Car seats for Highlander?

ib4babs

Help! My friend just bought a 2006 Highlander to drive around her 9 month old granddaughter. She can't find a car seat that fits in the center due to the console and she would prefer to not put her on the sides because of the side airbags. Her granddaughter is needing a carseat that can be rear facing right now and then become frontward facing in 3 months.
Any info. would be great!

stever

It's not specific to the Highlander, but check out the Child Car Seats That Fit discussion too.

Steve, Host

ltrantham

I was thinking abotu buying a HL and wanted to put the car seat on the side instead of the middle. But now I am concerned about SABs. Does anyone have any comment about SABs?

nomorebenz

Here are a couple of useful links on Airbags:

http://www.safercar.gov/airbags/pages/SABFAQs.htm

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/cars/3723.html

In a nutshell from what I read on the site, the Highlander meets the specifications for Out of Position testing and the dangers of side airbags relate more to the "torso" bags which the Highlander doesn't have in the second row. It has the safer curtain air bag.
I have a Britax Roundabout for my 18mo old. It fits well with the LATCH system. The seat is 5" from the door, 7" from the window, 10" from where the Airbag deploys. I wonder if the Airbag would even touch any carseat properly anchored.
I implore you to read the information for yourself as I am no safety expert. Also I recommend that if you have more concerns, to go visit a car seat safety specialist. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/

ltrantham

Thanks so much for your response. I too have two Britax carseats. One in my Expedition and one in my Corolla (which will be replaced by the HL..hoping). I have the carseat in the middle of backseat of the Corolla but is very hard to get the 7 month old in and out. I have bumped his head so many times. That is why I was getting another vehicle along with hoping to put the carseat on the side instead of the middle. I have one more question if you don't mind. If I was to put the driver seat pretty far back, is there room for the Britax behind the driver seat in the HL? That is what I need also. Thanks so very much for your comments.

nomorebenz

I have the HL with the 3rd row, Hybrid actually. The second row moves front and back. With both the driver's seat and the second row seat fully back, and the child seat forward facing, there is still 10-11" to recline from full upright before you touch the seat.
One note however: the Highlander sits lower than some other SUV's. It's easier to get into but the roof is lower to the ground as a result. I had an ML before this and I had to make an adjustment after a few knocks .

Take the carseat to the dealer and bring your kid on the test drive. That's what I did and I brought the stroller as well to see how it fit behind the third row (it did fit, better than behind the third row of the ML as well)

bwalton2

Is there a configuration possible where one could place 3 child car seats in the an 07 Highlander: 2 in the middle row on each side excluding the middle seat and one in the back. Concern is having to take multi child car seats out every time need to take kids out of the seats.

gerbear

Is it possible to add a third row to a Highlander after buying the car? My family has grown and I kind of need one now.

typesix

Try this site:
littleseats.com/toyota_highlander.htm

nekmom

Will a forward facing car seat fit in the Highlander's 3rd row seat with the head rests down? I'm considering buying a Highlander and will need to put toddlers in the third row who are small enough that they don't need head rests. I'd love the increased visibility of not having headrests when they're not necessary, but from the photos I can't tell whether a car seat would fit properly when the head rests are down (they fold in front of the seat). I'd check it out a the dealer's but the closest one is 45 min away and I'd rather not make the trip just yet.

edcinca

I have an '05 Highlander with 3rd row and have had no problems installing any of the following child safety seats and boosters:
-Britax Roundabout (forward facing)
-Graco CarGo
-Britax Parkway highback booster
-Fisher Price Safe Voyage highback booster
I take the headrests out first or flip them around so that the "bumpy" side faces backwards.

and in case anyone's curious - I can fit three boosters across in the second row, or two boosters plus one harnessed seat (Graco CarGo). The fisher price boosters are narrower than the Britax boosters so buckling's easier.

amycp

Hi there,
Just curious how you got 3 across. I too have an 05 Highlander. One baby that is still rear facing in either a Roundabout or Marathon who sits behind me and a 4.5 year old in a booster behind the passenger. Would like the ease of an additional booster in the second row for carpooling but am not able to buckle them in. Do you have any space between the armrests to get your hands in there? I have even tried a narrower (17 inch vs 18 or 19) convertible seat for the baby and still struggle to get the kids buckled in the boosters. Is there a trick Im missing? The Fisher Price Safe Voyage is no longer being made. Any suggestions?!?!?!?

mjnviking

Thought I'd ask if "bwalton2" ever came up with a solution to the 3 carseat issue...I'm in the same situation where I need a vehicle that can hold 3 carseats and be able to get the kids in and out of them without removing the seats. Specifically, the seats are one forward-facing, one rear, and one infant with the base. I want a Highlander Hybrid, but with 2 carseats in the 2nd row I don't think I can get to a carseat in the 3rd. Anyone know if I can put on on the side and one in the middle (2nd row) so that I can fold one side to get to the 3rd row? Trying to avoid the minivan downfall...

kcaustin68

I have read that the Highlander has a stow away function for the middle part of the 2nd row. In other words, you can remove the middle section, allowing access to the 3rd row in much the same was as an SUV with club seats. I don't know how much leg room there is so depending on the size of the adult trying to get back there this may be a decent feature.

tfeldman

I found this site to be helpful when I was searching for an answer to my 3 car seats issue. We had purchased a 2007 Highlander (and we had two young children) and then a surprise third came along. Since we had recently purchased the Highlander we didn't have much choice but to make the car seats work. After much research and professional car seat installation, here is the only configuration that works (with a 2 year old, 4 year old and infant):

Two Sunshine Radian carseats on either side (forward facing), and one 2008 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio in the middle (obviously, rear facing).

The Sunshine Radian car seats are one of the smallest on the market and are supposed to be able to fit three across. We will have to buy a third when it is time to move out of the infant seat.

We also use a double stroller and found the only one we could get to fit in our trunk was the Peg Perego Aria Twin. There is very little space for groceries, etc. However, we do have a Thule box that we use for traveling, etc.

It is a tight squeeze in the car and a pain to get in and out but we are making it work. (Much cheaper than a new car, anyway!)

Hope this is helpful!

greghh2006

Love my 2006 HH but after just three weeks ownership the leather seats HURT. Coming from an old CRV the HH LTD was luxery. But now the backs of my thighs ache and it feels as if the side of my right thigh is bruised (high on the rt side). I'm not large (6 feet, 35 waist) but my bottom rides on the bolsters. The bolsters become wider and the seat more narrow towards the back. I bought a pad but it's not the same ride experience which I loved. I don't like driving the car anymore.
Are there softer leather seats available? Suggestions?!