~ INFANT Baby Seat in MIDDLE ? ~

[Nutella]

To all the Vibe owners that are parents of little ones. I have some questions about BABY SEATS.1) Can you place an infant seat in the middle in the back seat? 2) For rear passenger side infant seat setups, does the front pass or driver seat get uncomfortably up right + forward to accomodate the baby seat in the rear? I'm in the market for a Vibe/Matrix for baby on the way.Thanks.Larry

[nygiantzz1]

To answer both questions:1. Yes you can place a child seat in the middle. There are 3 anchors behind the seat, left, middle, right. 2. No problem with driver or passenger seat with car seat in back and I'm 6'2"My wife uses a baby seat for my niece when we have her and never had a problem.

[GrayFox]

1. yes, to add to what nygiantzz1 said, the seat-belt also "ratchets" to lock itself inplace when you pull it all the way out.2. I can't say b/c my daughter was facing forward when I bought my Vibe but I would assume the space would be fine. Only bad thing I can say about having a child seat in a Vibe is if there are adults that have to sit in the back they'll loose some elbow room but it's still comfortable

[Atomb]

timely question, nutella (larry)we have a rear facing seat (for infants) that can be used with or without the base.either way, in the centre is fine. it fits well.off to one side or the other...well, different story.Without the base: fits alright. A little tight but not bad.with the base....front seat needs to be pushed forward quite a bit. This happened to us just last weekend and has now caused us to take a serious look at what our next car will be.in the end i pushed the front passenger seat forward almost fully and my wife sat in the back with the baby.when the baby is eventually facing forward, there should be no issues at all.

[Nutella]

^ hey thanks, you have a baby with seat + Vibe and you're local to me, small world!Did you end up going to the meet? I couldnt make it. Maybe I can see your seat setup sometime. I'm at GlenErin@Thomas St.thanks for you guys' feedback so far.. very quick!Larry

[Atomb]

i was at the meet for about an hour...then had to leave (baby stuff!)i'm at Britannia and WInston Churchill...v.small world!the base is set up in my wife's focus 99.9% of the time as we have set up the seatbelt in my car with the provided clip so that it's preset to use without the base....but switching out the base is pretty easy so let me know if you're really interested and i can meet up with you one day and let you check out the clearance on the whole set up.

[chemrebel]

interesting. right after i got my vibe, i went to a nearby fire station to have their car seat tech help me install my car seat. oddly enough, she could not find the LATCH bar in the middle, only on the outboard passenger seats. so right now, my car seat is installed on the drivers side.as far as comfort goes, i'm short so i have to have the drivers seat scooted way up anyway, so it's not an issue.

[Atomb]

i assume you mean the forward facing car seat?For those, yes, there are only attachments on the back of the back seat for either side (not the middle) if my memory is correct.For rear facing seats, i believe you use the right 'bar' on the passenger side and the left 'bar' on the drivers side to give you the two sides you need for the centre position.

[pmh013]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »i assume you mean the forward facing car seat?For those, yes, there are only attachments on the back of the back seat for either side (not the middle) if my memory is correct.For rear facing seats, i believe you use the right 'bar' on the passenger side and the left 'bar' on the drivers side to give you the two sides you need for the centre position.NO NO NO!! Do NOT use the LATCH anchors if you are installing ANY car seat in the middle. The LATCH anchors are not the appropriate distance apart; you will have to use the seat belt to install.That said, I have had both a rear-facing infant seat (Graco, with base) and now have a rear-facing 2 in 1 (Costco Arriva) behind the driver's seat. There's not a lot of room, and this is why when I return to work from my maternity leave, we'll be trading in the Vibe.I installed the seat behind the driver's side so that I still had the big portion of the back seat available to fold down.http://www.carseatdata.org/

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by pmh013 »NO NO NO!! Do NOT use the LATCH anchors if you are installing ANY car seat in the middle. The LATCH anchors are not the appropriate distance apart; you will have to use the seat belt to install.wow...i've read so many manuals and this was never clearly stated anywhere...now that you mentioned it i did some intense googling and sure enough, you're right. the funny thing is...nobody specifically says what you say in your quote above. all the sites/manuals/etc. just say to put the seat in either window seat and use the LATCH. They then go on to say that the middle is the safest. But don't elaborate to the point of saying "Don't use the LATCH when in the middle"!?!thanks for the heads up!

[bull77]

I'm in the same vote - We have a rear facing Graco (using only the seatbelt w/ clip) behind the drivers seat. It allows us to fold down the rear passenger for the stroller and still leave the back for our dog. We'll probably going to place our front facing seat in the same position using the rear anchors in the back.

[chemrebel]

if you need some more info, i'm a regular on babycenter.com's message boards, and they have a specific board for car seat installation questions. the ladies there are wonderful and have great info to help everybody.i forgot to mention, i will be turning Gabi's car seat forward facing here pretty soon, once i find some time to do it and get it re-inspected. i cannot say enough about having a certified car seat tech help you out on this, be it at an event geared toward this, or just scheduling an appointment with someone at your local police or firehouse. i learned sooooooo much from the time i had with the seat tech. they have some more "nuanced" knowledge that the manuals (car or car seat) just don't have.

[Nutella]

So for the middle install of the infant seat, only the middle seat belt is used, thats it??

[Nutella]

So for the middle install of the infant seat, only the middle seat belt is used, thats it??

[Raivis]

i am currently on my second rear facing go-around. im about 5-10 and i have had no problems in middle or off to the side. vibe is a great vehicle for a family.if your using a rear facing carrier jsut the seatbelt is needed. if your using a rear facing seat then there is a latch system that should come with it.hope to see you added to the family round here

[mcgusto82]

I disagree. A rear facing child carrier does get in the way fof the front seats. i'm 5.10, and i had to put the car seat behind the passenger side. I also don't recommend using the seat belt unless you have to (i.e. - Don't have latch on your seat). Seats belts don't provide the same restraints. After you install one with the seat belt, move it around, pull on it, HARD! See how much it moves around. It might even come loose. A properly installed latch seat will stay in place.Everytime i remove and re-install my kids car seats, i yank the poop out of it. Making sure it's on there as tight as can be.

[Nutella]

So for the middle install of the infant seat, only the middle seat belt is used, thats it??

[Atomb]

yup!

[trisha2005vibe]

I've had a hell of a time with car seats for my Vibe. The only infant seat that I've found that fits is the Graco Snug Ride, or Graco Safe seat. With it in an outboard seat, the front seats have to go up so far my husband can't sit in the front, but the middle works. Now my 4 month old has almost outgrown his infant seat and must ride in a rear facing convertible seat for 8 more months. I'm now going through this all over again- buy a seat, try it, return it...I'd LOVE some help as to which seats will fit rear facing for an infant over 22 pounds. Thanks

[Nutella]

So for the middle install of the infant seat, only the middle seat belt is used, thats it??

[vibeseller]

Little hint when installing car seats with only the seat belt - kneel on the base or the seat itself, then tighten the belt with the ratchet on the belt. After that step, attache the tether strap, if applicable. My mother-in-law just had my daughter in her forward-facing seat in her 05 Vibe and there was no problem!

[chemrebel]

trisha-please ref. to the custom mod line in my siggie hubby has the same model in his car, a 99 olds 88. we've both been happy with the seat, and considering you can get 2 seats for under $100 if you catch them on sale it's a bargain.for the OP, the middle position in the vibe for an infant-size carrier-yes, go with the middle seat belts and tighten the crap out of them. or just go to a car seat tech and have them help you. maybe check with your dealership's service dept even for a reference on seat techs. i know there's at least one dlrshp here that holds regular car seat clinics...good luck.