Child seats

15596 Views 19 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Paul, Jan 22, 2008

Armadaof1

Discussion Starter · Jan 24, 2005

For those of you hauling kids around in your Armada, here's some info from my latest shopping trip for a rear facing child's seat.

I've got three boys under 5. One is in a booster using the shoulder/lap belt. Not a problem to use in any seat. The middle guy is forward facing in a basic GRACO seat - not a problem to install with either the belt or LATCH system. And the last guy is just moving out of the infant carrier to a rear facing seat. So we hit the stores to find one that fits - armed with the recommended child seat list from the Nissan site.

Beware - if you want to put the kid in the middle seat in the 2nd row (the safest place in the truck), the child seat can be no wider than 16". If it is wider, you won't be able to flip down the side seats to access the third row and you may not be able to access the seat belt buckle for the seat on the passenger side in the second row.

So I took a tape measure and found that the narrowest convertible (rear facing/forward facing) car seat is the Britax roundabout at 14" near the base to 18" across the seat itself. It's $200 - ouch! Other seats range in size from 18-24"! Still, even the Britax interferes with operation of the outboard seats.

We'll play musical chairs to get the kids in workable locations, but just an FYI that there are limits to the seating arrangements.

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

paulgator68

· #2 · Jan 25, 2005

child safety latch concern

How many latches per outboard BENCH seats? According to the manuel there s/b two as marked ON THE SEAT(two behind driver & two behind passenger). Well in my Armada I have one latch in the seat behind the driver seat, one in the middle seat, and one in the seat behind the passenger (total of 3). This does not seem right for a rear faceing infant safety seat. I think this is a oversight and should be recalled. Or is this standard for all Armadas?

Armadaof1

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 27, 2005

A little confused on what you are asking...there are LATCH fittings and tether anchor points.

In the second row, there are LATCH points (2 each) on the outboard seats. Likewise, there are tether points behind these two outboard seats (marked on the carpet). There is a third tether anchor point behind the third row seat.

paulgator68

· #4 · Jan 27, 2005

Thats the thing. On my Armada I dont have two each on the outboard seats. What I do have I (1) latch on the Right side seat, (1) in the Middle seat and (1) on the Left side seat. For a total of (3) for the whole bench seat. No two LATCH points are on the same seat.

greengoddess

· #5 · Jan 28, 2005

We figured out the middle seat problem also. It is the safest spot in the car, so you would think you could fit a car seat there. Well, unless we go buy a new car seat that's not going to happen - ours just will not fit.

We also have 3 children and when we go on trips we like to have the youngest ( 2 yr old) in the center to keep the 9 & 11 yr olds from fighting so much. So it would be a big bonus to be able to put the car seat in the middle!

N900WM

· #6 · Dec 31, 2007

2008 Center has NO LATCH

Hey Folks,
We have been seriously looking at purchasing the 08 Armada LE with the rear bench as we too would like to put the child in the second row center. But guess what!!!???

For 2008 Nissan has not provided LATCH hookups in the center seat. We are awaiting word from Nissan regarding this issue. Unfortunatly, this may be a deal breaker for us.

BlakSpyda

· #7 · Dec 31, 2007

Glad to have you as a member N900WM. Good luck!

NewbieDrew

· #8 · Dec 31, 2007

greengoddess said:
We figured out the middle seat problem also. It is the safest spot in the car, so you would think you could fit a car seat there. Well, unless we go buy a new car seat that's not going to happen - ours just will not fit.

We also have 3 children and when we go on trips we like to have the youngest ( 2 yr old) in the center to keep the 9 & 11 yr olds from fighting so much. So it would be a big bonus to be able to put the car seat in the middle!

Agreed and we do the same. I just remember what we used to drive with the kids - a 2001 Saturn 4 door sedan and I feel better.

BlakSpyda

· #9 · Jan 1, 2008

My kids are grown, but I have no problem, whatsoever, putting the carseat in the middle for my granddaughter. It fits and secures perfectly.

Pops

· #10 · Jan 1, 2008 (Edited)

Personally, I don't see why you would need tethers for that center seat. I'm nowhere close to being an expert but I always preferred using the simple lapbelt that could be locked into place instead of the dynamic shoulder belts. I never used tethers when the kids were young, I always tried to use the lockable lap belts instead of shoulder belts and if using shoulder belts, I always locked them down very tight. I was never in an accident until a guy hit me while making an illegal turn when the kids were older but if those belts were locked down correctly, those car seats couldn't be moved even with using a crowbar.

So, are the tethers really necessary if using a lapbelt that is strapped correctly and tensioned tight enough to leave indentions into the seat cushions???? I'm only asking because I'm curious about the new safety standards and your opinions since I do still haul my young nieces and nephews around.

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BlakSpyda

· #11 · Jan 1, 2008

Tethers were thought up to make people think it is necessary or more safe, but we all know it's not. Most vehicles do not come with the tethers anyway.

fyrfytersarmada

· #12 · Jan 1, 2008

The tethers are just an added safety precaution and another point of contact for the safety seat. They help prevent forward movement of the seat because childrens heads are disproportionalty heavier, and they help to reduce whiplash. The tethers also help prevent lateral movement at the top of the seat in the event of a roll over.

And remember if you have any questions about how the seat works or how it should be secured in your vehicle, check with your local fire dept. Most dept's offer free child safety seat checks, at least it's very common in my area. Our dept. has select personnel trained to do the inspection (me being one of them), it's a great resource and you can't beat the price.

BlakSpyda

· #13 · Jan 2, 2008

Thanks for the feedback and info fyrfytersarmada!

I usually take it for granted that the local Fire Dept. does this and forget that some folks don't know that this training/service is available to them.

LVArmada

· #14 · Jan 3, 2008

I have an 05 with the bench seat and two kids 7mos and 4yrs. When I put the infant seat base in the center I tried the lap/shoulder belt and it really made the seat tilt to the side. I decided to use the anchor points on the out board seats to secure the base. This renders the third row unusable and I had to double up on the anchor that the other car seat uses.

ArmadaThunder

· #15 · Jan 7, 2008

Armadaof1 said:
For those of you hauling kids around in your Armada, here's some info from my latest shopping trip for a rear facing child's seat.

I've got three boys under 5. One is in a booster using the shoulder/lap belt. Not a problem to use in any seat. The middle guy is forward facing in a basic GRACO seat - not a problem to install with either the belt or LATCH system. And the last guy is just moving out of the infant carrier to a rear facing seat. So we hit the stores to find one that fits - armed with the recommended child seat list from the Nissan site.

Beware - if you want to put the kid in the middle seat in the 2nd row (the safest place in the truck), the child seat can be no wider than 16". If it is wider, you won't be able to flip down the side seats to access the third row and you may not be able to access the seat belt buckle for the seat on the passenger side in the second row.

So I took a tape measure and found that the narrowest convertible (rear facing/forward facing) car seat is the Britax roundabout at 14" near the base to 18" across the seat itself. It's $200 - ouch! Other seats range in size from 18-24"! Still, even the Britax interferes with operation of the outboard seats.

We'll play musical chairs to get the kids in workable locations, but just an FYI that there are limits to the seating arrangements.

My wife tried to load all three of our kids' car seats in the 3rd row last night... it didn't go so well. We have three kids, all six years of age and younger. UNless you use very narrow or three booster seats w/o arms, you're probably out of luck.

sptddog

· #16 · Jan 21, 2008

LVArmada said:
I have an 05 with the bench seat and two kids 7mos and 4yrs. When I put the infant seat base in the center I tried the lap/shoulder belt and it really made the seat tilt to the side. I decided to use the anchor points on the out board seats to secure the base. This renders the third row unusable and I had to double up on the anchor that the other car seat uses.

Just wanted to chime in here even though this is an old post - but beware of putting your seats in like this....it's very unsafe to have two seats on one latch hook.

As for the tilting when you install in the center seat - use the locking plate attachment that comes w/ the seat. I have my infant base installed in the center, and it tilted horribly using the seatbelt locking mechanism, but if I put it in the 'old fashioned' way using the metal locking plate that came w/ the seat it works spectacularly. And, I can still put the outboard seat up and down for third row access (which I do regularly for the dog).

It will be a pain when we are using two regular seats though. We'll probably switch my oldest into a booster seat w/ a back that uses the seatbelt.

Paul

· #17 · Jan 21, 2008

We have twins so we have no choice but to use the two outboard positions. We did buy high quality Recaro child seats with side impact protection. Car seats that meet European standards are far safer than many of the US seats. Go to elitecarseats.com...they offer many high quality car seats, including the Recaro Young Sport seats we bought.

BlakSpyda

· #18 · Jan 21, 2008

Great post Paul, welcome to CA!

ntrddragn

· #19 · Jan 21, 2008

Paul said:
We have twins so we have no choice but to use the two outboard positions. We did buy high quality Recaro child seats with side impact protection. Car seats that meet European standards are far safer than many of the US seats. Go to elitecarseats.com...they offer many high quality car seats, including the Recaro Young Sport seats we bought.

awww man where you when i went and buy my convertible seats?

i have twins also...11 mos old. we got the cosco alpha elite and we are putting them on the outside positions also. how is the buckling on the recaros? the cosco sometime get stuck and i would have to play around with the belt while my little girl squirm in the seat. its a pain some time. let me know i might return the ones i have now.

Paul

· #20 · Jan 22, 2008

The recaros are very easy to buckle and we just converted them to booster seats. The seats come with a center pad on the buckles that is annoying and we threw away the center pads the first week. Our seats are two years old so there may be better options out there now. elitecarseats.com is a great place to buy...there are plenty of reviews for each seat and you can sort the reviews by high and low reviews and get the good and the bad info on each seat.

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