Does anyone know of an infant car seat [brand/model] which can be LATCH secured in the back seat of a TSX?

 

Not sure man, but I'll be in the market for one soon and if i find one, I'll post it. Have you checked the Acura website, it may have something on it.

 

Actuall the Acura home site-- while very cool-- is not all that helpful with this particluar piece. The booster/latch works great; but the infant seats are a bear. Thanks.

 

Not sure if I understand your question, but you will find most infant carriers that go in the car now come with LATCH enabled bases for the car. The one thing I was looking for (but gave up because there was only 1 of them at the time 14 months ago) was a "rigid" LATCH system that uses metal arms that click in to place vs. pull straps.

Go to your local Babies R Us or other local baby supply store ... I can tell you there is absolutely no substitute for trying several of them in person in this category.

 

I have a Graco car seat myself that is secured to the backseat of my TSX with the LATCH pull straps. I haven't seen any "rigid strap" LATCH systems before and the pull straps seem to be really effective at keeping it secured well. The only problem with the TSX is the backseat is a angled so much that you will need to get an adjustable base the allows you to change the angle of the seat or a wedge to level it out.

PS: My daughter (15 days) loves the TSX and whenever I drive her around, she falls right to sleep.

 

I have a Graco car seat myself that is secured to the backseat of my TSX with the LATCH pull straps. I haven't seen any "rigid strap" LATCH systems before and the pull straps seem to be really effective at keeping it secured well. The only problem with the TSX is the backseat is at a rather sharp angle, that you will need to get an adjustable base the allows you to change the angle of the seat or a wedge to level it out or your baby's head may constantly fall forward.

PS: My daughter (15 days) loves the TSX and whenever I drive her around, she falls right to sleep.

 

Congratulations, my son isnt expected till about 11/03 (I'm wishing Halloween personally!!! ). Unfortuantly we dont have babies R us here, but I'm thankfull someone brought this up. Because of my son I traded my 99 CL 3.0 for the TSX! When I shop for one, I'll try them in the car first, thats a very helpful suggestions! Cheers!

 

Congratulations to the expectant parents! Our daughter was born in January and this has been the best time of our lives!

I'm using a Graco seat with the base system; for the most part we use it in my wife's Odyssey, but I have one for the TSX too. The seat/base came as a set with a stroller, and I added the second base. The model we got is the Chauffer-this is what the base looks like. The base is adjustable, and I have to put it on it's highest setting for the TSX, whereas the Ody uses the lowest.

 

i just got a baby seat last week that is more secure then that. its a peg perego at baby's r us. costs like $180 i think

 

More secure in what way?

 

Thanks for the pictures LannyM. Now I really appreciate the doors opening as wide as they do!

 

I just found out my wife and I are expecting (again...we had a miscarriage in May). I certainly hopes this one works out for us, and really appreciate the fact that this thread exists. There seems to be quite a few youngin's here that bought only for looks, and not for safety.

Cheers,
Dave

 

soopir - good luck

There is so much to look forward too and my wife and I waited longer than we thought, but it paid off big time ... two fold

 

I have the same setup (except the grey model) as LannyM, except I have my 2 week old boy on the passenger side. That way I can look over at him while stopped at a light. Additionally, I am 6 ft tall and need some extra leg room, so I have my seat farther back making the seat harder to be behind me.

 

Yeah, no doubt the space is tight with the car seat in place. I' m 5'10 and I can't put the seat back any further.

 

Provench,

Great looking kids! That picture makes that slide look HUGE! Is that a slide at your house?

My wife and I have been looking at playscapes for our daughter; even though she's only 6 months old, she already LOVES to swing, so I figure why wait?

 

Lanny - Nah ... that is a huge slide at a nearby park ... but I think we are close to getting a big play set for the kids. We actually saw one at our local wholesale story (BJ's) that was nice ... and since it is being sold there - great price

 

15 months ago, we got introduced to parenthood with a set of twins.

The Peg Perego seat has the shortest "length" of any car seat. Since I'm 6'5", that is a serious concern because nothing fit behind me save for the Peg. We put them in our Odyssey, used the adjustable tilt and a 'noodle'. We loved the LATCH capability.

The seat is great quality, is comfortable for your delightful little hatchling, and allows the driver maximal adjustment fore-and-aft. Given the somewhat-limited rear-seat legroom in the TSX, I'd give the Peg Perego my highest recommendation.

Just be prepared for stretched leather under the base...........................

Dr. Daryl

 

Here's my fairly random stream-of-conciousness spurt of info on these seats.

LATCH = Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. This system refers to the CAR's connection capability more than the seats' from what I gather. It has two parts.
1) A loop that's attached to part of the car's body to which you clip a tether strap. Ours are on the package shelf behind the back seat. Very helpful and a nice backup system.
2) A rail (or set of rails) tucked in the crease where the horz and vert parts of the seat come together. Apparently some baby seats can click into this rail. Don't have firsthand knowledge of this.

When the wife and I took an infant safety class before our son was born, the instructor went all Chicken Little about how tricky it is to install the seat and how nobody does it right. Well, it's not THAT hard. Tightness is key. A trick I learned was after clicking the seatbelt in, you put your knee in the baby seat and let your body weight push the seat farther down, creating more slack in the seat belt. Then you tighten the belt even more, slide it into the giant paper clip looking thing on the frame of the baby seat and feed the now-extra seatbelt back into its crevice.

The foam noodles Dr. Daryl mentioned are great for getting the ideal angle. Here in my county, most of the fire stations will do the first seat install to make sure it's perfect. Once you see it done you're pretty much set. Note: towels are key to protect upholstery from wrinkles and creases.

What LannyM has is a base system where you anchor a platform to the car's seat and into that you click in a combo baby seat and carrier. Like he said, you swap it from car to car, and without having to reattach a seat each time.

Ideally, the baby seat should be in the middle of the back seat to keep any side impact away from the youngin'. But that REALLY changes the dynamics of getting the kid in and out. As in, giant pain in the ass.

If you don't keep it in the middle, at least put on the passenger side so your seating position doesn't intrude on the baby seat's.

Here's the (very rough) time progression for baby seats:
1) 0 to 12 months/0 to 20? lbs: Full baby seat, facing backwards.
2) 12 to 40ish months/20 to 30 lbs: Full baby seat, facing front.
3) 30 to 50 lbs (a big guess): A booster seat.
4) Stop kicking the seat. Stop it RIGHT now.
5) No, you can't borrow the car.

A baby seat is securely attached to the car by the car's belt with the tyke held in via the seat's 5-point straps.
A booster seat is just that: something unattached to the car to raise the kid so the car's 3-point belt holds them correctly.

I hope this is either coherent and/or helpful.

 

Captainjack has some good points there - especially about puttting the car seat in the middle. You don't want your infant being hit with the side curtain airbags. A bit more of a pain but it's the safest spot in the car.

Thankfully these are issues I no longer have to contend with - my kids are at the 3/4 stage on catainjack's progression chart.

BTW I think the recommended time to eliminate the booster seat is when the child reaches 4'8" tall - not by weight or age. It's all about the seat belt fitting so that it doesn't injure the neck.

 

Think it depends on the state. TX is 4yrs, 40+ pds, not sure about height.

Looking at the pics above, I guess I'm not the only one putting towels under the seats to prevent leather from scratching!

 

I would suggest one of these... safer then towel... and doesn't look bad either...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000083GHY

Black Two-Stage Seatsaver $16.99 at Target

Product Description
While keeping your child safe is job No. 1, you'd also like to ensure that your car stays looking good. The Two-Stage Seatsaver features high-density foam construction to prevent depression damage to your car seat. The bottom tray, used with a rear-facing infant car seat, keeps your car seat level and prevents car seat depression; plus its kick plate protects upholstery from shoe scuffs and spills. A back attaches to the bottom tray for use with a forward-facing toddler or booster car seat. Flexible scores across the Seatsaver allow it to conform to your car's seat; the Seatsaver fits all automobiles and works with all latch-compatible car seat systems. Imported.

 

LATCH is great. FWIW, Britax seats fit easily with passengers in the front too. For kids as they get to the 18+ lbs rangs.

 

Regarding the towel/seat saver:

I got my seats/installs inspected at the local PBA sponsored event. The police officer's & saftey officials said to use kitchen drawer liners instead of a "seat-saver". They work better and do not have the weight & bulk, which is important in case of a crash. If you have to use something to prop up the back, they suggested using a "pool-noodle" flotation foam thingee cut down to size.

BTW, I have a Britax in my Legacy and it works great. The Snug-Ride in the TSX works great too, and was highly recommended by the police.

 

Go for the Britax Advantage car seats, the ones that come with a head protection model

 

Re. the Seat Saver described at http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...asin=B000083GHY

We use one of these (at least it looks like the same thing) in our new TSX for our 2¾-year-old's car seat, but we got it at Toys 'R' Us. It blends in with the decor of the car better than a towel, and we think it protects the leather better, because it's a bit stiffer and better cushioned.

Re. LATCH, yes, pretty much all new cars come with it, and all new car seats should be compatible with it. It refers to the lower connections (LATCH = Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) more than the upper tether, I would think, since cars have had the upper tether much longer than LATCH has been around. Anyway, it allows an easier and more snug connection than using the vehicle's seat belts. Much easier. I'm loving it. (TSX has LATCH, my 97 Civic did not.)

Re. the center seat in the back, I agree. Center (or centre) is best. And my daughter likes the forward view from there best. Since she's been climbing in and out of the seat herself for quite a while now, it's not as big a pain as it used to be. And yeah, these TSX door open up nice and wide! I'm liking it!

Oh, and always get a new car seat; don't use the third-hand one from your sister-in-law's friend. Not only will it come with the correct strap to use with LATCH, but it will be up to the latest safety standards.

 

Hmm, I just did a long post and it didn't appear?

 

Oops, forgot about the automatic link shortening. The full link, of course, is this: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000083GHY

Anyway, here is the one we got:

http://www.toysrus.ca/webapp/wcs/sto...roductId=56225

Looks like the same thing.

One more note: One person on the Target site complained that the back does not go high enough. However, since the back connects to the base with Velcro (or perhaps a non-Velcro-brand hook-and-loop fastener!), this is somewhat adjustable. I was able to get it high enough for my daughter's Cosco/Eddie Bauer car seat in the TSX, with the back still connected to the base. But I imagine you could pull the back up as high as you'd like if you don't care if it connects to the base.

 

I know I should ...but do any of yall have pics of the LATCH or further describe how it works?

 

LATCH is simply built-in metal hooks that attached to connectors on the car seat straps. It's almost a mini-seatbelt connected to the car's structure. The tighter you strap in your seat, the safer you are. Whoever said it above is right, you have to get inside and put your knee down in the seat/base and let your full body weight stand on the seat/base. Then you tighten up the slack and much as you can.

I used the faux leather seat-saver too. It worked well. We had the base strapped in so tight it took about a month for the seat indentions to go away - but they did completely. Above is right, car seat in the middle, it's harder to get in & our but BY FAR the safest spot for your baby. Just think what a t-bone on either side would do. In the middle your safe.

When you move up to the traditional carseat, I recommend Britax as well. They are expensive but you get what you pay for. We've had our local firefigthers install all of our seats. It takes them 10 minutes and you're basically guaranteed that it's done properly. Anyway, they couldn't stop commenting on how secure & rock solid the Britax Marathon seat was - and they've seen them all.

 

I tie mine with a nylon strap from the 99 Cents Store.
The bolster seat I got has a hook. So, I just run the strap through the hook to tie it down.