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Mazda CX-9 Car Seats for Kids

rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
edited March 2014 in Mazda
Is there anyone on this forum who has two infant car seats in the second row of the CX-9 and another booster in the back seat ? We have a 2-1/2 old with twins on the way and are considering the Mazda CX-9 (along with Buick Enclave & Ford Expedition). We would like to have the twins in the second row seat and the toddler in the back seat. I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit two rear facing car seats in the 60% portion of the second row and be able to move the 40% portion to gain access to the third row. Also, would a twin stroller fit in the cargo with all rows up ? Preferably I would like to have the twin stroller along with an umbrella stroller also in the cargo.
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  • kbedwardskbedwards Member Posts: 41
    "I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit two rear facing car seats in the 60% portion of the second row and be able to move the 40% portion to gain access to the third row"

    You can do this. I have an infant "base" (Graco snugride) on one side of my CX-9, 2nd row, and I was actually able to climb into the back of the vehicle with it still in place. CLIMB being the operative word here. I.e. I could slide the 2nd row forward enough for me to get back there. A toddler would have no problem I think.

    WITH the infant carseat installed on the base, not sure about - have yet to try that. I imagine it would be trickier, but still possible without someone having to be tossed back there.
  • kbedwardskbedwards Member Posts: 41
    Side note - with three kids, I would recommend going the Honda Odyssey route. I just don't think these smallish (interior wise) CUV's are made for more than 2 (young) kids, not to even mention three carseats.
  • rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
    I was actually hoping to put the two rear facing carseats in the 60% of the second row and not move it at all. I can still get into the third row by moving the 40% portion. I think if I do that, the car seat in the middle of the second row will protrude enough to prevent the 40% portion from moving forward.

    As for going the minivan route is concerned, we're trying to exhaust all our SUV/CUV options before we make the plunge into the Minivan land :)
  • ocalaocala Member Posts: 11
    That's what we did.
    We also have two little ones. Now the older is in the booster and the younger in the rear facing infant seat.
    We went to a few different auto dealers with our car seats and installed them.
    You should do that. I think that you cannot fit 3 seats in the 2nd row, or even 2 seats next to each other. I haven't tried.
    Either way, there is no LATCH in the 3rd row, so take that into account.
    We fit a twin stroller in the trunk with the 3rd row up. It is a relatively small stroller, Peg Aria twin. All visibility is lost, though.
  • nastacionastacio Member Posts: 370
    We have 2-1/2 old twins with one on the way :-)

    Our first choice was a minivan but they were all too low for our steep driveway (yeah, great excuse :-) We took both an Outlook (the Enclave cousing) and a CX-9 for a test drive and the fitting room.

    We have a Graco twin-stroller and we needed to lay it on its side to fit the CX-9 trunk, taking up all space with 3rd up.

    We are more and more leaning towards a Saturn Outlook (the Enclave is $3-4K more expensive on average due to more equipment). The Expedition is actually smaller in some regards than the Enclave, unless you are going for the extended version.

    In the Outlook, the twin stroller laid flat with 3rd up, with considerably more space left to stack things on top of it. I have not tried to lay both strollers since we didn't have the new stroller at the time.

    If you go Outlook/Enclave, one thing I didn't like was the 2nd row bench, which is a big wall for a 2 1/2 kid. Add the small (and high) windows in 3rd row and they can't see anything. Maybe captain chairs would suit you best, since you could have both car seats in the chairs, walk in to access 3rd row and give some visibility to your kid sitting alone all the way back there.

    The smaller and higher 3rd row seat was better in that regard in the CX-9 (the kids could see our heads, at least :- ) but the 3rd row windows are even smaller than on the Outlook.
  • rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
    Thanks ocala and nastacio for the inputs. I will definitely try to go the dealership one of these days and try out all the various combinations myself. Good to know that I can fit a twin stroller back there even with the third row up. We're definitely planning to get a DVD system (factory or after-market) so that we can keep the toddler entertained :)
  • nastacionastacio Member Posts: 370
    You are welcome. We have the duo-glide from Graco. I did have to remove the front tray to get it there (it is a simple operation to get it in and out.)

    Bear in mind, we could fit the stroller *and nothing else*, as it is long and had to stand on its side. The upper side was flush with the top of the third-row seats, so no stacking there either. We thought of using the empty seat in 2nd row to carry groceries and smaller things, but ultimately had to get real and go for a minivan (we later learned that the Sienna has almost as much ground clearance as the CX-9.)
  • ocalaocala Member Posts: 11
    With the 3rd row up, there is a lot of room on the floor between the 1st and 2nd rows, especially under the baby seats.
    The car looks cool and drives like a car, not an SUV.
  • rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
    We finally went down to the dealer and tried out lots of different combinations. On our first visit we had couple of Graco SnugRides with us. Each of them meassure about 18.5" at their widest. On fitting two SnugRides side-by-side in the second row, we couldn't move the 40% of the second row forward at all to gain access to the third row since the base of the carseat prevented it from moving.

    On our second trip we went down there with one Graco SnugRide and one Baby Trend Flex-Loc. The Flex-Loc is only 16.5" at it's widest. With these two seats we were able to move the 40% if I just had the bases installed without the car seats in them. So I'm pretty sure with couple of the Flex-Loc's we will be easily able to fit couple of rear facing car seats in the second row and still be able to access the third row.

    Also, I was able to fit a Graco Passage stroller on it's side in the trunk without any problem. I think the Double Snap-n-Go is about the same size (or even smaller) so it's should also fit easily in there.
  • nastacionastacio Member Posts: 370
    Make sure to test ingress/egress on a tight parking lot. Those rear doors are longer than in other CUV's (to allow better access to 3rd row) .

    In our test drive, it was a shore to pass the car-seat through the narrow opening when a car was parked next to it.
  • need_a_cx9need_a_cx9 Member Posts: 4
    I have a cx9 and I have installed three carseats. I have all three carseats in the second row. I have two Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 carseats on either side of one graco snugride. You can access the third row by sliding the whole bench but it is very tight.
  • bostie3bostie3 Member Posts: 1
    I looked the in the manual for directions to install a front facing car seat in the second row seats. It says to first slide the 2nd row seat back to the last position (farthest back). Is this for safety reasons or just so you have ample room to fumble around and install the car seat????? If I keep the seat slid all the way back it's impossible for people to sit in the third row without bumping their knees. Id rather have the 2nd row seats in the middle position so the 3rd row seats are usable. I dont want to compromise my childs safety, however. What do you think??

    THANKS!
  • etoilebetoileb Member Posts: 34
    No reason why that should be the case. In general the safest row is the 2nd (middle position). Too near the back, you get rear ended, too near the front and you are exposed to the most common type of collision. By the way the Cx-9 is rated better for front collisions than for rear, so to my simple mind the opposite would be true.

    We have one rear facing and one front facing on our second row and a front booster seat in the 3rd row behind the single seat. Because we need access to the 3rd row we push the 2nd row forward to assist easy entry.

    The best thing you can do for your children is to drive safely and love them (which I'm sure you do)
  • greendukegreenduke Member Posts: 2
    My wife and I really like the CX-9. We have newborn twins with two rear-facing Graco Snugride car seats. If there is one seat in the 60% side and one on the 40% side, is it possible to access the third row without launching someone over the seat? At first glance, it looked like you could push the front passenger seat all the way up and then push the 40% seat up as far as it would go with a car seat attached, and still have a little room to squeeze a normal sized adult into the back. Anyone know if this is possible?
  • rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
    We have 1-1/2 month old twins and a 2-1/2 yr old toddler. We were debating between the CX-9 and the Enclave but ended up buying the CX-9. We bought two Babytrend Flex-loc infant car seats which we've put on the 60% side. The toddler seat is in the third row behind the 60%. This way we can move the 40% forward, get the toddler in, strap her in and then put the infant car seats into the 60%. We chose the Flex-loc car seats since they're one of the narrowest infant car seats in the market (beats paying $5k extra for the Enclave !! ;) + you get zoom-zoom to play with when there's no one in the car :D ). This setup seems to be working well for us. I personally think that pushing the front passenger seat all the way up and then pushing the 40% seat up to get to the back seat every time will be a pain.
  • wukwuk Member Posts: 12
    in a few months when your newborns are older, you'll be riding with 3 convertible carseats. Would 2 of those still fit on the 60% side?

    Are there three "Latch" System seats in the second row? Or just 2 (on the outside)? Looking to purchase and didn't notice last time I went to dealer.

    Thanks!
  • greendukegreenduke Member Posts: 2
    Thanks, I will look into the Flex-loc option. I agree pushing the front passenger seat up all the way is not optimal, but we don't anticipate having to use the third row all that often. We just want it there for those times we do need it.
  • kanadakanada Member Posts: 9
    wondering if anyone has tried fitting 2 britax (roundabout model) carseats in the 2nd row?
  • jchappeljchappel Member Posts: 16
    No problem fitting two Britax seats in the second row, but I wouldn't try and fit someone between them unless they are really small.
  • kanadakanada Member Posts: 9
    I was actually wondering if they fit side by side so that I could slide the 40% 2nd row seat for 3rd row access. If you don't have the 2 car seats side by side, do you still have access to the third row without much difficulty?
  • soma1soma1 Member Posts: 1
    Has anyone ever tried fitting 2 Britax Marathon (front facing) car seats in as well as a Graco Snugride? (all in the 2nd row bench)
  • gatorstewgatorstew Member Posts: 10
    I don't own one but I've test driven two CX-9s in the last week and was wondering the same thing regarding car seats before the test drive. It all depends on the width of the car seats and if they can fit side-by-side. My 3 year old and our 5 year old niece can fit side by side while freeing up the 40% for 3rd row access primarily becuase my niece is in a booster rather than a car seat. I doubt I could fit two car seats like the one we own side-by-side. With that said, I could still move the 2nd row seat all the way forward with the car seat in it and still access the 3rd row. It's not the easiest thing to do and I couldn't see Grandma or Grandpa doing this but I could and I'm about 6' 180lbs.
  • juls30juls30 Member Posts: 1
    We just got a 2009 CX-9. I am trying to install my Marathon rear facing in the 2nd row center but DO NOT see anywhere to tether it to on the floor behind the passenger seat or driver seat!!!

    Has anyone else dealt with this?? Uusally there is a metal bar of some sort under the front seat toward the back that you can attach the strap to...

    I see nothing like that in this car!! Any help would be appreicated!

    Thank you..
  • gacman1999gacman1999 Member Posts: 1
    We have our Decathalon seat installed rear facing behind the passenger seat and did not use the tether. Both on the CX-9 and our VW passat we only used the latch attachments when installing the seats as rear facing. There was both a lack of anything to tether to that seems strong enough to hold and the fact that the tether interfered with storing items in the unused footwell or moving the seat. We almost always place the diaper bag in that space.

    We did use the tether when we turned the seat around to be forward facing for my older daughter before she transitioned to a booster seat. Most car seats don't allow for the tether to be used when the are rear facing, so most cars lack a dedicated anchor in the footwells. You will be fine with the seat attached just by the two lower latch points. :)
  • bethg1bethg1 Member Posts: 1
    Hi,
    Does anyone know if there are 3 latches in the second row in either the 2009 or 2010 CX-9? I need to attach three car seats and don't want to use the regular seatbelts, but we want to use the latches. Thanks!
  • wdhytewdhyte Member Posts: 92
    yes; there are 3 sets of latches in the 2nd row (and zero in the 3rd); note the center position latch points are futher apart than typical and may not accomodate a rigid latch system from the seat base. If you have a webing type anchor system on the seat, as long as it safely accomodates a set of latches that are 19.7 (500mm) apart you're good.
    triplets eh? yikes ;)
    ping me if you have questions, the manual is very detailed (this is the 2009).
    ...Dave
  • legacygtlegacygt Member Posts: 599
    There are 3 top tether anchor points in the second row but only 2 pairs of bottom anchor points. If you want to put 3 across in the second row (and can fit the seats) you need to use the belt to secure the middle seat. If you use the LATCH bottom anchor points for the middle you will need to use belts for the two outside seats (and you won't be able to slide the two portions of the seat independently.
  • rookie22rookie22 Member Posts: 9
    I've owned both the 2008 & 2009 CX-9's. As with most cars that I know, there aren't 3 latches in the second or for that matter the 3rd row. In the CX-9 there are no latches in the 3rd row. In the second row, there are latches only for the outer seats. It's unsafe to pile on the latch from the middle seat on the outer seat latches. You should use the seat belt for the middle seat position. If installed properly, it should be quite safe.
  • wdhytewdhyte Member Posts: 92
    I believe the others to be correct in the latch configuration. There are 2 sets of latch points on the outboard seats but you can't use both inboard anchor points if you're putting a seat in the center...this of course would prevent you from using the two outboard positions for latch anchors and you'd have to go with the seat-belts as someone else stated. I'll look tonight but I don't imagine there is an actual center set of latch points as I inferred from the manual. Your best bet would be to use the outboard latch points and the center seatbelt. All 3 positions do have a separate tether point as well.
  • wdhytewdhyte Member Posts: 92
    confirmed; only 2 sets of lower latch points in the 2nd row of the 2009 CX-9. While you could certainly put a seat in any of the 3 positions, you can only lower latch the two outboard seats OR the center seat (not all at the same time)...the center must be held in by a seat belt if you are using the two outboard seats (the latch points) at the same time that you're using the center position.
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