Rear facing seats....not car seats, VEHICLE seats....

wasbondy

New member
I hope that makes sense!
My husband has a Mercedes E55 that has a row of rear facing seats, to accomodate our entire family of 6 on occasion (once, maybe twice a week).
This is HIS primary car, mine is a mini van. We have a 9yr old, 6yr old, 3yr old and nearly 10 month baby.
We obviously sit in the front, the baby and 3yr old in the middle (Nautilus and EFTA) and the other 2 in the back. I had my 6yr old in a backless booster back there until I found my manual and saw it wasn't supposed to be used in a rear facing vehicle position. (He rides in a Compass high back booster in the van though)
Is there anything that I can get for him to sit back there?
Thanks!
 
ADS

Maedze

New member
There are no child restraints that can be installed on a rear facing vehicle seat.

You'll need to use the third seat in your second row.
 

adamsmommy

New member
I had a friend asking about this the other day. Are regular 5pt able to be used back there? I think she said she saw a ff'ing only seat back there and was wondering if that was ok.
 

Pixels

New member
No, you cannot use a harnessed seat on a rear facing vehicle seat either. There is no child restraint that you can use on a rear facing vehicle seat.
 

wasbondy

New member
So you are all saying my 6 year old cannot ride back there then? We live in Ohio and our booster seat law is 8 years and 49" (I think).
 

Maedze

New member
So you are all saying my 6 year old cannot ride back there then? We live in Ohio and our booster seat law is 8 years and 49" (I think).

Yup, your child needs a booster (I'm guessing it's 4' 9" which is 57", not 49"), and a booster cannot ride in a rear facing vehicle seat.

How does your 9 year old fit back there? Does the lap belt rest low on his thighs, the shoulder belt not touch the throat, and does he have head support to the tops of his ears?

If those things aren't true, unfortunately, he can't ride back there either.

Most 9 year olds still need a booster in regular vehicle seats. How tall is he?
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Is the rear-facing seat a regular-sized vehicle seat, or is one of those smaller seats? Sometimes kids will fit in those better because of the smaller size.

If your 9-year-old fits properly, that's ok.

Remember that proper fit means ALL of the following:

1. Sits all the way back against the seat
2. Knees bend at the edge of the seat
3. Lap belt sits low over the hips (not tummy)
4. Shoulder belt sits over the middle of the shoulder (not off the shoulder, not over the neck) and makes contact with the body
5. Child sits properly for the entire trip

Ideally the child's feet sit flat on the floor, too.

It's a tough situation with the 6-year-old. Even if s/he fits (unlikely, even in a smallish seat), by law s/he must still be in a booster (or harness).

Can you not get three seats in the middle row?
 

wasbondy

New member
Yes that is the set up of the third seat in the car.
Honestly we have not tried to put 3 across in the middle....We "figured" he would be okay in the back in the backless booster. Our mistake as we did not read the manual.
I just looked up the Ohio car seat law and it is 4'9". I'm not actually sure how tall he is, but he is 9 years old.
And just an aside: since he's past 9, does the height matter? He's average to taller than average. He's sleeping now or I'd measure his height.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but what is the harm of having him in a backless booster back there? I know the manual and all of you are saying they're not ceritified for that. BUT why not? I mean if it boosts him to have the seat belt positioned correctly, it's done the job it's supposed to do. Once again, not trying to start anything, just trying to understand......
 

bubbaray

New member
Because crash testing is only done on FFg vehicle seats, so no one knows how a child restraint will perform on a RFg vehicle seat.
 

Maedze

New member
Yes that is the set up of the third seat in the car.
Honestly we have not tried to put 3 across in the middle....We "figured" he would be okay in the back in the backless booster. Our mistake as we did not read the manual.
I just looked up the Ohio car seat law and it is 4'9". I'm not actually sure how tall he is, but he is 9 years old.
And just an aside: since he's past 9, does the height matter? He's average to taller than average. He's sleeping now or I'd measure his height.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but what is the harm of having him in a backless booster back there? I know the manual and all of you are saying they're not ceritified for that. BUT why not? I mean if it boosts him to have the seat belt positioned correctly, it's done the job it's supposed to do. Once again, not trying to start anything, just trying to understand......

With regards to the first, no the fact that he is 9 does not matter. The law is not sufficient. Children need boosters until they fit in the seatbelt without them. For some super-tall kids, they can ride without boosters around the 8th birthday. For super-short kids, they're looking at 12 before they fit in a belt alone.

If he doesn't pass the five-step test, even just one portion of it, he still needs the booster.


With regards to the second question, the answer is, because the child restraint manufacturer says so. Whether this means they simply haven't tested the seat that way, or it means that they tested it and it failed dramatically, we have no way of knowing.

I agree that instinctively it seems as though it shouldn't be an issue, but I'm not an engineer, or a manufacturer, and I don't have access to test results, so all I can do is advise you to go by the manual.

Most states also have a proper use clause, so using the booster in the third row would put you in violation of the law.
 

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