Question Maybe buying a minivan

mfcleveland · Jul 27, 2010

We MAY be buying a minivan in place of our Camry. It would either be a 2006 Kia Sedona or a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Anyone have one of these and/or anything I should know about carseats in these vehicles vs my camry? Right now we have a TFP and we have a baby on the way who doesnt have a seat picked out yet.

mommyto3 · Jul 27, 2010

I would try your car seat out in the van to see how well they fit. I just traded my Windstar in for a new Town and Country and found that while my Britax Marathon fit well in my Windstar it was hard to get a tight fit in the Town and Country(these are basically the same as a Dodge Caravan, just a step up). One car seat that I was able to fit well in my new van, my Accord, hubby's Camry, and Windstar was the Evenflo Triumph Advance for infant through 50lbs. Although it is a big car seat it has a small base and faces both forward and backwards with a nice fit. Also adjusting the straps is simple all the way around, for the shoulders it simply slides up and down, this is great if you sometimes use the seat for different children. To tighten and loosen the staps it is a simple turn of the knob on the side of the seat and to loosen it is the same spot but a little push button latch that you push and then pull the slack up from the part of the seat where the baby's hiney would be, where the straps go down in the bottom of the seat. If you are looking for a booster w/the 5pt harness for older children I love the Graco Nautalis, I have never had a problem with getting a tight fit and the shoulder harness can be used up to 65lbs. The Britax Frontier isn't a bad fit in my Accord but is a little harder to get a good fit in the vans. There are two ways that they allow you to place the seatbelt if you don't want to use the latch system. You can also use this seat up to 80lbs with the harness so it will pretty much get you through 8-9yrs old. Hope this helps, although I don't have those exact vans I have some experience with using different seats in various cars.

firemomof3 · Jul 27, 2010

I have a 2006 Sedona and love it

Very car seat friendly and your TFP will fit great :thumbsup:

luckyclov · Jul 27, 2010

My friend has a 2004 Sienna. It has 100,000+ miles on it and is still going strong if that says anything.

She has a couple of Graco Nautiluses in hers, and they install beautifully in the captains chairs AND 3rd row - LA and SB install. Hope that helps a little.

mfcleveland · Jul 27, 2010

firemomof3 said:
I have a 2006 Sedona and love it Very car seat friendly and your TFP will fit great :thumbsup:

I have seen very mixed reviews on it, although it is more in our price range than the Sienna. You really like yours? Has it been in the shop a lot? Do you live in a cold climate- I read about the doors freezing shut and we live in Cleveland! Did you buy it new or used? Anything else you want to tell me about it?

firemomof3 · Jul 27, 2010

I bought it used with 40K miles on. We've done all the recommended maintence, it now has 67K miles and no issues. Yes, on freezing cold days I have had the doors freeze up but I just leave it in the sun and its fine an hour later. It has 2 rear tethers in the 3rd row which is a big bonus....um nothing else really to say. Everything has been great

mydogteaser · Jul 28, 2010

I have an '08 Sedona. I don't know how much they changed in those two years, but I couldn't be happier with my van. I have the freezing door issue, too. It's interesting to hear that others are having the same issues because when I have complained, the guys in the service dept at the dealership have never mentioned that. I am in WI and they seem to stick after the van has been siting in the driveway overnight. As long as they are used regularly, I can get them unstuck by either tugging the handle and pulling from the end of the door (since it will pop just a bit and I can get a grip on the end) or by crawling inside and pushing from in there. I would just advise you to open them at least once a day to help keep them from freezing shut. I get them lubricated every time I get an oil change and that seems to help.

I would highly recommend the Sedona. It gets good gas mileage (for a mini van), car seats install very easily, and it has lots of room. I would recommend the EX over the LX, though, for the added "trunk" space.

ETA: My Sedona has never been in the shop, other than the routine maintenance and when it got hit. Twice. In the same spot. Grrrr.

Maedze · Jul 28, 2010

mommyto3 said:
I would try your car seat out in the van to see how well they fit. I just traded my Windstar in for a new Town and Country and found that while my Britax Marathon fit well in my Windstar it was hard to get a tight fit in the Town and Country(these are basically the same as a Dodge Caravan, just a step up). One car seat that I was able to fit well in my new van, my Accord, hubby's Camry, and Windstar was the Evenflo Triumph Advance for infant through 50lbs. Although it is a big car seat it has a small base and faces both forward and backwards with a nice fit. Also adjusting the straps is simple all the way around, for the shoulders it simply slides up and down, this is great if you sometimes use the seat for different children. To tighten and loosen the staps it is a simple turn of the knob on the side of the seat and to loosen it is the same spot but a little push button latch that you push and then pull the slack up from the part of the seat where the baby's hiney would be, where the straps go down in the bottom of the seat. If you are looking for a booster w/the 5pt harness for older children I love the Graco Nautalis, I have never had a problem with getting a tight fit and the shoulder harness can be used up to 65lbs. The Britax Frontier isn't a bad fit in my Accord but is a little harder to get a good fit in the vans. There are two ways that they allow you to place the seatbelt if you don't want to use the latch system. You can also use this seat up to 80lbs with the harness so it will pretty much get you through 8-9yrs old. Hope this helps, although I don't have those exact vans I have some experience with using different seats in various cars.

Welcome to C-S.org! Unfortunately some of the information you've provided isn't completely accurate

For example, the Britax Frontier 80 IS rated to 80 pounds via the harness, but it will not hold a typical 8-9 year old in the harness. This is because the height limit is important too. The top most harness slot in this seat is 18"...this means kids will outgrow the Frontier in harnessed mode well before 80 pounds (usually around 55-65).

I would say the average child has a good chance of getting to 5.5 to 6.5 years harnessed in the Frontier.

At that point, it does make an excellent booster that will take a child right through to seatbelt safety

Question Maybe buying a minivan

mfcleveland

New member

mommyto3

New member

firemomof3

New member

luckyclov

New member

mfcleveland

New member

firemomof3

New member

mydogteaser

New member

Maedze

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics