mynameisjacob

I apologize if this was addressed earlier...

... but I'm exploring the option of placing the rear facing baby seat in the middle as opposed to passenger side. I read somewhere that it may be safer in the middle while still rear facing.

As you know, the SH-AWD model has a wicked hump in the middle. Does Acura prohibit this due to the hump for safety reasons? I think it would be an ergonomic spot and would free up the two seats (as no one sits on the hump anyway). I haven't tried this yet and we are expecting in a month or so... was wondering if anyone had experience with this.

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

For starters, congrats!!! A lot of exciting (and exhausting) times ahead for you. Of course if this isn't your first you're already aware of that, haha.

The whole safety factor of it being in the middle is simply because in a side impact there's more space between the door and the car seat. We have it in the middle in my wife's Pilot for that reason.

However, in the TL I couldn't do it if I wanted to because with a rear facing seat you need to have the front seats pretty far forward. My daughter's is behind the passenger seat and I'd be pretty uncomfortable sitting in front of it (knees would likely touch the glove box and I'm 6'1", though I haven't tried.). Also, there are no "hooks" for a seat in the middle so you'd need to use the seatbelt to hold it in. The car seat base we use is pretty wide so I'm sure it would stick out over the sides of the hump, not sure if that could be an issue or not as it may want to rock from side to side. The front seats might prevent that from happening though.

One more thing, make sure you invest in a leather protector so it doesn't damage your seats! We got a couple nice ones from Babies R Us for like $25 each.

Mr Marco

Nothing can destroy a car interior faster than a child. Put it in the trunk where it belongs.

350

iTrader: (4)

You're gonna want to put the car seat on the passenger side until it's front facing. I know the 4G is larger than my 3G but I did have to move the front seat up kinda far with a rear facing Recaro car seat. In a year or so when you flip it any position should be fine, just have the seats up far enough so the kid won't kick the seat back. We put it in the center of my wife's 07 Impala which is pretty cavernous inside.

deuce415

iTrader: (1)

The hump in the middle of the back seats made the carseat less stable for me when I tried it out. The hump was a smaller width than the width of the seat so there was more left to right movement than what I felt comfortable width. I got lucky with the rear facing seat that we selected and it actually fits behind the driver seat without issue for me (being 5'9).

BLACK_SH2011

You can also protect your backseat leather but getting the protective overlay they have. I looks like it might be leather as well which you can overlay the rear seats while having the carseats in. Its an OEM product too. Was thinking of doing it even for putting the dogs in the back to keep the leather in better condition.

vivmike

my kid never rides in my shit. He only goes in mama's car or my daily driver.

mondster

^^^seriously??? LOL! poor kid... Cant even get in the oh so expensive acura TL.

manutd

LMAO wow! I literally "lol'd" at work!!!

vivmike

I dont care if it just a TL. It's clean and smells like Gucci.

Yours is dirty and smells like Enfamil.

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

My daughter rides in my (clean) car regularly, but she doesn't bring any food or drink and never will. It's that simple....doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

Defjamz

Out of curiosity, what model car seat do you have? We just picked up the Chicco keyfit 30 for our boy who's coming next month.

Edward'TLS

My little nephew particularly enjoy sitting on the center hump of the rear seat, because of the elevated position gives him a better vantage view point of the outside world.

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

I know you didn't ask me but that's the same one we have.

emanon256

I recall my manual stating to never put a child safety seat in the middle, that it must go behind the drivers or passengers. But that may have actually been in my wife's Subaru manual, or any of our car seat manuals. I don't have them in front of me, but I know I read that somewhere.

We had the Chicco Key Fit 30 in my wife's car and loved it!! I never tried it in the TL. My car got a convertible seat from day one, and in my opinion I should have bought a second base, its not very easy to take a newborn in and out of a convertible seat. The caddy is the way to go.

When you upgrade to a convertible seat, be very careful which one you buy. I had a heck of a time getting one to be level in rear facing mode due to the incline in the rear seats. Our first model was a Peg Perego and I had to cut three separate pieces of foam to various sizes to get it to recline properly and still be secure. But it was fine after that. It still took a good 30 minutes to re-install when I removed it. Now the Peg Perego is in the Subaru with no bolster, and I am using a Chicco Next Fit which installed in about 1 minute with no bolster and is leveled perfectly. I highly recommend it!

drivinginmy04tl

Have two kids. Pool whacky noodle things sawed in perfect width of the seat works best I have found. They seem to have the least compression and are very dense foam. Did not need them when they were in the Chico key fit which is a great seat but needed when in the recaro pro sport rear facing in the TL. Or just put them in the trunk with some banana puffs and apple juice as Mr Marco
stated.

deuce415

iTrader: (1)

Congrats! We have 2 carseats. A chicco key fit 30 and a Graco MyRide 65. the Graco fits in my TL backwards facing behind the drivers seat. The Chicco doesn't fit too well in the TL so we keep it in the wife's SUV.

RenoTL

The LATCH system connections are only available on either side of the rear seat. Using these is much safer than trying to hold the child seat in with only the middle's seat/shoulder belt.

vivmike

Man...daddy daycare punks up in here.

volnedan

You remind me of Chris Rock's bit when he makes fun of fathers who brag "I take care of my kids" LOL. This is what you're supposed to do!

I bet you get mad when you see women voting too, huh?

balduvian521

you just saved my rear seat some wicked indentations...Thanks

vivmike

They can vote all they want... the only reason women's right's exsist is so the government could have more people to pay taxes. Think about it.

echodigital

You can put an infant car eat in the middle rear. In fact, it frees up the passenger seat leg room a bit.

tenstrum

My wife and I have a Baby Trend rear facing seat. I have an extra base that stays in the rear passenger side utilizing the LATCH system. She has the seat in the rear middle of her CR-V. There is no way that I can put the base on that hump in the back of my TL. There are no LATCH connections and the hump would make the seat unstable.

manutd

Omg you're so cool! I bet you have "all dem women" lining up to be with you huh?...... Tool.....

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Easy guys......


Let's keep it above board.

amill

We just had our first child in April. We have the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 rear facing car seat. I also bought a protective vinyl mat to protect the seat. I have the car seat on the rear passenger side. Because of the hump and the pitch of the seat, it's hard to get the base in properly with the bulk of the mat. I opted to just use a microfiber towel and it works perfectly. The angle is fine with no adjustment. We mostly use her Jeep GC since there is more room, so I don't keep the base installed all the time. I usually only put in in when it's needed. It only takes 2 minutes to connect it.

I would recommend the car seat if anyone is looking for a suggestion. Nice features and protection. It's not as light as other seats, but we never carry the seat since we can clip it in the stroller.

TLsMD

I got the chicco nextfit30 in my tl..
its in the middle with no issues at all.
I love it