[davegood]

I'm trying to figure out the best place to install my Britax seat.

I guess all 3 second row locations have benefits and drawbacks:

Middle:
Advantage:
Safest of the 3 locations

Disadvantage:
Hardest to get kid in and out of, and might make it difficult to but down the 40% fold down


Behind Driver:
Advantage:
Easy to get kid in and out of
Still allows the 40% side to go down, which is the easiest access to the 3rd row if people ever went sat back there

Disadvantage: Will not be able to fold down the 60% second row if needed


Behind front passenger:
Adv:
Easy to get kid in and out of
Allows the 60% 2nd row to be folded down, providing the most possible storage room without removing the child seat

Disadvantage:
Makes it difficult to get to the 3rd row seating since the 60% side does not slide forward like the 40% side does.

I'd be interesting in hearing your thoughts.

 

[roadrunner]

Middle or Driver

When my grandson was one year old we put him in the middle position - for best safety.
Now that he is two, he really really wants to be by the window so we moved him to behind the drivers seat. it is a lot easier to get him in and out (or "upanddown" as he says). Also he's a lot happier there.

Meep Meep

 

[rogmandude]

funny you should ask that question

since I just brought the new MDX home from the dealer last night I spent an hour last night in my garage transferring stuff from one car to the other...programming the homelink etc...when all of your same advantages and disadvantages ran thru my mind when it came time to put the child car/booster seat in...

I finally opted in the end for the short term to put it directly behind the driver seat since I usually at least for my use would need easier access to the 3rd row seating than I would needing to do the 60% split lay down with that side of the 2nd row seating...

I really think in the end it would come down to what your specific uses and daily routines would call for

One thing is for sure I really love this vehicle..

it was well worth the wait

 

[wmquan]

Dave, here are some previous discussions on using a Britax Roundabout or Advantage (forgive me if you're talking about a Britax booster seat, or a Britax infant seat).

http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2394

http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2553

Net-net, the safest position is in the middle of the second row. The child is much better protected from a side impact. Vehicle intrusion would have to get all the way to near the centerline of the car to have a direct impact.

We have our son (now 15.5 months) in the center since he was born. You do have to lean over to get at him, or climb up into the vehicle, but we've gotten used to it.

The 40% portion will fold with the Roundabout or Advantage in the middle -- sometimes with some rubbing, but it will fold. Of course, as you know, any cargo sticking out there should be secured.

 

[A2MDXer]

Dave,

If your child is very young (0-2) I would opt for the center b/c it is the safest. Not sure on the Britax, but my carseat in the center still allows a fold-down of the 40 side (test yours). Also, it allows best vision/access to the child from the front seat. If that is possible, the center would get my vote (if so, I use a towel under the right side to level the seat). Downside - you may have to deal with the center belt (but I never notice it anymore). If you rule out the center, I might go with the passenger side b/c I don't use the 3rd row much right now (if you do, go with the driver) and my suspicion is that more side collisions occur on the driver's side (this is only a guess - I have no facts). Also, on a parallel park, you access the child from the curb, not the street. Hope that helps.

 

[davegood]

Thanks

William,
Yep, we have the Advantage, not a booster seat. Our little girl is 13 months, but big for her age.

A2MDXer -- good point about not opening getting the kid out on the traffic side -- that alone is probably reason not to go behind the drivers seat.

Right now I have her behind me, but I think that if I can still get the 40% side down, I may try the middle.

 

[mgmdx]

I agree with wmquan

I agree with William that the safest place for the child seat is in the middle of second row. Since safety of our children (should the accident occur) is our primary concern, I would gladly give up some convenience to ensure an extra degree of safety.

Our Britax Roundabout is installed in the middle and it does not interfere with the 40% fold-down section. This allows access to the 3rd row for additional passengers that you may need to carry (or additional cargo space when the 40% portion is folded down) while providing the safest possible location for the child.

 

[TheWorm]

We have the Advantage rear-facing, middle 2nd row. 40% still folds down no problem.

BTW, those of you with the Advantage might wanna check this link (Acrobat/PDF file) for a recall/retrofit kit for certain Advantages.

 

[mdxpecting]

What about 2 car seats?

Has anyone been successful in installing 2 car seats in the second row, in my case, a booster behind the driver, and an infant seat in the middle, that still allows access to the 40% fold-down.

We just added the infant seat in the middle yesterday and were disappointed that it overlaps the fold-down (although not by much).

 

[mgmdx]

Two seats fit fine...

I guess it would depend on the specific seats you are using, but in our case, this is not a problem. In addition to our Britax Roundabout installed rear facing in the middle position of the 2nd row, we also have a Century NextStep DX seat/booster installed behind the driver.

This still gives us full access to the 3rd row/cargo area without any interference with the 40% folding seat portion.

 

[MrPrescott]

We have our Britax, now forward facing in the middle, mostly for safety. It's not hard to get him in and out (he's almost 2). Plus, he has a commanding view of the road ahead.

I've head complaints of kids kicking the rear AC vents, but we haven't had any problem. He does, however push on both seats with his feet - a small annoyance and worries me about leather damage.

Nice to know we both have the same good taste with the MDX and BritaX!

 

[landshark]

Police Check says Not with Arm Rest

My wife and I took our car to one of the local police car seat checks, and they told us that you aren't supposed to put a rear facing car seat in a location that has a fold down arm rest. I argued with the policeman (usually not a good idea) because I had always heard that the middle of the back seat was safest, but he wouldn't let me leave unless the seat was by the window.

He said that the arm rest could flip down in an accident and hurt the baby. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[TheWorm]

Re: Police Check says Not with Arm Rest

My wife and I took our car to one of the local police car seat checks, and they told us that you aren't supposed to put a rear facing car seat in a location that has a fold down arm rest. I argued with the policeman (usually not a good idea) because I had always heard that the middle of the back seat was safest, but he wouldn't let me leave unless the seat was by the window.

He said that the arm rest could flip down in an accident and hurt the baby. Has anyone else heard this?

I've heard that...I *think* Century is the only mfr to state that in their instructions, however. I know that w/our Advantage rearfacing, the armrest cannot come down, as the seat's high enough to block it from lowering. We've had 3 cars checked 2 times each (infant seat and now the Advantage (rear facing) and neither the fire dept (for one set of checks) nor the child seat pro (for the other) were concerned about it. YMMV.

 

[davegood]

OK, Next question

OK, next question:

For rear facing, do you guys recline the 2nd row seat a little? I reclined mine to the first notch (maybe 2 inches back), and it seems to really put it at a better angle than the straight up and down angle that the seat initally reclines to. Thoughts?

 

[davegood]

And thanks, Worm

It turns out that my two Advantage servers were recalled. I'm a little surprised, being as I was dilligent about mailing in the registration card. In any case, I called them today and they're sending out the fix kit.

Is it pretty easy to fix?

Thanks for notifying me about this -- I'm on the www.cpsc.org mailing list, and didn't see it come through. By the way, if you're not on the list for CPSC, it notifies you daily of any product recalls.

 

[wmquan]

Evenflo is the only manufacturer that recommends against the middle seat with an armrest, as far as I know.

This was discussed in a previous thread, but net-net, it's up to the parent. Some organizations don't recommend it but the majority of organizations feel that the middle seat is the safest.

Some of it may depend on the infant seat and the armrest. If you have an infant seat with a base, chances are the lip of the seat is so high up that there really is no way the armrest can flip down and hit the child.

Obviously it's moot if the seat is forward-facing.

Besides the fact that an infant seat is usually high enough up to prevent armrrest contact, one has to remember in a front-end collision, the infant seat basically bucks forward. Thus the lip gets even higher. If the armrest then flips down, it's not going to impact the baby.

I have yet to see any footage where the armrest is a problem.

 

[TheWorm]

Davegood - Yea, the fix is basic...you just install an additional "brass ring" (like on the extender for rear-facing) to the carseat's belts. Takes 2 minutes. I didn't see this one on the CPSC email list either. I can't remember whether I reclined the 2nd seat @ all -- it's been awhile...

William - Thanks for clarifying the "who" on the "no seat in front of armrest" company...

 

[davegood]

sorry -- bad link

Sorry -- it's www.cpsc.gov not .org as I typed in earlier.

 

[wmquan]

I must say that I am very disappointed with Britax's recall. I still consider their seats the best and will continue using them, and the next seat for my son will be the Britax Super Elite.

Nevertheless, the recall goes to show that no one in this segment is as good as they can be, including Britax. Sure some other companies like Evenflo and Century have had many more recalls than Britax, but one expects more from Britax given their reputation, European experience, general seat quality, and higher price.

Britax had a recall of sorts a couple of years ago with the Roundabouts. They blamed their supplier for not properly creating the injection-molding seats (which is a cop-out in my book). Rather than go through the expensive process of replacing those seats, they simply conformed to the U.S. regulation by releasing a kit with additional shoulder harness padding! The fix made it more cumbersome in securing a child, and, while meeting the U.S. test, didn't seem as good as a real fix -- a new seat.

Add in the Advantage recall, and there is cause for concern. Again, I still think their seats are superior to many others in the market and probably the best overall (well, specifically, the convertible, booster, and youth seats -- I don't like the infant seat they make).

 

[davegood]

Agree on the infant seat

William --

Complete ditto on the infant seat -- doesn't come out without unbuckling? -- that's just stupid with the way infants sleep in cars.