Question 2014 Sienna

We are thinking of buying a 2014 Toyota Sienna. We went to look at one at the dealership yesterday and installed a Radian RXT in the second row. I was happy with the install, for the most part, but I wanted to check a few things with you folks:
1.) Is there anywhere to secure a RF tether for a carseat installed in the middle row? I didn't get to check the Sienna's manual, and I couldn't tell if I could use the tracks of the front seat.
2.) We intend to have two RF Radians, both in the second row outboard (we'd be getting the AWD Sienna, so there is no middle seat in the second row), and preferably tethered. Will this make it impossible to access the third row?
3.) Is it possible to fit three Radians in the third row (RF, FF, booster, or some combination)? The third row only has latch hooks for the middle seat, so we'd have to use the seat belts for the outboard seats. It has tether points for all three seats. At the moment, we only have 2 kids, but I'm just thinking ahead here. We also have nieces and nephews, so I'd like to know how we might fit everybody if we ever needed to.
4.) When installing a RF seat in the third row, can I tether it to the tether hooks on the back of the second row seat? Again, I don't see us installing any seats in the third row anytime soon, but I'd like to know what my options are if we want to shuffle things around.
5.) I've never had a minivan before, so I'm wondering, how do folks keep items in the trunk secure so that they aren't potential projectiles? I've always been really particular about everything going in the trunk, but there doesn't seem to be anything covering the trunk space.
Thanks in advance

The 2014 Sienna has 3 tether anchors in the 3rd row??

canadiangie said:

The 2014 Sienna has 3 tether anchors in the 3rd row??

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Yes, it has three. Is this new?

I don't think the 2014 is a redesign from the 2013, so ill answer based on the 2013 that I have. and the number of radians that I have.

If you have two rf radians in the captains chairs, it will be difficult to access the third row unless you climb over the console or are super skinny. There isn't really a place to RF tether in the second row either. The tracks are not exposed enough.

As far as the third row, the LATCH is offset in the center so you would need to use seatbelt to install more than 2 seats bak there. You could do 3 radians, 2 radians and a booster, a frontier 85, booster, and a radian as well. Your trick will be using the booster on the passenger side and then the two harnessed seats center and driver side. You also have only one top tether for the 3rd row which is in the center. So planning the seats will take some work but it is doable.

I think that covered all your questions.

mairep said:

Yes, it has three. Is this new?

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So the person at the dealership showed you 3 tether anchors that are actually tether anchors and not, for example, cargo hooks, and you were able to verify this in the manual?

I just attempted to pull up a 2014 Sienna brochure but it's Adobe and my pc just can't handle it so I gave up trying to scroll.

If there are actually 3 tether anchors back there, and centered middle seat LATCH (not off-set), then the 2014 has had a redesign in the 3rd row.

So, I just double checked, and I was wrong. I was mistaking three cargo hooks for tether anchors :-(. There is only one tether anchor in the third row.

scoutingbear said:

As far as the third row, the LATCH is offset in the center so you would need to use seatbelt to install more than 2 seats bak there.

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So, is the middle seatbelt in the third row okay to use for installing a car seat? I'm asking because it comes from the ceiling, and I wasn't sure if that was allowed.

mairep said:

So, is the middle seatbelt in the third row okay to use for installing a car seat? I'm asking because it comes from the ceiling, and I wasn't sure if that was allowed.

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Yes it can be used for installing car seats.

mairep said:

So, is the middle seatbelt in the third row okay to use for installing a car seat? I'm asking because it comes from the ceiling, and I wasn't sure if that was allowed.

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It's allowable to use that third row center seatbelt to install a carseat provided you can achieve a proper install with less than 1 inch of movement at the carseat's belt path.

mairep said:

So, I just double checked, and I was wrong. I was mistaking three cargo hooks for tether anchors :-(. There is only one tether anchor in the third row.

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I was going to say... are you use they weren't cargo hooks. Yes. There's only one tether in the third row.

mairep said:

So, I just double checked, and I was wrong. I was mistaking three cargo hooks for tether anchors :-(. There is only one tether anchor in the third row.

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Thanks for double checking, it sure would be a great improvement if Toyota increased the number of top tether anchors to include one for every third row spot in the Sienna. It's a crying shame Toyota reduced the number of tether anchors when the Sienna was redesigned for the 2011 model year (prior generation 2004-2010 Siennas had top tether anchors for all but the third row driver's side).

Stuff in the trunk tends to stay put in a crash. Not always... but the seat backs in the third row are tall enough that it isn't usually a problem. Also, stuff back there tends to be bulky like strollers or luggage so it would be hard for it to get out from behind the third row.

If you think you need more tethers... have you considered the Honda Odyssey?

tl01 said:

If you think you need more tethers... have you considered the Honda Odyssey?

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We really want AWD, which is, unfortunately, not available on the Odyssey (or any other minivan for that matter).

I was just reading this blog post: http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/05/2013-toyota-sienna-car-seat-check.html
It mentions installing the FF convertible seat with the headrests removed. I was under the impression that the headrests were required for a FF seat. Is that not correct?

mairep said:

I was just reading this blog post: http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/05/2013-toyota-sienna-car-seat-check.html
It mentions installing the FF convertible seat with the headrests removed. I was under the impression that the headrests were required for a FF seat. Is that not correct?

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They are not usually required for convertible seats. Most convertible seats can be installed with them on though. The Sienna headrests can be problematic for some boosters because of the headrests. The headrests stick forward quite a bit and have to be removed with those boosters but then some boosters require headrest support so they aren't compatible with the Sienna captain's chairs. I had that issue with the Peg Perego booster. Other forward facing seats like the Frontier 90 usually need the headrest removed. Britax's own installation video for the Frontier 90 is in a Sienna and I believe they remove the headrest.

Also... something to keep in mind... and I'm not saying not to buy the AWD Sienna for this reason because if you need awd then you need awd... but the run flat tires wear super quick and super unevenly. I had a 2012 awd sienna. Had the tires rotated every 5000 miles, am super crazy about keep proper tire inflation and the van was not out of alignment and the tires were down to the cord on the inside which half the tread left on the outside at around 20K miles. The tires are pricey too. Neither the tire manufacturer nor Sienna will admit there is an issue but there is... since most awd owners seem to have the same issue. I would just be prepared to budget for tires more frequently. I drive more than 20k a year...and it seems excessive to replace tires every year especially when they are like $350 each or something like that.

Have you considered going the certified used route? Toyota took out some great features with the new Sienna. One thing being the ability to move a captain's chair to the middle which is very good if you want 2 rearfacers and 3rd row access that isn't through the hatch.

I have heard nothing but bad things about the AWD and runs flat tires. A lot of people just put normal tires on and make sure to have road side assistance.