I just noticed on a car seat safety message board that Honda does not recommend installing a car seat in the middle of the back seat using the latches in the 06 Honda Accord. I have had a car seat in the middle of the back seat in my 06 TL for almost a year. I checked the manual and it says latches are provided for installing a car seat in the 2 outboard seats in the back. Now there are 4 latch points in the back of a TL, all evenly spaced at 10 3/4" or so. I can`t see what difference it makes if the car seat is mounted in the middle or on the side when it comes to the latch points. When the car seat is mounted in the middle using the bottom inboard latch points from the side seats ans using the top tether point in the middle the seat does not move at all in any direction. Besides Honda saying not to mount it in the middle, why shouldn`t I?

 

My guess is the car seat is on a hump when in the middle and might not be as secure side-to-side as if in the L or R rear seat. As far as it "not moving at all" realize that's relative. In an accident it's plain freaky how much things actually move.

 

They provide a tether point for the top a car seat in the middle for other means of installing a car seat, but for some reason they say use the side seats if your using the latch system.

 

if i could....i would place the baby seat in the middle but because of my height coupled w/ the fact that i want to be as comfortable as possible while driving, i put the base of baby seat behind the passenger seat in the back seat. i have heard from many many sources that placing the seat in the middle is the safest location.

 

They don't recommend the middle seat position because of the fold down section (armrest). My best friend is certified with our Children's Hospitol in child seat installation, and that is the reason he gave me.

 

For any car that specifically says not to place the safety seat in the center, it is because the left & right side "Latch" anchors are spaced too far apart to be bridged in the center. In our TL, the drivers side is offset enough so that the latch anchors are all evenly spaced allowing safety seat installation in all 3 positions.

As for the seat being completely immobile, it's just not possible. The recommended side-to-side play is supposed to be 1 inch in either direction. This small amount of movement helps to slow the deceleration rates of the seat and protect your baby. Same with the upward movement of the base plate.

Statistically, the center is the safest place for a child, followed by the passengers side, and then the drivers side (all back seat of course).

I have my baby seat base-plate in the center in my TL with a towel underneath to protect the leather.

 

I called the Acura Client Care number today, the first guy I talked to couldn`t answer my question so he said he would check into it and call me back. Half an hour later he called back and said he checked with a couple of people at Acura Client Care and they all agreed since the owners manual does not recommend against installing a car seat in the middle while using the lower latch anchors they saw no reason why I couldn`t. They did say if I have the installation checked by at a police station or fire station and they give me the ok on the installation then I would be all set.

 

Then why is there a tether anchor in the middle?

 

Everything your saying makes perfect sense to me. I will have to check the seat again for movement, I`m sure there is a little play in every direction with the "give" of the seat foam. I have two seat protectors under my car seat to protect the leather in my TL.

 

I had a certified installer from the local police station look at mine and said the middle was the best. for underneath, i use the lionheart seat protector to protect the seats.

 

Are you using the latch system? I also have the Lionheart protector over an Eddie Bauer.

 

yes sir, i am.

 

Do you guys have any links to these seat protector products. I'm not super fond of the green towel I'm currently using...

 

94- if you go to the toyrus/babyrus website, you can find the price lionheart stuff there. take a look at this. i believe there are more colors: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...entPage=search

 

The tether anchor is there for forward facing seats, I should have been more specific and said they "don't like" installing a rear facing seat in the middle if there is a fold down armrest section.

 

The upper tether anchor in the center is there because the lower "latch" anchors in the TL are properly spaced for installing a child seat in the middle. On cars (like my Element) that are not properly spaced for the center installation, there should NOT be an upper tether point anchor. There is nothing dangerous about installing a rear facing child seat over a fold down center section like the TL. The seat itself will not allow that center section to come down in the event of a collision. And as they said it's statistically the safest place for children anyways...

I wonder if anybody can confirm weather or not that accord that was mentioned earlier has an upper tether anchor in the center position?