LATCH in any SUV third row?

Allidader

New member
We are expecting baby 3 in January, and we are looking for an SUV that has at least one complete LATCH system in the third row (not just a top tether but also the lower anchors as well). Does any such SUV exist? No lower anchors on the Denali, the Expedition, or the Infiniti QX56. Or, alternatively, is using the seat belt as safe as using LATCH?

Also, we have considered putting all three car seats in a bench seat in the second row but we aren't sure if that is practical/feasible. Someone said they have three car seats in a Volvo XC90 because the seat in the middle of the second row with the baby's bucket seat slides forward, but that still seems impractical.

finally, I called my current vehicle mfr (Acura) to ask about a limit to its LATCH system and was told by a manager of customer service that there was no weight limit (just the weight limit for the car seat itself), but I read another post here that said 40 lbs was most car's limit for LATCH. Is that true?

Thanks!
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The seatbelt is just as safe. LATCH is only supposed to be easier.

Your LATCH limit is 40 pounds, as set by the engineers (and maybe the legal department), not the customer service reps.

Wendy
 

jeno

Senior Community Member
I would be most concerned with top tether. I love that my Acura MDX has top tethers in all seating positions. Makes for a lot of options. I'm currently set up with 3 across for impending baby's arrival. It was very easy and the possible configurations are endless.
 

Allidader

New member
Thanks everyone. We test drove the 2011 Sequoia (no lower anchors and one top tether in third row), the Infiniti QX56 (same), and the Ford Expedition (same, although the second row bench seat had THREE sets of lower anchors, which is one more set than required by law).

I felt like I knew so much about car seats but just learned today about the 40lb weight limit on LATCH in the Ford (I learned that from here and someone in injury prevention at a local children's hospital who trains installers). The 2007 MDX, our current car, apparently has a LATCH weight limit of 48lbs, though, according to that source. Just for future reference for anyone looking here.

We bought the Expedition, and we plan to put the almost-5-year-old in the third row with the seat belt and top tether (she is 52 lbs and in a Britax Frontier85), and then have the two-year-old (Britax Frontier85) and new baby in January (Graco Snugride) in the second row captain's chairs). We debated putting all three across a bench seat in the Expedition b/c the middle part slides forward so the baby could go there, but I was concerned the other two might feed the baby something they shouldn't (pretzel, etc) and that would be less safe than having the baby on the side as opposed to the middle.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
If you put 2 outboard in the 2nd row can the middle seat be flipped or removed? Or how is your oldest going to get to her seat?

I think the oldest would do great next to baby. When we had our suburban we had 2nd row a RF behind the driver and one RF middle. We had 2 boosters outboard in the 3rd. The passenger seat was always flipped, it easy to flip to use for carpools.
 

canadiangie

New member
Thanks everyone. We test drove the 2011 Sequoia (no lower anchors and one top tether in third row), the Infiniti QX56 (same), and the Ford Expedition (same, although the second row bench seat had THREE sets of lower anchors, which is one more set than required by law).

I felt like I knew so much about car seats but just learned today about the 40lb weight limit on LATCH in the Ford (I learned that from here and someone in injury prevention at a local children's hospital who trains installers). The 2007 MDX, our current car, apparently has a LATCH weight limit of 48lbs, though, according to that source. Just for future reference for anyone looking here.

We bought the Expedition, and we plan to put the almost-5-year-old in the third row with the seat belt and top tether (she is 52 lbs and in a Britax Frontier85), and then have the two-year-old (Britax Frontier85) and new baby in January (Graco Snugride) in the second row captain's chairs). We debated putting all three across a bench seat in the Expedition b/c the middle part slides forward so the baby could go there, but I was concerned the other two might feed the baby something they shouldn't (pretzel, etc) and that would be less safe than having the baby on the side as opposed to the middle.

The lower anchors in your Acura are limited to 40 pounds.

The lower anchors in your Ford are limited to 48 pounds.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
How heavy is your two year old? While a two year old is above the minimum requirements for forward facing (at least two years old), the AAP and NHTSA and techs here recommend rear facing longer. Do you have another seat in which the two year old could rear face for optimal safety?

Wendy
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
If you put 2 outboard in the 2nd row can the middle seat be flipped or removed? Or how is your oldest going to get to her seat?

I think the oldest would do great next to baby. When we had our suburban we had 2nd row a RF behind the driver and one RF middle. We had 2 boosters outboard in the 3rd. The passenger seat was always flipped, it easy to flip to use for carpools.

She said she got captains chairs. ;)
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
but she also talked about doing 3 across in the expendion.?.

I read it as they thought about getting the bench and putting them 3 across but were worried about baby getting fed pretzels. So they ended up with captains chairs. Who knows...I was just trying to answer your question but maybe I am reading it wrong. :confused::)
 

Allidader

New member
I guess I swapped the Acura weight limit (40lb) for the Ford (48lb) one and vice versa. Thanks for correcting me. Where can you find out that information for all cars? Is there one list somewhere?

We considered the bench seat with putting all three across with the new baby in the middle but opted against it since we were concerned the new baby would get her/his eye poked out or get fed a snack he/she wasn't supposed to have. It was a tough decision, though, since putting baby in the middle is obviously the safest from a crash perspective. So we went with captain's chairs with the new baby and toddler in the captain's chairs and the oldest in the middle in the third row with a seat belt and top tether (she is 52lbs so has outgrown even the 48lb Ford limit).

By the way, the Ford people at the dealership told me there was no weight limit on the LATCH and three years ago when I called Acura's main customer service, I was told the same thing. Concerning.

Wendy, we turned around our 2-year-old after her second birthday in April. She is 36" and 32 lbs so she is a pretty big 2-year-old. I still have her in one of our cars in the Britax Advocate that can be rear facing up to 40 lbs so I could switch her, but that might not go over so well at this point.
 

Allidader

New member
I wish I had seen this before we purchased! There are very few other SUVs (if any) with lower anchors in the third row. But now that I know our oldest has outgrown the weight limit for LATCH, it is sort of a moot point for us now. I always thought I was a car seat freak (compared to my friends) and knew so much, but I definitely learned a lot during this car-buying experience. Thanks.
 

Allidader

New member
I didn't even think about keeping one of the 2nd row seats flipped for easy access to the third row.... We did the captain's chairs with no center console so the 5-year-old can walk to the back (like a minivan). Thanks!
 

Allidader

New member
See below also but the 2-year-old is already 32lbs and 36inches. Her seat goes to 40lbs rear facing but she has been forward-facing for two months and we made such a big deal about her being a "big girl" that I think it might be hard to turn her back around for 8 more lbs. For next baby, I will keep him/her rear facing for 40lbs!
 

TXDani

Senior Community Member
I didn't even think about keeping one of the 2nd row seats flipped for easy access to the third row.... We did the captain's chairs with no center console so the 5-year-old can walk to the back (like a minivan). Thanks!

You know flipping the second row forward to allow access to the third row *sounds* like it would be easy, but I think it is a total pain in the rear. We have captains chairs in my Yukon and I love them. It is so nice being able to pile in the kids and they all just walk to their seats. I have my 4 month old in one captains chair, my 6 year old son in the other, and my 4 year old and 10 year old in the third row.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
We pull our kids away from the edge of the pond, and take knives out of their hands, even if they don't like that we do it, and those aren't the number one killer of kids. So even if my kids was angry, I would say, "I'm the parent and this is safest, you can be upset about it."

And actually, the least safe person in your car now, the one who would "deserve" the middle, would be the forward facing two year old. The baby is five times safer because they're rear facing. If you turn the two year old back around then the five year old in the harness is least safe. So I wouldn't worry about putting the baby between the two anyway, since in an ideal world, it wouldn't happen anyway.

A lot of techs have a LATCH manual, which is a compilation of what the engineers have said about their company's LATCH limits (both cars and carseats), whether or not they allow center LATCH, all that good jazz. Customer service reps and salesmen know nothing about LATCH.

Wendy
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
@Wendy - I see that you are trying to keep all kids safe, but hounding a parent really isn't you business. This parent is doing just fine by turning his/her child around after 2 and at nearly 40 pounds. Furthermore, In an accident, a child can get hurt in either position. We had friends that had just turned their 2 year old around before a trip, where they rolled the vehicle. HP stated that had the seat been rear facing, the child would have died.
 

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