Large toddler + Mazda 3 (+ New Zealand!)

Hi there.

I was just wondering if anyone has recommendations for a car seat for a Mazda 3 for my toddler. He is 2.5, and large for his age (about 16.5kg and tall). He's OK in his current seat (Evenflo Symphony) for a little while, but will fairly soon hit the harness limit. He is forward facing.

Does anyone have any recommendations for seats for the Mazda 3 with a higher harness limit? I'd rather use LATCH for ease of installation but it's not essential. Due to the shape of the back seat I am assuming that it will have to go behind the passenger seat (and I know there is no LATCH in the central position).

Also, what would the LATCH limit be? I assumed the limit of the seat as stated in the car seat manual, but I read somewhere the cars have limits too - but the Mazda manual doesn't specify one.

Many thanks!

Hi! I have a ginormous 2.5 year old in a Mazda 3, too! He hasn't been FF yet: my personal minimum is 3 years, but 4 would be ideal. Mine is RF in a MT in the Mazda 3 behind the passenger. I'd have a Radian for RF if it fit in the seat, but the fit is truly difficult with the advanced airbags and mine is over 40 lbs. Depending on his torso height, if you're interested in putting him RF (safer, naturally), a MyRide fits fine RF.

My Mazda actually does allow LATCH in the center if the car seat allows it. I don't have the Mazda manual on me, so i can't cite the actual spacing (500 mm? I can't quite remember), but they do allow it for a non-standard width, you'd have to check the car seat's manual. However, someone else will have to do a LATCH manual look up for you, but I bet that you need to switch to the seat belt at 40 or 48 lbs anyway. Still, that's a while away for you. My Mazda has tether anchors behind all three seats. I would use the tether anchor with a seat belt install or with the lower anchors for any position.

What do you mean by harness limit? Height, I assume?

13.8kg works out to just over 30lbs. I'm not sure what the Symphony rf'ing weight limit is over in New Zealand - do you have the US weight limit of 35lbs? The ff'ing weight limit should be 65lbs, so unless he's too tall for the harness, he should have plenty of time left in the seat. I know that the Symphony does tell you to only use the 2 bottom headrest positions in the rf'ing position - or it did last manual I saw anyways. That effectively puts a limit on the size of kid that can rf in it, so if your son is tall I could see him not fitting in rf'ing mode anymore.

If he's too tall to fit the harness ff'ing, I think your best bet at that age and size would be the Frontier 80 (or whatever the newest version is called in the US) if it's available there since it has the highest available harness height. I'd install it center position to maximize his leg space.

The Nautilus and Maestro would both offer more height growing room, but if he has outgrown the Symphony by height at 2.5yrs old, I'd just go straight for the 20" top slots of the Frontier and hope that it got him to booster. The Symphony comes in around 16" or so for the top harness height so he's already very tall in the body for 2.5yrs old if he's outgrown the Symphony by height.

Thank you both for your comments! I posted rather hastily and forgot to mention the New Zealand aspect - many US car seats are not available here, but the number available is increasing, so by the time he hits 18kg there may well be a few more around, so I will make note of your suggestions. I weighed him yesterday and he is now 17kg which is about 37lb.

I had to turn him FF as he hit the RF limit of the Symphony, which is 15.8kg. He's also now outgrown it RF for height, since he was just about to when I turned him.

By harness limit I mean by weight. I'm pretty sure my car seat manual says the FF limit for the harness is 18kg, but my seat is a Symphony, not a Symphony65. I'll check. If the Symphony is actually the same as the Symphony65 that would be awesome, it wouldn't let him RF but at least I wouldn't have to buy a new seat yet. Height-wise I think he is still OK in the Symphony but I'll see what info I can find about the harness slots to check this.

The main issue I have with the middle position on the Mazda3 is that the back seat has a bit of a hump in it, which makes installs very unstable (I have tried with the seat belt with every car seat we have had and it's been hopeless).

I had anticipated him being RF for longer so I'm not averse to turning him back RF if I can find a suitable seat, I know it's safer. He might disagree, and it would depend if he can climb in himself.

KaiLing - do you brace against the front seat RF? The person who installed the Symphony did that as it made the install more stable, but I've since read that's not a good idea. So I'm a bit confused!

The car seat market here in NZ is improving but I could rant on all day about how all the domestic seats RF to only 12kg or 13kg, with a harness limit of 18kg, so those of us who want to RF for longer or who have big kids are left buying imports from the US. Which are often end-of-line stock that costs $99 over there and is re-sold for $500 here.

Rant over, I seem to at present have the choice of:

Evenflo Symphony65 ($500)
Sunshine Kids - RadianXTSL (pretty sure this would not fit RF in a Mazda3). ($500)
Brio Zento ($580)
Safety 1st Complete Air 65 ($400)

Added - there also seems to be one called the Evenflo Generations 65 ($350) - that sounds promising!

I thought I had seen the Maestro here but it doesn't seem to be around any more.

I will also see if I can find someone to bring back a seat from the US for me which would open up the possibilities a lot.

Oh, those prices are horrific. I hemmed and hawed before buying mine a super expensive RF seat, but finally did it.

What year is yours? And do we think that the NZ Mazdas are the same as the US ones?

You can't brace against the passenger seat, at least not in my 2005. That's because there is a computer weighing the front passenger, and we don't want that computer to mess up when there's something pushed on the seat. Blah! You can't even lose something under the seat (I found a soda can that had been there for heaven knows how long). You might notice that there is a pocket behind the driver's seat but not the passenger's: that's because they don't even want you putting a book in there in case it means the difference between the computer knowing there's a light / heavy person there or not.

Having read the manual, I'd be comfortable bracing against the driver's seat. There is a sensor in the driver's seat, but it is based on how far back the seat is, not the weight. I can't do that since there's a very tall person who drives and me who drives. I still think the Radian wouldn't fit back there RF braced for anyone but the shortest driver, but I haven't tried it.

I also haven't tried the middle (RF probably wouldn't work with my very tall husband driving with his seat all the way back), but I would be happy to and report back if you're considering a FF Radian. But at those prices... I personally wouldn't buy one just for FF.

we have a Radian XTSL & a Frontier. I love the frontier, we bought it from a member on here who lives in Auckland, but ds was 3.75 when we turned him ff.

At 2.5 I would be looking to buy a Brio, providing he isn't too tall for it, as the shell isn't super tall. Do you have a baby on the move near you? If you do you can go and try some seats out

KaiLing said:

What year is yours? And do we think that the NZ Mazdas are the same as the US ones?

You can't brace against the passenger seat, at least not in my 2005. That's because there is a computer weighing the front passenger, and we don't want that computer to mess up when there's something pushed on the seat. Blah! You can't even lose something under the seat (I found a soda can that had been there for heaven knows how long). You might notice that there is a pocket behind the driver's seat but not the passenger's: that's because they don't even want you putting a book in there in case it means the difference between the computer knowing there's a light / heavy person there or not.

Click to expand...

Thanks KaiLing! Hm, I assumed US/NZ were the same except for right hand/left hand drive - but perhaps not. Mine has a pocket behind the passenger seat but not the driver seat! My car is a 2007 hatchback.

Yeah, there's no way I could put an RF seat behind the driver's seat - we're both pretty tall.

finn, thanks, and Hi to another NZ resident! Actually I bought the Symphony from Baby on the Move which is reasonably near to me. My son is tall - 98cm - and long torsoed. The Frontier's not available in NZ is it?

No its not it should be though it is an awesome seat. I did find someone on ebay who was willing to ship it here & it worked out that it wouldnt cost that much more than buying a new seat here. It would be even better at the moment with the awesome exchange rate

I really want a coccoro but cant quite justify it lol

ps these guys ship internationally
http://cgi.ebay.com/Britax-2011-Fro...150?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae1cb94d6

Thanks Finn! Is your Frontier in a Mazda 3? I find the Mazda 3 is a really tricky car in terms of car seat fit.

No it's not. I've had it in a BMW 318i, a Mazda lantis, a Volvo & I currently have it in a Toyota altezza. I know it doesn't fit in a Nissan sunny or a Honda odysea (the belts are too short & the short belt path doesn't give a solid install). If you are in wellington you can come & try mine out or kiwigem & delgirrl both have one

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org

Thanks finn, I really appreciate the offer! I will have a think. I guess I am a bit wary of buying something off eBay. Not that I think that the seat itself will be dodgy, more that if it's recalled or faulty, it will be tricky to sort out.

I posted this elsewhere: I'll copy it here in case it helps you!

I tried out the Radian RF behind the driver's seat in my 2005 Mazda 3, with a fair amount of success. Without bracing I can not drive, because my knee hits the steering column. But with a seat belt install (LATCH put it in the wrong place) and a rather small amount of bracing I can get the seat far enough back for me to drive. It's a tiny tiny bit closer than I'd like, two clicks leaning back and I think I heard 6 clicks sliding the seat back (they're very close together). The seat bight was just a teensy bit towards the back seat from the vertical column of the door (does that make sense? Just a little bit past right in line with each other). My boobs were 12" almost exactly from the steering wheel. I am tall, but with short legs.

I could have smooshed it back even more, but the Radian was touching the seat between the seat and the head rest and I didn't love putting a bunch of pressure there.

It was a very upright angle: 32, maybe? Not acceptable for a newborn at all, but fine for a toddler.

Thanks KaiLing, that's very useful!

Just to update, I bought the Evenflo Generations65 in the end. After a bit of a fight with seatbelt and locking clip I've got a secure fit. There wasn't really a better option available than the Generations.

Oh and - a big thank you to everyone for your posts. Very helpful.