2012 EX35 and child seats, you gotta be kidding me ...

[QuattroRocket]

So I went out to put our car seat into the wifes new EX (as we are expecting in about 5 weeks now) and although the install went off easily the result is frickin ridiculous. You would have to be either an amputee or a midget to fit into the front passenger seat with a rear facing car seat behind it, this is insane. Coupled with the fact that I am 6'5" and the wife is 5'10" there is not enough room in the EX for her, me and a child seat ??? I am praying that a different seat will install with more room than the Britax seat we have now or else I will have to look to unload a 5 month old EX with 31 months left on the lease !

i am just astonished at how little room there is in the back of this vehicle. Anyone else have better luck with another car seat back there ?

[alloveru]

yes, that is correct... the britax are huge... I can't remember the name (i am in the alps skiing right now, but can check the seat when i get back) of the one we got as the infant carrier, but it was the smallest. and it was still tight.

My son has since grown out of that and we bought a britax marathon. rear facing does not work well with it... way to tight!!! lived with it for a couple of months, then flipped it to forward. We are now expecting our second, so i think i will get rid of the 2011 EX and get the JX.

My wifes 2011 outback is what we use the most because of the size, but it is a giant piece of crap! So hopefully i can get a good deal on the JX

Good luck and congrats!

[googleman]

Depending on how old your baby is, try Combi Cocorro, or Radian RXT. The former is quite small. We have a Radian (called Diono nowadays) and if you use their angle adjuster when rear faced, you can use the passenger seat, although it is still a tight fit.

[QuattroRocket]

Thanks all for the advice, we will be going back and trying very carrier in the store to try and find an option that works. A new carrier is much cheaper then replacing a 5 month old car

[NJGuy]

ah, the joys of being a parent...

Yes, the interior of the EX isn't too friendly towards child car seats.
When I was looking at infant carriers last year, I think that the Britax we saw in the store had the smallest exterior dimensions when compared to the others.

I just replaced my son's Graco Snugride 22 (Graco's older model) in our EX with a convertible carseat a few weeks back. Due to curbside morning drop-offs at my 5 year old daughter's school, we had to put her booster seat on the passenger side and the infant carseat behind the driver. My wife is the primary driver of the EX and is 5'2", so it isn't an issue for her. But at a height of 5'9", I was only able to drive the car for short distances in this configuration.

Prior to that setup, we had the infant carseat on the passenger side. While I didn't have enough room to stretch out comfortably, I was still able to fit in the front passenger seat without my knees hitting the glovebox.

Have you tried putting the infant seat in the middle? The chances are that it probably won't work, but if the carseat is not too wide you might be able to move both front seats further back. This wasn't an option for us because the car seat base was a bit wide and interfered with the seat belt buckles on either side. It would have been a real chore to get my daughter's seatbelt fastened with her in the booster seat. If you plan on carrying other passengers though on a regular basis, then this probably wouldn't work either. Another downside of this configuration is that it seemed harder for me to get the carseat tightly installed in the center position when I tried it.

If you don't want to replace the vehicle yet, you have a few other options:
1. Bear with the tight passenger seat setup for the first year. This might work out especially if you have a second vehicle with more room. Then, change the infant carrier car seat to a forward facing one. I'm not sure where you live, but in most states, 1 year old/20 lbs. this the minimum requirement by law for facing the child forward. However, I believe the newest recommendation for forward facing is now 2 years or older.
2. Try out a convertible carseat instead of the infant carrier. I know that infant carriers are more convenient with younger babies; but some convertibles actually allow the front seat to slide back further because the most forward point is a bit higher up when compared to the infant carseat. This would be of even greater benefit if installed in the center position (again, it might be tough to get a tight install in the center position).

If you find a solution that works out, please let us know. Good luck.

[TimGinCentralNJ]

I can tell you that it's not much better at the point when your kids are out of the larger car seats and "graduated" to booster seats. As we all know, if your feet are down in the footwells, there's plenty of room....especially for a kid. But, the booster seats which elevate the child about 6" or so off the seat cushion means that their feet essentially get caught between the front seatbacks and the rear seat cushion where their shins ideally would be if not in the booster seat.

My kids are 4 and 5 right now and no where near being able to get out of the boosters, so it's a tight fit until they do. Once they do get out of the boosters, the EX is gonna' feel like a limo by comparison

Tim

[XIS]

I am sure my teenagers fit better than any child in a booster or baby seat...and if you have a child seat that you have to put your baby in, watch their head so you don't hit it in the door frame area!

[jmann]

I was able to use the middle for a rear facing seat. According to the manual, you aren't supposed to do that, but it was really the only place that seat would fit. I used the inside latch anchor points from the left and right seats. The front facing seat is much more usable in my opinion, depending on how big it is.

[C3N4]

We tested the Gracos and Chiccos and found the same clearance issues you did. So we finally got a Peg Perego Viaggio child seat and that gave us just enough legroom in the front passenger seat to be usable.

[danncas]

First of all Congrats
My oldest is long out of the house but nine years ago I found myself a single father and I was 50.
So my Saab which I loved was very small in the back seat. So what did I do? I went out and bought a big Cadillac SUV that got 13 mpg. Boy, that did not last long until I thought about it. Europeans and Asian drive smaller cars and have kid too. I did not need all that baby stuff and so big. So the Caddy went and I got another Saab and made it work without any real problems. Before I know it he was in a booster seat. Big as not always better, it just seems to an American way of thinking.
I‘m sure you will find some solution or you wife will just make you get rid of the EX

[googleman]

I was able to use the middle for a rear facing seat. According to the manual, you aren't supposed to do that, but it was really the only place that seat would fit. I used the inside latch anchor points from the left and right seats. The front facing seat is much more usable in my opinion, depending on how big it is.

Didn't know that. Any idea why the manual advises against rear facing in the middle?

[jmann]

I am guessing because there are no dedicated LATCH points for the middle seat, only the left and right ones. Probably had to put that language in the manual to avoid federal safety compliance issues.

[alloveru]

We had/have the chicco.. I am 6' so I put it on the passenger side, I would barely fit on the driver side, wasn't comfortable.

[googleman]

I am guessing because there are no dedicated LATCH points for the middle seat, only the left and right ones. Probably had to put that language in the manual to avoid federal safety compliance issues.

The manual says you can't use the latches in the middle, but could not find any info on rear facing using the seat belts. Mine is 2008.

[NJGuy]

I am guessing because there are no dedicated LATCH points for the middle seat, only the left and right ones. Probably had to put that language in the manual to avoid federal safety compliance issues.

The manual says you can't use the latches in the middle, but could not find any info on rear facing using the seat belts. Mine is 2008.

From what I've seen, it doesn't seem to me that Infiniti is clear.
The 2008 owners manual has instructions for installing a rear facing child seat using the seat belt (pgs. 1-30 to 1-32). It doesn't mention anything regarding the center or outboard locations though.

The Infiniti EX SnugKids car seat guide for 2008-2011 models, which I believe was published later, actually states: "Important note for 2nd row installation: Do not install any CRS in the center position."
I don't know if or how much Infiniti crash tested child car seats in the EX, but it looks like they at least test fitted a bunch of different car seat models.

While I have nothing to back this up, my opinions are:

1. They say not to use the center rear location for car seats because of space/clearance issues. Infiniti says that their engineers test fitted combinations of infant, forward facing, and booster seats. Many car seats, when placed in the center seat, are wide enough to interfere with the seat belt latches for the outboard positions. I know this first hand because I had my daughter's booster in the center position for a while, and it took some maneuvering and sequencing to get both her and another passenger buckled. In addition, I tried installing my son's infant seat in the center next to my daughter's booster. In that configuration, it would have taken a lot of effort to get my daughter buckled in, as the base of the infant seat was pretty much on top of the outboard seat belt latch.

2. They also say not to use the center rear location for car seats because you're not supposed to use the LATCH anchors, which are intended for the outer positions. I believe that LATCH originally came about with the intention for a). convenience, and b). making it easier to achieve a TIGHT and proper install. The general guideline for a tight car seat installation is to not have more than 1 inch of movement of the car seat in any direction. It's possible to get a properly tight install using the seat belt with the automatic locking retractor or locking clip; but it's generally MUCH more of a pain than getting a tight install with the LATCH (my fingers, knees, and back can attest to that). I'm guessing that from the beginning, Infiniti wants to discourage people from using the LATCH in the center position to achieve a tight install. I'm also guessing they may have had some difficulty getting a tight install in the center position with the seat belt; so if they had some trouble, imagine how much worse the car seat installation would be when performed by owners.

[googleman]

From what I've seen, it doesn't seem to me that Infiniti is clear.
The 2008 owners manual has instructions for installing a rear facing child seat using the seat belt (pgs. 1-30 to 1-32). It doesn't mention anything regarding the center or outboard locations though.

The Infiniti EX SnugKids car seat guide for 2008-2011 models, which I believe was published later, actually states: "Important note for 2nd row installation: Do not install any CRS in the center position."
I don't know if or how much Infiniti crash tested child car seats in the EX, but it looks like they at least test fitted a bunch of different car seat models.

While I have nothing to back this up, my opinions are:

1. They say not to use the center rear location for car seats because of space/clearance issues. Infiniti says that their engineers test fitted combinations of infant, forward facing, and booster seats. Many car seats, when placed in the center seat, are wide enough to interfere with the seat belt latches for the outboard positions. I know this first hand because I had my daughter's booster in the center position for a while, and it took some maneuvering and sequencing to get both her and another passenger buckled. In addition, I tried installing my son's infant seat in the center next to my daughter's booster. In that configuration, it would have taken a lot of effort to get my daughter buckled in, as the base of the infant seat was pretty much on top of the outboard seat belt latch.

2. They also say not to use the center rear location for car seats because you're not supposed to use the LATCH anchors, which are intended for the outer positions. I believe that LATCH originally came about with the intention for a). convenience, and b). making it easier to achieve a TIGHT and proper install. The general guideline for a tight car seat installation is to not have more than 1 inch of movement of the car seat in any direction. It's possible to get a properly tight install using the seat belt with the automatic locking retractor or locking clip; but it's generally MUCH more of a pain than getting a tight install with the LATCH (my fingers, knees, and back can attest to that). I'm guessing that from the beginning, Infiniti wants to discourage people from using the LATCH in the center position to achieve a tight install. I'm also guessing they may have had some difficulty getting a tight install in the center position with the seat belt; so if they had some trouble, imagine how much worse the car seat installation would be when performed by owners.

Interesting. It would have been great if they were clearer about this, giving the reasons for why the center installation should be avoided.

On your first point, for instance, a car seat like the Diono RXT has a very narrow base (16 inch), which would not obstruct the seat belt latch if installed in the middle.

Normally, center of a rear seat is a lot safer than outboard rear seats for an occupant. Unless the middle seat belt has a structural weakness, I don't see the reason for only using the outboard positions.

[EX35FL]

I use the center/middle seat in the rear for the Recaro forward facing seat. Seems that any other setup limits front seat leg clearance, or you crush your baby backing it up . I think that center position is somewhat best as its "safer" from side impacts where the door and glass can be a factor if hit hard enough to babies safety. When I had the rear facing seat, it was in the passenger side rear seat and it was close to impossible for anyone to sit in the front passenger seat. These are the things that make me wonder why I didnt get an FX......