the safest place for mounting any car seat.
The seats are deeper on the side positions and allow the car seat to center and rest tightly within.
The center mount ALWAYS has some side-to-side movement and is not the ideal position for the seat to be placed.
Is there a reason why you prefer this setup?
Do you happen to drive an MDX and use car seats?
My only issue is that is you have a car seat at each window how do you access the 3rd row of seats.
With the car seat strapped in at the passenger side how would one get to the 3rd row if they cannot move this seat up to step over??
thanks
There are times, when taking our niece for a weekend, that we have 2 car seats... but we do not mount in the center position, for the reason I mentioned previously.
I don't use the third row seats.
They're too small, even for children and are also very uncomfortable.
Maybe my opinion on the third seat will change when I become friends with a family of leprechauns who always want me to drive us everywhere.
Until then, the third row stays down.
The center position is just not safe.
Your child is safer on a side position, even in a crash scenario, as the mounted seat will stay in place.
I cannot guarantee the same for a center mounted seat.
Being a family orientated vehicle, the center of the second row should allow access to the third row.
The current design is moronic, IMO.
A properly installed car seat is just as safe in the center position as in the outboard positions. Acura did install latches for the center seat, after all. It might even be safer, as the car seat is further from any potential side collision.
A good installation tip is to have the 2nd row seats at their most reclined position (they don't recline very far) while installing the car seats. After putting your full weight on them, and pulling with all of your strength to get them as snug as possible (using LATCH), move the seat backs to their most upright position. This pretty much locks the car seats in place, even in the center position.
And, about the third row seats - I wouldn't want to ride in one for along trip, but they're ok for short trips for adults 6'2" and under. We did a 3 couple - full day wine tasting trip to Napa & my tall buddy had no issues sitting back there. Certainly not as comfortable as the front, but highly usable.
The third row isn't bad. I have an '07 and my five year old loves the "way back". When his legs get a bit longer, he may not. But, unless you buy a Yukon, Enclave or something that size, non of the rear seats are very spacious.
i also have the same questions you posted (only I have a Radian 80 car seat)...and i am looking to buy an '08 MDX...did you ever find any answers to your questions?
Our other two children are 4 and 18 months.
Anyone out there who is using this car with three kids instead of a minivan? Particularly with 3 kids in the 5 point harness seats.
I'm wondering what your seat configuration is and how it's working out for you. It's obviously a decision of driving performance versus convenience (of a minivan) - my husband and I are having a hard time deciding just how much more convenient the minivan would be.
Scottm123,
Nearly every expert (and nearly every empirical study) disagrees with you. I don't know if perhaps you are trying to justify your decision to locate your car seat in a window seat, but if properly installed a middle placement is far-and-away the safest location. If you have it installed professionally (out here in LA, you can have it done for about $40 at Tiny World in West LA), it will not move any more in the middle section than it does in the outer sections. And in the event of a side-impact crash, your infant is *FAR* safer in the middle.
There is a ton of information on child seat placement on the internet. For a discussion of a recent study that concluded that "Children seated in the center rear have a 43% lower risk of injury compared with children in a rear outboard position," click here: Study Shows Placing Car Seat in Center of Back Seat Cuts Risk of Injury in Crash
Right now the 2 in boosters think it's so cool to ride in the 3rd row and jump in through the tailgate (pretending they are Indiana Jones), but when we take a long trip and I want more storage I'd want to try and put them all in 2nd row.
We do have a minivan ('06 Odyssey) and there is definitely way more space. If I was taking an extended long distance trip w/ a lot of luggage, no doubt we'd take the minvan. But, it's nowhere near as fun to drive. A week at the beach (~2.5 hours away) and I'll try to cram it all into the MDX (have roof rails/cross bars, so I can throw my cartop carrier on), but anything longer probably the minivan.
Just to clarify, I am not talking about infant seats that latch, but rather full size booster seats that only connect via seat belts.
I know lots of folks have this type of seat in an MDX...am I missing something?
Thanks much for any thoughts.
I will agree normally the center position is safer in general but in the 2007-2009 MDX I would disagree. The center does not allow for a car seat or base to be placed flat and secure, it always has a lot of give in terms of rocking motions. I applaud Acura for having 3 LATCH sets, but that middle one is useless to me. I can get the seats wedged in pretty good on the outboard seats where they don't budge a millimeter but not so in the center.
I currently have a Chicco infant seat and a Britax Boulevard that fit fine. The Boulevard causes the front seat to have to be a little closer, but not terrible. If we have the need for three car seats, I will probably use the tailgate for 3rd row access as removing and installing car seats repeatedly would be painful, even with the LATCH system. That, and we'll probably trade my wife's Camry in for an Odyssey!
The design of the 3rd row access is poor but not a deal-breaker personally. In 12 months of ownership of my 2008, I have driven with passengers in the 3rd row (6 total adults) exactly once for a lunch trip.
Aslo has anyone here ever purchase any kind of seat cover to help potect the leather during these "messy" years. Looking to have something to protect against my sons dirty shoes as he climbs in and out during these messy winter months in New England.
Thanks.
Is the MDX a good car for a young family with 3 kids? Also plan to look at Audi Q7, Mercedes GL, and Lexus GX. I don't want something too large, which is why the MDX is appealing.
Anyone have experience with 3 carseats in an MDX?
Thanks.
Sounds like your son is ready for a Britax Marathon. Go to the Britax website. You can enter your child's information (height, weight, etc) and once you plug all that in they show you the Britax seats that are perfect for your child. It's a really helpful feature on their website!
That's the one.
Later I found a manual of 2009 in the internet and it gives the location of the two latches for the center seat. You need to pull up the cover below the armrest to find the latch closer to passenger side, and pull up the flap at the bottom of the bolster for another one (driver seat side), which I failed to find.
I actually drove by the dealer today and confirmed that above statement is also true for 2010 mdx.
BTW, I was able to install a sunshine(80 lbs) in the middle and a marathon in outboard seat, while the seat behind passenger could still fold down to allow the access to third row. Really really happy about this, :-)
Question: You said you installed a sunshine radian in the middle and a marathon outboard and were still able to fold down the passenger outboard side to gain access to the third row. I've been wondering if I could get something like this to work, so this was great to hear! My question: Are these seats you installed forward facing or rear facing? Installed with LATCH or seatbelt installation? Thanks!
Just wanted to add that I have a 2010 MDX and there are LATCH anchors in all three seating positions in row 2, which is awesome. You're right, the LATCH anchors for the center position are hidden under a little cover, but they're there. There are no LATCH anchors in the 3rd row, but there are top tethers for the third row...as well as top tethers for all three seating positions in the 2nd row.
>>> Are these seats you installed forward facing or rear facing? Installed with LATCH or seatbelt installation?
I tried two configurations: 1) both forward facing 2) middle forward facing and outboard rear facing.
For both configurations, the third seat could still be folded down. And I used latch for the installation.
In regards to the LATCH anchor sharing, it is very dangerous. The LATCH anchors are designed to hold only a certain amount of weight and just one carseat at a time. (The women on car-seat.org are very helpful and could answer any questions you have about carseats. I've learned a lot on that site.) Also, I went and double checked my 2010 MDX manual and on page 49 it states, "Do not attach two child seat connectors to a single lower anchor at a time."
The awesome thing about the MDX is how "car-seat friendly" it is. That's why I bought it. So, even if it was safe, you won't have to "LATCH share" anyhow because there are lots of options for you in this car. The fact that it has three separate sets of LATCH in row 2 and top tether anchors in ALL seating positions in rows 2 and 3 make it a great choice for families with children in carseats.
Hope that helps!
And yes, the installation I tried in dealer was sharing the latch with driver side seat as I couldn't find the one for center back then.
My kids (4 and 1 1/2 years) would bop each other in the head all day if they sat that close, they need the space, lol.
Just thought I'd post some more info for others that come to this thread that I gathered about the dangers of sharing LATCH anchors:
LATCH anchors are designed to hold just one connector and be pulled at a certain angle on impact. Having two connectors on one anchor would overload the anchor in terms of force, but also pull the anchor in two different directions. Add to that the fact that two connectors attached so closely together could potentially cause each one to either fail completely or detach from impacting against one another, and you basically have a recipe for disaster.
There is no safety advantage to using LATCH. Seatbelt installation is just as safe. It's not uncommon to hear of people using LATCH in a seating position that does not offer it (also known as "borrowing"), and using both LATCH and the seatbelt... "just in case". So in the end, it's never okay to double up. Not a single seat manufacturer allows for it, nor do any automakers.
I'm new to this thread so my apologies if this is a repeat question, but I'm in a rush to get my carseat fixed!! How do I get the radian to install tight in my '04 mdx (behind driver side)? I went to 2 fire stations and the techs could only get it installed (w/LATCH) in a way that made the seat still move up to 5" side to side... I'm not impressed!! My Britax Regent and Marathon each install *solidly* in the car... the car moves, not the seat - but the Radian is terrible. Don't want to replace it but am at a loss on why it's not installing tightly... please help!
I highly suggest visiting the car-seat.org website. Start a thread in the "carseat question, tips, and advice" section and there will be lots of people to help you out. There are a bunch of ladies on there that are quite familiar with the Radian and how to use it in the MDX.
Good luck!
Thanks
does anyone have any experience with rear-facing convertible car seats to put in the rear passenger-side 2nd row? we are both 6 feet tall, so we need something that is not too big to allow the front passenger seat to be back a little, not forward all the way. we have a sunshine kids radian 65 forward facing for our oldest...but when that was rear facing in our Maxima, my knees touched the glove box when I was in the front passenger seat.
thanks!
I've been told by Acura that it is possible, but it's going to depend on the car seat as much as anything else, and they have no recommendations. Does any one have a car seat that they have safely installed in the last row that they can tell me the make and model on? Thanks in advance for any help!
Now that I'm using this MDX 2012 as my 2000 model car! (5 seater)...I'm little upset about it.
Any help/ideas?