Side impact/curtain airbags...

[S1C EM]

How do side impact and/or curtain airbags affect the use of a RF car seat in the back seat? This isn't a problem in our cars, but my in-laws' car does have these I believe.

[Jeanum]

Generally speaking, some older vehicle models equipped with outboard rear side torso airbags (typically luxury vehicle models a la BMW, for example) have or had restrictions against outboard installations. IIRC, Evenflo also recently started to include a blurb in their seat manuals stating outboard installs in vehicles with outboard rear side airbags must be allowable by the vehicle manufacturer. You would ultimately need to consult both the car's manual and the child restraint's manual, or contact the manufacturers for further clarification, if necessary, to determine if there are any restrictions against installing the child restraint in an outboard rear seating position in your relative's vehicle. NHTSA's FAQs on side airbags (http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.13dd5c887c7e1358fefe0a2f35a67789/?vgnextoid=a93be66aeee35110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCR D#7) also has some helpful child restraint related info. and vehicle links.