Center row middle seat of Ody and ceiling seat belts in general

I know, I know - my and my Odyssey questions/complaints. I am trying to be calm and rational. I am mostly at peace with the car. At least until the warranty is up and it wouldn't be SO crazy to get something else, by which time I might be totally at peace with it. But. The middle seat.

I knew the seat belt came out of the ceiling at the dealership so that wasn't a surprise at least once we got home. Kind of bothered me from a driver's vision from the front and a DVD viewing from behind standpoint but the baby is in that seat with LATCH so it's going to be a non-issue for many years.

Kid set up - oldest is middle row driver outboard, baby is in middle, 2 girls in back in FR85s. Passenger side outboard middle row kept FLAT for easy access to/from back. Will be seat for a kid I watch on occasion - currently 8yo. Almost 9. Same as oldest son.

At some point, down the road, that middle seat might end up in use either with a high back booster - or one of the FR85s - or for a non-child-seated passenger (ie teenager or adult).

Is this ceiling belt method really OK with a belt positioning booster? I know it's OK with the FR85 in harness mode but that seems more ... solid, somehow.

If an adult were to sit there - is this seat safe? I found this link - the head rest doesn't come up as far on an adult as a smaller passenger, but I think the seat belt would fit an adult better?

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=157976

Anyone using this seat with regularity in the Ody? I wish they would have put the seatbelt in the seat like the old Siennas - maybe in future models they will. ANd it would be nice if you could pop one of those future seats into the 2012 model.

I see techs own this car so it must be fine, it just seems like such a clunky design to me. Just convince me it is still safe and actually useful to have for a non-carseat passenger.

Like I said not gonna matter until baby outgrows LATCH... he is on the small side so I probably won't have to worry about it for 4 years. Unless the girls get too big for boosters in the back row which some have voiced is a concern in the ody due to low headroom? Hoping we don't have that happen!

The two-piece ceiling mounted belt in your vehicle is perfectly safe for use.

I'd consider overall belt fit with a booster, just as I'd do with any booster and seatbelt, and I suppose I wouldn't want horrendous amounts of belt re-routing through the shoulder belt guide BUT that goes for any booster and seatbelt combo.

I love a seat mounted middle belt just as much as the next guy, but there's also something to be said for these ceiling mounted belts. Being able to detach and store them away when not in use is quite nice, IMO. Mine are both shoved into their little storage spaces on the ceiling, and my seating area is nice and tidy because of it.


Keep embracing the changes, Yinzer. You'll get there..

Ceiling mounted belts tend to fit BETTER with booster riders than seat mounted belts. Seat mounted belts tend to be too low to work with taller children sitting in boosters since they have to go UP to get to the child's shoulder.

safeinthecar said:

Ceiling mounted belts tend to fit BETTER with booster riders than seat mounted belts. Seat mounted belts tend to be too low to work with taller children sitting in boosters since they have to go UP to get to the child's shoulder.

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This is true. I love my Sienna and think I'd feel very similarly if something happened to it and I had to get a new one. I've looked at the new Sienna and Ody several times and I just don't like them as much as my van...shiny and new doesn't even sway me.

That said, I've had to move my booster riders out of that middle seat eventually because the belt gets very funky trying to get up and through the guide at some point. My 7yr old is there now in her Turbo and every time I have to click that headrest up as she grows, I think about where I'm going to have to move her. We do the same exact thing with the flat folded passenger side seat so I'll probably have both girls move to the back and leave the middle row empty for the boys.

safeinthecar said:

Ceiling mounted belts tend to fit BETTER with booster riders than seat mounted belts. Seat mounted belts tend to be too low to work with taller children sitting in boosters since they have to go UP to get to the child's shoulder.

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Very true.

And I know some ppl find seat mounted belts awkward when it comes to ff seat installation -- like if the CR is basically sitting in front of the shoulder portion it's awkward to grasp it to switch it to locked mode, assuming they're tightening before switching.

I really like seat mounted belts because I'm short. They tend to fit me really, really well.

Pros and cons to both, just like most things in life.

Anyway, Yinzer, stop worrying, you're driving a beautiful van.

What about the middle seat head rest and an adult passenger? Is coming only part way up the adults head safe? (Or maybe it can move up more than in the pic?)

I'm trying to love it... I really think vs. the new Sienna it was a better pick. There is that at least.

But if Sienna goes back to old styling in a few years... and we can swing it financially to switch ... I may be all over that.

OR... I may not.

YinzerMama said:

But if Sienna goes back to old styling in a few years... and we can swing it financially to switch ... I may be all over that.

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Not happening. All good things must come to an end.

YinzerMama said:

What about the middle seat head rest and an adult passenger? Is coming only part way up the adults head safe? (Or maybe it can move up more than in the pic?)

I'm trying to love it... I really think vs. the new Sienna it was a better pick. There is that at least.

But if Sienna goes back to old styling in a few years... and we can swing it financially to switch ... I may be all over that.

OR... I may not.

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You want the top of the head restraint level with the tips of the adults ears, at a minimum, ideally. Higher is better...

codex57 said:

Not happening. All good things must come to an end.

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Inside scoop or just speculating?

I sat in the middle seat of our Ody and the headrest came up just fine for me. I am 5'6". It was a comfortable ride.

So I for some reason thought the woman in the pictures linked had the head rest all the way up since she was showing how the middle seat fit her. But I went out to my van and it actually pulls up beyond that to be just a smidge lower than the headrest in the "captain's" chair at its lowest. I am 5'4 and the headrest for the captain's chair is taller than my head so I would never need to move it. So I'm guessing unless I had a van full of 6' + football players we'd always have someone who safely/comfortable fits in that middle seat.

And if that were the case they would still fit better in that seat than in the new sienna's seat.

Or the old for that matter.

So if I ever need to go pick up some football players...

A lot of vehicles have center head restraints that won't fit an average adult male. Some won't fit an average adult female, either. They're really only suitable for a child in a booster or a pre-teen or shorter teen/adult.

Both ceiling-mounted and seat mounted shoulder belts are going to have compatibility issues. Not only with adults and backless boosters, but some have issues with various high back boosters, depending on the position/angle of the belt guide.

I wouldn't say either method is better than the other. A lot depends on the occupant and the location of where the shoulder belt is anchored in the ceiling or on the seat.

I've got the 2010(so no wide mode latch on middle seat) and I have no issues with the seatbelt. I had three booster riders across my second row. the harmony little booster fits ther almost like its meant for that seat. I lied it was a cosco one we use there, though I have used the harmony as well. I use all my seats almost daily I have five carseats and a booster in my van.

I have noticed this, that many/most 3 rows have a small headrest in the middle. I always thought it was about aesthetics. Or not blocking the rear view. And now that I have posted this I am also thinking about how that also means the seat belt comes from the top of the seat vs the side of the car so yes would be better for a smaller person.

Since I am only 5'4 I have never encountered a car I was too tall for (well, maybe the Cozy Coupe ) so I have never had to think about this.

It's funny (or not) how many people don't think about the head rest as being part of the safety features of the car. Or the seatbelt height relative to an adult.

So I am actually feeling that the seating in the odyssey might actually be BETTER than what I had in my old Sienna, as far as fit/versatility.

And that makes me very happy. (And I am not saying I am RIGHT but it makes me happy even I am wrong.)

I am also kind of digging how comfy the driver's seat is. I feel like I am driving a couch.

The beauty of this van is easy 3 across in the second row. We have a FF Radian there now. We had a RF Advocate there. Someday it'll be a Frontier85 maybe. Then probably a booster. Love it!

bnsnyde said:

The beauty of this van is easy 3 across in the second row. We have a FF Radian there now. We had a RF Advocate there. Someday it'll be a Frontier85 maybe. Then probably a booster. Love it!

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But see Toyota used to have that... and then they stopped. I seriously wonder what the people at Toyota were smoking to nix it. The swagger wagon commercials are fabulous but feature a 2 kid family who could just as well get by in a regular car! I just can't believe Toyota isn't going to realize what a chunk of the market they lost. I am sure they are still selling WELL but there's a lot to be said for 3 in the middle in a van.

Did the true 8 passenger not sell well? Or did they really think they could merge and have the best of both worlds? It's like Honda realized you really CAN'T have it all... and Toyota decided to see if you could.

Damn I am warming to my Odyssey...

I know you all think I am nuts.

eta - which I am.

When I'm the only one riding in the back of my mom's Scion xD I ride in the middle with the ceiling shoulder belt. I have a better belt fit there and it's in the center. The headrest is just barely tall enough for me at 5'2". I have no hangups using the ceiling seat belt, nor does it bother me when I'm driving and somebody else is using it.

Lots of cars lack middle headrests at all. Mine did. And even being a CPST it didn't occur to me to check before I bought it. Apparently Nissan doesn't think the middle person deserves head protection.

YinzerMama said:

But see Toyota used to have that... and then they stopped. I seriously wonder what the people at Toyota were smoking to nix it. The swagger wagon commercials are fabulous but feature a 2 kid family who could just as well get by in a regular car! I just can't believe Toyota isn't going to realize what a chunk of the market they lost. I am sure they are still selling WELL but there's a lot to be said for 3 in the middle in a van.

Did the true 8 passenger not sell well? Or did they really think they could merge and have the best of both worlds? It's like Honda realized you really CAN'T have it all... and Toyota decided to see if you could.

Damn I am warming to my Odyssey...

I know you all think I am nuts.

eta - which I am.

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Right, I think the 8-passenger previous generation Sienna models were not a very large percentage of sales, which is also why they are harder to find used.

Probably, Toyota envied Honda's PlusOne seat convenience and stowability. It's actually a great feature if you don't need 3-across or a full size adult there for a long trip.

Meanwhile, Honda saw the 8-passenger setup and decided to go that way. It made it a lot better for bigger families, but perhaps not as flexible for those that liked a middle aisle or other arrangement,

So did the old skinny honda seat hide out in the floor somehow?