Prius 2 seats - 2 rear facing seats - any chance for a Radian?

aisraeltax

New member
(i did search archives but all the threads i saw were referring to infant seats).

we are considering a Prius. we have 2 Radian XT's (one XTSL).

I am wondering if there is any chance of getting the Radians rear facing in the car? One son is age 5 right now in his XTSL (he's 42 lbs.). the other son is 2. I would be fine FF my 5 year old but will not FF my 2 year old for a long time.

Any advice?
 
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sirrahn

Active member
I think I remember someone here mentioning that they had a Radian in one. Seems like there's been a lot of Prius threads lately...

I actually have my Radian out of the van and am home with DH's Prius this weekend. If I can find the rfing boot, I can try it later this afternoon. The backseat is really quite roomy, but it also may depend on how tall the front seat riders are.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Yes, the Prius has a surprising amount of back-to-front room in the back seat. Certainly more than in my Pilot.

I never had a rear-facing Radian in one, but I'm nearly positive I've read about people who have.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
In general the Prius is surprisingly easy to fit rather large carseats in. I've installed a Radian both RF & FF in one but it was just a group installation activity a few yrs ago so I don't have any knowledge of issues that may develop after time. If I had a Prius I wouldn't hesitate to order a Radian if that's the seat that best meets needs for hip room, travel, etc. However, it can have a higher leaning curve than other seats. Always helps to play with any carseat first, unless you don't mind returning/exchanging shipments.
 

singingpond

New member
I have a Radian RF in the center of our 2008 Prius. I'm pretty much at peace with the install, although it is not perfect. Front seats have to be a bit further forward than we like, and the Radian does brush the front seats when DD sits in it. Prius manual says not to touch at all, but we've decided that a fairly light touch is unlikely enough to actually cause problems that we are willing to live with it.

As mentioned by LISmama810, Ketchupqueen has several posts about installing the Radian in a Prius. I would add the caveat that her installs were (as I recall) fairly short-term, in a rental car. I was able to get our Radian more upright also initially, but over a week or so, with DD riding in it, and standing up in it after unbuckling when we get home, etc., it would always settle back into a more stable position (i.e. more reclined).

I was able to get a very solid install, with some work, and twisting the buckle stalk twice to get the buckle away from the belt path. I ended up using a locking clip (using the locking function on the shoulder belt made the seat tilt, and also pulled so hard on the plastic trim piece -- where the shoulder belt comes out of the vehicle backrest -- that the trim piece was pulled out, which looked ugly). This is just to say that I do know how to get a tight install with the Radian, and still couldn't get it to stay SIGNIFICANTLY more upright long-term in our Prius. Somewhat more upright, yes, but not a lot.

I didn't try as hard RF outboard, but did experiment with it. Again, got a tight install, but the Radian 'wanted' to settle back into a more reclined position. Outboard I experimented with moving the boot forward from the seat bight (there a little roll near the back of the vehicle seat cushion that seems to invite this) and got a nice solid upright install -- met all the criteria of less than an inch of motion side to side and front to back (way less than an inch, actually). However, I then wiggled the seat fairly vigorously, simulating what DD would do climbing into and out of the seat, standing up in it to look over into the front vehicle seats, etc., and fairly soon the boot shifted back up into the seat bight, the Radian tilted back considerably, and the seat belt was now loose. I'm not willing to check and reinstall a seat on a daily, or even weekly, basis, so I decided this was not an acceptable install long-term.

I don't remember how a solid outboard RF install, with the boot back in its stable position at the bight, compared in 'uprightness' to the center install; we prefer the center install for other reasons, so I just moved the Radian back there after deciding the really upright outboard install was a no-go.

You mentioned that you were thinking of perhaps FF one of your Radians. FYI, I do have a Radian installed FF outboard, driver's side, and it is very solid. Again, it was not an easy install, but can definitely be done (recline 'foot' down).

The Prius is pretty roomy in terms of leg room for the back seat passengers, so if you're willing to more the front vehicle seats up enough, you may do OK with 2 RF Radians.

I don't know how installs in the 2010 (Gen 3) may differ from our 2008 (Gen 2) Prius -- don't know which model you are considering.

Katrin


ETA: All the installs I described were with seatbelt; didn't try LATCH outboard, mainly because I needed to get three across. Center install in the Prius must be done with seatbelt (no LATCH anchors in the center).
 
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sirrahn

Active member
Ok I just tried it rfing outboard behind the driver. I used LATCH and it was quite easy to get a tight install, but I did have to move the driver's seat forward a couple of clicks from where I'd like it to be and I'm only 5'1". I am fairly long legged for my height and I could certainly drive with it that way, but FWIW....

I didn't try to force it more upright or anything, but it was a less than 45 degree angle. Unfortunately DH has my camera with my van so I couldn't take a pic. HTH a bit!
 

KirasMommy

Senior Community Member
I was not able to get the Radian XTSL RF in my 2010 Prius and still have use of the front seat. The install was solid, but I had to push the passenger seat so far forward that it was not safe or comfortable for me to sit there (and I'm short, 5'4"). My DH is tall, so we can''t have any RF car seat behind the drivers seat. And the Radian was not skinny enough to fit between the 2 front seats without touching.

When I had the Radian RF on the passenger side, I raised the head rest on the front passenger seat and was able to recline the front passenger a bit more since the top of the Radian was sitting in between the back of the front passenger seat and the headrest. Does that make sense?
 

cookie123

New member
I'm shocked that people think the Prius has a lot of front to back room. I think it sucks! Mine is a 2011. I haven't put a lot of seats in there but with my rfing Peg Convertible and the Fllo and also the Next, the passenger seat can not be all the way back without the seat touching. The Peg worked better behind the driver but at that point it was more upright - no pool noodle. I'm 5'5" and I don't feel comfortable sitting in the passenger seat if the seat isn't all the way back. I feel like it's too close to the dash if it's any closer.

Be aware the seat belts over lap, not sure which model years which is a problem for 3 across. I haven't' been able to install any of my seats ffing in the center.
 

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