I finally got it! A center seat install in my '03 Toyota Highlander

I finally got one installed there, tightly!!! I never could before, but then today, I got an e-mail from Amazon that someone replied to my review about the TFP and asked whether I ever got it installed in the center of my Highlander. I never really tried that hard, since I had two rear facing seats and just put them outboard. Well, I was up for the challenge, and after doing some searches here, found out that twisting the buckle stalk might help for tighter installations (I thought it was only done if the buckle stalk was getting stuck in the belt path). I went on break, went to my car in the parking garage, took the MR out and moved the TFP over to the center. I tried the "twist the buckle stalk" trick, and sure enough, I got a rock solid installation, all in less than 3 minutes! I was beyond excited! I do need to try and center the seat a tad more, because that center seating position is a little more "humpy" than the two outboard positions, so the seat looks like it is leaning slightly to one side.

I was able to reply to that person and help him or her out and they were grateful for my quick response. I hope they are able to get it to work. Oh, and they did seek help elsewhere at an installation clinic, so I assume it was with a CPST, but that person said that the base on the TFP is too wide and cannot be installed in the center, so they installed it outboard. This made no sense to me since the Highlander has a bench seat and there isn't any part of the TFP's base hanging off the seat!

msg221 said:

I was able to reply to that person and help him or her out and they were grateful for my quick response. I hope they are able to get it to work. Oh, and they did seek help elsewhere at an installation clinic, so I assume it was with a CPST, but that person said that the base on the TFP is too wide and cannot be installed in the center, so they installed it outboard. This made no sense to me since the Highlander has a bench seat and there isn't any part of the TFP's base hanging off the seat!

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Perhaps the base of the TF is wider than the space between the seatbelt anchors, and the person didn't like that?

I'm not sure what they meant. But I had no problems with it. The seat wasn't blocking access to the seat belt stalk at all. The person I was helping has a 2002 Highlander, so I am not sure what the seat is like in that one.

Yay! I have spent what seems like hours trying to install Radians in an '04, somehow always in the tropically blazing heat of August. It's always successful, but after several tries :twitch:

I find radians extremely easy to install in my '05 Highlander in just about every position both FF and RF (well for the middle row anyway). Did the body style change between the '03 '04 or '05? I think the newer body style is '06.

I've only installed a RN in mine RF, but it was easy. The problem was that it just kept becoming more and more reclined.

What year did the ones first come out with a third row? They didn't have that when I bought mine.

I'm not sure when they came out with the 3rd row. It was an option when I bought mine (and it folds completely flat when not used) and I having the extra room when we need it. Wouldn't want to use it everyday, but it works great when we need to.

I refuse to move my RF radian right now because it is very upright and hasn't started to recline more so I'm not touching it!