briny319

In a few weeks I am taking my 3month old daughter on road trip (3k miles round trip) and I can't decide which car I should take. I've got my 04 TSX and a 02 Accord SE. For me the TSX is must better for a trip but I'm not sure which is safer for my daughter.

The TSX has more airbags, and safety systems (ABS,VSA), but her car seat is latched into the rear passenger side seat (this is the only place it fits) which isn’t as safe as the middle which is where the car seat is in the accord.

The accord doesn’t have as many airbags but is a larger car and her car seat is buckled into the center seat (there is no latch in the center).

TSX Accord
Length (in.) 183.30 189.40
Width (in.) 69.40 70.30
ABS Brakes (2 or 4 Wheel) Std. N/A
Traction Control Std. N/A
Vehicle Stability Control System Std. N/A
Driver Airbag Std. Std.
Front Side Airbag Std. N/A
Passenger Airbag Std. Std.
Side Head Curtain Airbags Std. N/A

The tsx has a 5star front crash test rating but no side crash test.
The accord has a 5star front crash test rating and a 4star for the side crash test.

The IIHS rating for the tsx is Good but the accord is Acceptable.

Which car do you guys think is safer for her?

Type X

Do you ever put the baby in the accord?

if the answer is yes then....

I would opt for the most comfortable of the 2 to drive

if the answer is NO then...

sell the accord and buy another TSX

97AcuraCL

I completely understand you've got a new baby and you're all up on the, protect at all costs thing...

but are u kidding me?

briny319

Yes the baby usually is in the accord.
But for such a long drive I want her to be in the safest car.

We all know the TSX is the most comfortable of the 2 to drive.

briny319

Nope not kidding just paranoid.

GIBSON6594

Might want to rent yourself a Mack truck or a tank

slats

Both are very safe cars....I'd take either one. The main thing to consider is your own driving and other drivers when taking such a long trip. Be sure to stop and rest. But I think either car is good. Have a safe trip.

dom

briny what model seat do you have that it won't fit in the middle?

I'm installing a Graco base on Saturday and was hoping to put it in the middle.

davemiamiacura

either of the cars will work out for you. but ask yourself this. which car are you more used to driving. your car bieng TSX and wife being the ACCORD then drive the long distance in the car your used to driving. Like the others have said on this post just drive safe. I have done the 1500 mile journey from Buffalo to Miami on several occasions , just stop and get your rest. the ride will be nice. enjoy it and dont worry so much . your riding in one of the safest cars on the road. which ever you pick.
keep your eyes open and enjoy.


D
precision team Dealer

briny319

The car seat is a Graco SnugRide® 8649MTR and I have it rear facing. It doesn't fit well in the middle because the middle seat in the tsx isn't flat or wide enough. But the main reason mine won't fit is I sit 1in from the furthest the seat goes back. Also you aren't supposed to use latch in the middle seat. The base fits in the middle but once the car seat is put in my seat needs to be moved way up (so much that I can't get in the car). Which is why I have it behind the passenger seat, which is almost all the way forward.

Since the back seat in the accord is so much larger I have it in the middle seat and have both front seats all the way back.

Good luck installing it, let me know if you have better luck than I did.

briny319

Thanks for the replies guys.

Whiskers

The baby seat can usually go on the left, right or middle, but as briny319 said, the raised hump makes it difficult. Domn - Even if yours fits in the middle, you shouldn't do it if you ever want anyone else in the back seat. The car seat in the middle basically makes the left and right seat useless unless they are kids.

dom

Geez, what a PITA. I think I have the same Graco seat as well.

Thats for the tips guys. This pretty much makes the TSX a POOR family car IMO. See this thread.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=Family

NickR

We had a Graco base (not sure of the model, but I think they're all about the same - it was only 6 months ago that I removed it). I had it in the middle, connected w/ the LATCH system with no problems - other than the lack of room on both sides. It was a very tight fit for friends of mine going out to lunch @ work. The main car seat did touch the back of my seat. I didn't have it all the way back but probably 80%. I also had a seat pad underneath to help even out the base and not damage the leather. It took about two months for the grooves in the leather to go away.

We had the local firefighters install the base. They did a great job. Since they do it all the time, I was more comfortable with them installing everything than me thinking I did it properly. I went back to them when my daughter moved into a normal front facing car seat.

DEVO

safer... how about driving safely.

but please... be real. this has to be the most ridiculous thought process i have heard of... well not really but it's up there.

briny319

What wsklar said is true I forgot to mention that if the seat is in the middle no one else will fit. I wouldn't say the TSX is a poor family car but it's not a good one. My fiance isn't very tall (5'4) so she is able to sit in the front seat even though it is almost all the way forward. The TSX trunk is large enough for everyday use but for a family road trip I think it will be way to small. It was almost full when the two of use went away I can just image bringing a stroller and all the baby crap.

briny319

I realize I'm being a littler paranoid but what is so ridiculous about my thought process?

I'm driving very far, I have two cars, and since they both have different pros and cons concerning safety I'm trying to determine which of my cars is safer for my child.

briny319

As I recally the TSX manual says latch is only for the left and right not the middle. I believe I heard it isn't safe for the car seat to touch the front seats. When you say you had your seat back 80% was that with just the base or with the car seat in the base.

For me I can have the seat about 80% back if just the base is in there but if the car seat is in the base I would be to far forward to drive.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Just out of curiosity, how tall are you guys saying you need the seat nearly all the way back?

I put a baby seat in the back of my TSX when my aunt and uncle came with my little cousins to visit. It fit in the middle just fine without issue and I had plenty of clearance between the baby seat and my seat back.

briny319

I'm about 5'11.

It depends what kind of car seat you had in the back, was it rear facing or forward facing?

Rear facing takes up a few more inches (probably 4-6).

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Ah...right...

Yeah, it was a forward facing car seat and I'm around the same height as you.

DEVO

you should just pick one and be done with it, if you are talking about 2 entirely different types of vehicles then maybe your logic is fine, but you are not.

the type of accident that each car is cabable of surviving is about the same (not that you will get into an accident, i'm just saying). maybe one can do better in a certain type of accident but accidents never work out to be that way.

ric

I would think that the key to safety will be the baby seat and the security with which it is mounted..........

matelot

rent a Hummer

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

He said safe, not stupid.

sauceman

I

Isn't it more because the child seats have become bulkier over time? Would anyone be able to sit on either side of a child seat even if they were in a TL? In an RL?

Hence why some people feel the need to resort to an SUV for kids I guess.

TypeRS

dude, they're BOTH Accords...either one doesnt matter... it's really how well you drive which determines how safe your baby will be. but i'd pick the TSX since it's a lot smoother and drives better.

slats

Babassboy

TSX = easier to control with well sorted suspension. Just take the TSX and drive safe.

briny319

I did take the TSX. Wow that post is 9 months old, I'm surprised you even found it.

Reach

I KNOW, this post is 9 months old, but I've got a question.

I'm not a parent and I don't plan to be (anytime soon) but I'm honestly curious / concerned.

The TSX has rear curtain airbags, in the event of an airbag deployment, are these potentially dangerous to a child in a carseat secured in the driver/passenger side instead of the middle? To pose the hypothetical, I fully understand protecting a child at all costs, so this is a good reason to take the 'other' car instead of the TSX on this trip that happened months ago, no?

TypeRS

holy post revival, batman!

TypeRS

it is always safest to put the child in the middle of the back seat. curtain airbags or any airbag have the potential to suffocate children or knock the child seat out of place when they inflate. this is for any car, not just the tsx. so regardless of which car you drive, the child should be seatedi n the back, preferably in the middle securely attached as it creates the greatest safety "cushioning" zone against side impacts.

Reach

I guess what I meant to ask, is are there any weird safety features associated with LATCH for a side seat? Like if the belt is drawn tight, into tensioned LATCH mode, does that side airbag not inflate? I know that doesn't make much sense, but I really have no idea, and Honda seems to have always thought of these little things.

So, to generalize, a child seat shouldn't be mounted in any side seat with side airbags, and is always safest mounted in the rear center? Thanks.

Beoshingus

My baby tried to drive the TSX, but he couldn't see over the wheel and reach the pedals at the same time. Turns out cars probably aren't safe for babies at all. I just told him he'd have to wait until he's 16.

dom

BTW - My graco base eneded up fitting perfectly in the middle. And people could easily fit on either side.

Now for the big seat.

dom

Not sure about the first part of your question. It has to be safe or Honda wouldn't have put the Latch's on the side.

I sopke to a seat installer from St. John's Ambulance. She had a look at my car and said the seat would be safest in the middle, no doubt about it. She said seats are always best in the middle.

Tmetcalf

I have a 8 month old and his car seat has to be rear facing until he is 12 months old. Right now I have the car seat in the middle back seat and its fine. I can't recline my seat back as much as I would of liked but its not too far from it and I'm 5'10". I don't have the Graco model seat, instead have a Cosco Eddie Bauer seat which is about the same size. If I put the car seat behind the front passenger seat no one could fit in the front as you have to put it so far forward.
I had to buy an extra foam wedge to place between the seat and the car seat so that it sits at the right angle and it works great.

I can't wait for my son to turn 12 months so I can turn him around and have more space to recline. Anything is better than the situation I was in before with my Accord Coupe V6. Trying to get a kid back there is impossible.