Installing child car seat

[lemond]

Does anyone have any experience in installing car seat in the EX? I have an 08 AWD and having trouble installing the car seat and I can't find the strap that supposely in the middle rear seat. Any tips?

[XIS]

Haven't had to do a car seat in 10 yrs or so, but check your fold down arm-rest in the back seat for that strap. That is where mine is (if it is the same loose strap I am thinking of!)

[Obsidian EX]

Sure do! I have 2 installed, both with no problem.

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking, as there are no straps, only anchor points. By strap, are you referring to the middle seat belt? Using the straps that are attached to the car seat, attachment using the anchor points (2 on the rear seat crevice and 1 on the seat back in the cargo area) is a breeze.

[lemond]

where are the anchor points? I tried to look for them but I didnt see any.....

[NJGuy]

where are the anchor points? I tried to look for them but I didnt see any.....

Check your owner's manual on pages 1-20 to 1-26.

There should be some round plastic "button" looking things near the base of the seat back. Right underneath, there should be a pocket that houses the lower anchors. If there's no pocket, then it should be somewhere in the space between the seat back cushion and lower cushion.

By the way, the lower anchors are really intended to be used only for installing car seats at the left and right outboard seating positions. They might work for the middle position as well, but they really weren't designed for it. Infiniti actually recommends against installing a child car seat in the center position using the LATCH anchors. I have a car seat installed in the center, but it is secured with the seat belt.

[alloveru]

i installed one into my '11 ex... I used the LATCH anchors and installed it on the passenger side. I find the EX is very small for a child seat, I couldn't install it behind the driver seat as it simply wouldn't fit, and the front passenger seat is pretty far up.

Also, the anchors are extremely hard to get at, took me a while to get them to lock properly. Unlike my 2011 Outback where the are right up front easy to lock. So be patient, and don't confuse the seat frame from for a LATCH anchor.

What child seat did you get?

[lemond]

lamaze via I470

[jmann]

I installed a rear facing one in the center seat position, using the inside anchor points from the left and right seat areas. It held secure for the duration of time I had it installed there, the only drawback was the seatbelt latch was harder to access. Just a hint, put a towel under the seat base to protect your leather from creases and catch any spills that will happen. Now we have graduated to a front facing seat which is behind the driver seat.

[rosie3]

Better have installed it at a PD. We installed ourselves, followed the manual and had the PD check it, it was wrong.
ps. you're not supposed to install in the middle seat with right and left side anchors.

[jmann]

ps. you're not supposed to install in the middle seat with right and left side anchors.

Any documentation on this?

[NJGuy]

ps. you're not supposed to install in the middle seat with right and left side anchors.

Any documentation on this?

You might want to check the owners manual under "Safety - Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system" It says so at least in the 2008-2010 versions; in the 2010 owners manual, it is stated on pages 1-22 and 1-23.

I haven't seen a 2011 or 2012 manual, but I have a feeling that Infinti's stance hasn't changed for the those models.

[jmann]

They must have stated this for some arbitrary liability reason. If the anchors are sufficient to restrain seats on the left or right, then it only stands to reason that the inside ones can restrain a seat mounted in the middle. At any rate, the middle is for all practical purposes the only place a rear facing seat will fit in the EX. (if a passenger will be riding in the front.) The salesperson at our dealership knew that mounting a child seat was a requirement for us, and had anyone pointed out at the time we leased ours that a seat cannot be mounted in the middle, we would have kept looking for something else. Again, it's a moot point now, since we use a front facing seat mounted behind the driver.

[NJGuy]

They must have stated this for some arbitrary liability reason. If the anchors are sufficient to restrain seats on the left or right, then it only stands to reason that the inside ones can restrain a seat mounted in the middle.

It's easy to think that, but you have to be careful sometimes. I don't think they stated for arbitrary legal/liability reasons; I believe that it was done deliberately, and that LATCH system in the EX was designed specifically for use in the outboard positions.
See the following links:
http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=33718

Will the LATCH anchors hooked to a center mounted carseat hold up in the event of an accident? Probably. (I'd be much more concerned if 2 carseats shared one anchor.) However, I don't think the LATCH was tested in the center mounted carseat configuration. I wouldn't want to be the one to find out how the anchors fare in an accident.

BTW, LATCH was designed for convenience; it makes it easier for the average user to get a tight and proper installation of the carseat when compared to a seatbelt installation. Since the carseats in my vehicles are removed very infrequently, I ignore the LATCH and spend the extra time and effort installing them with the seatbelt. If I had to swap carseats between vehicles on a semi-regular basis, I'd probably use the LATCH.