Question 2010 Subaru Forester - 3 Car Seats in Back

Jason1138 · Jan 3, 2010

My wife and I are thinking about buying a 2010 Subaru Forester. We currently have one child, 7 months old, however my wife is considering starting to baby-sit 2 more children between the ages of 1 and 3.

I am wondering if there is anyone using this forum who has any experience with 3 car-seats in a Subaru Forester, or any comparable SUV (i.e RAV4, Ford Escape etc...) and can offer any suggestions.

I have been doing a little reading of previous posts and both the
Britax Marathon Convertible and the Radian Sunshine Kids car-seats seem to be smaller and might be ok for us. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated as we want to make sure we are able to get good-quality, safe car-seats in this vehicle or else make the decision to buy a bigger vehicle/mini-van to accomodate us.

Thanks if advance for any helpful input!

- Jason

snowbird25ca · Jan 4, 2010

Hi and welcome to the forums at Car-Seat.org.

Since your IP indicates you're in Canada I moved your post to the CDN forum so that you get replies with seats specific to Canada. Not everything that is available in the US is available in Canada, so it's easier to get CDN specific suggestions with the thread here.

I don't have anything to offer in terms of 3 across in the back of a Forester as I've never tried it. I know that Subaru cars are pretty well known for having compatibility issues with carseats, so that will definitely influence what options you have available for a 3 across scenario depending on what the 2010 model is like. I know a few members here own the vehicle, so hopefully they'll pop by to offer some more specific input. :thumbsup:

todzwife · Jan 4, 2010

We had an 07 and it was near impossible. I've read here that getting a seat in the center of the newer ones IS impossible, but I haven't tried it.
Honestly, if you know you are going to need 3 seats, I'd skip the forester, as much as I LOVED mine.

QuassEE · Jan 4, 2010

If the '10 is the same as the '09, it's a big SKIP IT as far as carseats go. Especially three across. Subarus have always been a big pain in the rear for carseats, unfortunately, because they're such great cars!

-Nicole.

DadToThree · Jan 7, 2010

Jason,

I currently have 3 seats in my Volkwagon Jetta, but it is only possible with the Sunshine Kids seats. I had to move my Marathon and Diplomat to another vehicle as it was not possible with the Britax seats.

You may run into problems if you want the 1 year old to be rear-facing as I'm not sure a radian will fit rear-facing in a Forester.

If you want to make sure, I'd recommend you take the car for a test drive and stop by a local independent store that sells the Sunshine Kids seats and give them a try. Most auto dealers love seeing parents walk through the door as kids are definitely a motivator to buy a new car!

canadiangie · Jan 7, 2010

DadToThree said:
Jason,

I currently have 3 seats in my Volkwagon Jetta, but it is only possible with the Sunshine Kids seats. I had to move my Marathon and Diplomat to another vehicle as it was not possible with the Britax seats.

You may run into problems if you want the 1 year old to be rear-facing as I'm not sure a radian will fit rear-facing in a Forester.

If you want to make sure, I'd recommend you take the car for a test drive and stop by a local independent store that sells the Sunshine Kids seats and give them a try. Most auto dealers love seeing parents walk through the door as kids are definitely a motivator to buy a new car!

The 1 year old baby needs to be rear facing, if at all humanly possible. :twocents: Age 2 really is the bare minimum these days for ff'ing, and ideally closer to age 3 and even beyond. In terms of OP's liability transporting someone elses child, it would be best to keep the baby rf'ing for as long as possible.

I believe I worked in a '09 Forester a few weeks ago. They had a Graco SafeSeat infant seat in the middle. I do remember thinking there was more room both front to back and width wise in their backseat, though I wasn't there installing 3 seats so I can't say for sure. I was able to sit beside the base though which tells me there was at least a little bit of extra room.

Anyway, mostly just wanted to say that it's really really important the 1 year old be kept rf'ing.

flick37 · Jan 9, 2010

we have a 2004 Forester, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, but we are thinking of getting a new car, and probably not a Forester, and we just have 2 kids...I cannot imagine getting a third seat in there (plus, our manual doesn't recommend a carseat in the middle, though the newer models might be different). Our issue is not with fitting seats in, but with room between front and back seats (DH is almost 6'4" and with his seat back it is incredibly cramped for the kids...who are proving to be tall like their dad). I am saddened by the thought of giving up my subaru, but it is looking like it will likely happen in the near future

jwpines · Jan 8, 2011

I have an 2003 Forester - and the backseat dimensions haven't changed as far as know. We have britax marathon and roundabout, both FF. I just went and measured and there is only 9' between arms, 13" between bases and 15" between backs.

SavsMom · Jan 8, 2011

I had a 2010 Forester and love it, however I don't see getting 3 across in it - maybe using radians - but even then I don't think it would happen.

The middle seating position isn't good for car seat installs as there is no latch and it is very very narrow and has a little bit of a hump in it.

I also had a 2006 Ford Escape previous to the Forester and could see getting 3 across in it being much easier than in the Forester or Rav4.

For reference - here is the middle seating position in my Forester with a forward facing Symphony65 and a rear facing Roundabout50 - granted they aren't the most slim seats, but you see what I'm getting at....

[/IMG]

Corey_Proud_Daddy · Jan 8, 2011

I would see if you can take a test drive to a local Sunshine retailer and try a test fit. We spent 4 hours test fitting before giving up on our Britax seats and converting to RadianXTSLs.

bubbaray · Jan 8, 2011

We had a 2009 Forester (same as a 2010) for a weekend. It is IMPOSSIBLE to do three across in the new-style Forster. Even with belts, you can't move the outboard seats closer to the doors because of the padding of the seat bottoms. So, LATCH vs belts makes no difference for a 3-across situation in this vehicle.

FWIW, I have a number of seats to play with (including 2 RNs) and there was no way I could get more than about 6" of space in the center. The new Forester is easy to install both FFg and RFg carseats if you only need 2 across, though (which is an improvement from the older Subarus).

3 across is easy in an Escape. It is do-able in a CR-V and impossible in a RAV4 (not width-wise, but b/c of the crazy seatbelt setup).

bubbaray · Jan 8, 2011

Just went back and re-read some of the other replies.

The issue with the 2009 and newer Foresters (the redesign) is NOT front to back depth as in prior Subarus. The issue is back seat width. The rear seats in the Forester are depressed in the 2 outboard positions with a very large "bolster" outboard between the seat and the door that prevents a child restraint from being moved closer to the door, as you need to do in a 3-across situation.

Squeaky McMurdo · Jan 16, 2011

Question:

Our Subaru Outback also has these weird seats with a depressed "butt-area" for lack of knowing how else to label it. You can use rolled up towels and things to adjust the recline of the seat, so could you do the same on the seat? That is, use a towel or blanket to fill in the indentation so the seat can be moved closer to the door in a 3 across (or a mommy needs to sit in back with fussy baby and toddler and needs room for her back-side) situation?

This is just theory. I only have two kids so far and though it's a tight squeeze, I can sit in the center back seat when needed.

Question 2010 Subaru Forester - 3 Car Seats in Back

Jason1138

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snowbird25ca

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