3 kids in an 8-passenger van...

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I'm slowly turning DH to the idea we've really outgrown our vehicle. ;) I'VE decided if we're upgrading we should get an 8-pass (although that limits us to the Odyssey and Sienna, right?) I THINK I'd like to do my two RF littles side-by-side in the second row (like an old-school minivan configuration, pre-captain's chairs,) leave the passenger-side captain's chair folded into the floor and have my big boy in the third row. Is that an option for those vans? If it's not, what might you suggest? I'm not at all opposed to 3-across with using the "plus" seat either. If I do that, how tough is access to the third row from the sliding door?

Thanks!
 
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Dillipop

Well-known member
How new do you want? I have an 08 sienna and I have to physically remove the middle row seats if I don't want to use them. I can tumble the forward and tie them to the handle if I don't want to fully remove one. What tends to happen though is that they outboard seat gets slid as far forward as possible and we just keep it folded in half, giving easy access to the third row and pretty easy access to me getting to the kid in the seat in the middle.
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I'm thinking no older than '10, but we're at very preliminary stages (like haven't really convinced DH yet. ;) ) He's not really comfortable buying used cars, but has severe sticker shock at the price of the new Honda/Toyota vans (considering what the Dodges go for. ;) )
 

aept

New member
I don't think Sienna or Ody have any second row seating that "folds into the floor" like the dodge stow and go does.
My SIL has a newish Ody (2012?) and they usually put both kids (they just have the two) side by side in the second row but the other seat is just for an adult. It's not removed. And it doesn't really slow for access to the back because they have huge britaxes installed that overlap slightly onto the "open" seat and restrict its movement. Possibly with the "right" seat in the middle you could avoid interference and have the open seat be foldable/slideable for easier third row loading.
When we all go together in their car we load through the hatch through the folded down 40% side and then stand awkwardly while popping the third row seating back up. Lol. At least we are agile ;)
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I don't think Sienna or Ody have any second row seating that "folds into the floor" like the dodge stow and go does.


Good to know. I had thought that was a standard feature across brands at this point. Everyone's third row tumbles into the floor though, right?
 

aept

New member
Good to know. I had thought that was a standard feature across brands at this point. Everyone's third row tumbles into the floor though, right?
Yep, pretty much creating a flat surface from the tailgate. With the third row seating up there's a "well" in the trunk below the level of the "floor" of the passenger seating area.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Previous generation (05-10) Odys and current Siennas have a removable smaller eighth seat. In the Odys you can move the outboard seat center with the center removed. Not sure if that is an option in the Siennas (or newer Odys.)

Actually I think that is doable in the previous gen Odys with only 7 seats too.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
We have an 06 Sienna. There is no smaller eighth seat, there's 3 independently moveable captain's chairs across the 2nd row, stowable bench seat in the 3rd row. 2nd row seats fold in half and then tumble forward, but don't stow anywhere, still makes it plenty easy to get to 3rd row and easy to move back. We have the Coccorro installed in middle 3rd row and plenty of room to move either outboard seat folded forward. Enough that I know a few different seats would fit in that middle and still allow outboard movement. The middle middle seat also has a track that extends forward further than the other two, so that it can actually be further forward than the outboard seats, not sure why they did it, but it sure comes in handy with the baby in that seat. I can better hand him his binky when he's screaming his head off and there's no one else with me to do it. Pardon the hugeness, found on a quick search of 2006 toyota sienna interior

So this one isn't ours, but here's some pics:
2006_toyota_sienna_ce_8_passenger-pic-6417597350445743895.jpeg



Oh mygosh. I am dumb. That middle seat IS Totally smaller than the other two. But not by much.

2006_toyota_sienna_le_8_passenger-pic-6078438927836943418.jpeg
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Thanks, LAF! Any idea what model year range that setup went through?

In general, are the 8-pass very difficult to find on the used market? Are all the Siennas/Odys 8-pass compatible (like would I be able to buy an 8th seat for a 7-pass one?)
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
Thanks, LAF! Any idea what model year range that setup went through?

In general, are the 8-pass very difficult to find on the used market? Are all the Siennas/Odys 8-pass compatible (like would I be able to buy an 8th seat for a 7-pass one?)

To the first question, I googled. 1st gen was 98-03, 04-05 was revamped, but wasn't labeled 2nd generation for some reason it seems, then 2nd gen 06-10, 3rd gen 2011-2014. So up through 2010 should be like the pics on the 8 passenger.

To the second question, I don't think they are compatible b/c I just looked at my manual online for mine for something, and the actual seat track in the floor for the second row is differnt for the 7 passenger than it is for the 8. Not sure how common they are. We weren't even looking for one and yet ended up with it. :p

ETA: brief search on CL, out of more than 10 I clicked only one was an 8 passenger.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Thanks, LAF! Any idea what model year range that setup went through? In general, are the 8-pass very difficult to find on the used market? Are all the Siennas/Odys 8-pass compatible (like would I be able to buy an 8th seat for a 7-pass one?)

I believe 04-10 have this configuration. While the middle seat in the center row is smaller than the outboard ones, I've never had a problem putting a seat there. I currently have a frontier 90 on my middle seat and can tumble both outboard seats with it installed.

The sienna does not allow an 8th seat to be added to the 7 passenger version. The 7 passenger won't have the brackets in the floor for the 8th seat, plus the captains chairs in the 7 seater are larger than the ones in the 8 seater. The only semi- annoying thing about the center row for adults is the lack of armrests on any if the seats. However, even without, the seats are comfortable. My mom and I have both sat in them for 8 hour trips and been comfy.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
When looking on the used market for the sienna, you want to look for the CE and LE models. They were the 2 trims that came in 8 passenger- CE is the base and LE is the mid level. My LE came with a 6 disc changer, info station about mpg, temp, etc, and one power sliding door. I was pretty happy to find it with the little bit of extras. I found it slightly hard to find an 8 pass model as not all ads mention it. Sometimes it took looking through pics to verify 7 or 8 seat.
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I just did a brief AutoTrader search and am shocked how reasonable '10 8-passenger Siennas are! I'm gonna have to show DH. Too bad we don't have anyone trustworthy to check it out mechanically. That's his big hangup.
 

littleangelfire

Well-known member
When looking on the used market for the sienna, you want to look for the CE and LE models. They were the 2 trims that came in 8 passenger- CE is the base and LE is the mid level. My LE came with a 6 disc changer, info station about mpg, temp, etc, and one power sliding door. I was pretty happy to find it with the little bit of extras. I found it slightly hard to find an 8 pass model as not all ads mention it. Sometimes it took looking through pics to verify 7 or 8 seat.

Yep, we have the LE. I like the power door...but I wish there were two power doors, lol. And power liftgate. I used to think that was dumb. But that door is HEAVY and you have to really slam the non-power door to get it to shut whereas he power one just closes smoothly and quietly.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Yep, we have the LE. I like the power door...but I wish there were two power doors, lol. And power liftgate. I used to think that was dumb. But that door is HEAVY and you have to really slam the non-power door to get it to shut whereas he power one just closes smoothly and quietly.

My non- power door has a finish feature to it- as long as it gets mostly closed, there's a power feature that finished it that last 1/2 inch or so. So much better than our mazda5 that the kids are never getting the door all the way shut! Our trunk also has the finish feature. My kids have now figured out how to shut the hatch by standing in the trunk, grabbing the hanging handle, and jumping down. With the finish feature, I rarely have to go finish it for them.

I bought mine used from a Kia dealership which gave a 90 day warranty, I think? We paid in cash and were able to pick up an extended warranty which gave us almost 60k and 5 years of warranty for an extra $1600 I think. We're at 85k miles now (it ends at 100k) and have only has to use it once, so it probably wasn't worth it but the peace of mind was.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The setup LAF has isn't what I was talking about. I was talking about current Siennas, which have a smaller seat very like the 05-10 Odys.
 

DawgDad

New member
The '05-'10 Odyssey's have a slightly skinnier middle seat in the second row with generous captains chairs. What I did when we had our '09 (and many on here) is remove that middle seat and slide the two captains chairs side by side creating a permanent aisle to the 3rd row. Because you are installing car seats in two captains chairs, you have plenty of room and no overlapping.

In the newer model '11+ Odysseys, they have a wider middle seat with LATCH & Top Tether Anchor. What we have done in our '14 now is to pull on two handles at the bottom corners of the captains chairs on either side of the second row and pull them towards the door. It slides over 1.5" on either side setting the second row into what Honda calls, "wide mode". This allows for much more room to get two car seats side by side. If you puzzle them (RF one and FF the other) then there is zero issue...it's when you RF two wider car seats then they kind of push on each other and create an overlap problem. While you can still get to the captains chair in the second row to sit on, it makes folding it forward to access the 3rd row quite difficult. I have seen some completely remove the captains chair and store it in the garage, but you are losing a viable seat...it's up to you.

Personally, seating configurations are endless in these 8 passenger vans. What you may also want to pay attention to are the safety scores, how the tech works, how the seats operate (all vans have a different way of folding their seats both in the 2nd row and 3rd row), and what features you get with each trim...some cars have a lot standard and others utilize "add-ons" mostly installed by the dealer. For more car seat installation options you will need to look at the previous generation Toyota Sienna's compared to the currents in the used market. They did, however, improve the '15s to add top tether anchors in more seats (they used to only have THREE only in the '10-'14 years). The Odyssey's from about '05+ are going to be good for car seat install configuration options...so a little larger market, but they have higher resale on the used market...catch 22.

To help your husband along...both the Honda and Toyota options are easy to maintain and work on. They have better reliability than the lesser expensive Chrysler/Dodge/VW vans (there is a reason those are less expensive), so you are getting a higher quality build. Have him fold the 3rd rows down and show off all the space available for hauling and getting things...often times double the space of any SUV (especially height) in that cargo area and makes my runs to Home Depot quite enjoyable. And lastly, they are both much safer 3 row vehicles than almost all SUVs on the market (especially the '14 & '15 Honda Odyssey)...for a daddy bear, that's foremost in my mind to protect my cubs.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
We bought a '10 Odyssey rather than an '11 specifically for the ability to remove the middle seat and slide the passenger captain's chair to the center. I had my two then-RF kids next to each other (outboard driver and center-ish) and my boostered kid in the third row. He could easily walk back without having to climb over any seats.

Now that both of my younger kids' seats are installed with seatbelts, I've moved the captains chair back to the side. My middle kid is FF now, though, so my oldest can still walk back (through the center) without climbing over anything.
 

Gidgetc13

New member
Just FYI, Kia redesigned the Sedona and now offers an 8 passenger version. These are just coming out now though, so I'm not sure how easy they will be to find yet. DH works at a Kia dealership and they just got their first two 2015 Sedonas today. I'm really tempted to stop by his dealership after work to check them out! I have no clue how good they will be for car seats or any of that. The owner of the dealership said awhile ago that he would let us take one for a week and then I could write a review from a mom's point of view for their website. I really hope he is still willing to do that!
 

YinzerMama

New member
You're not going to find an old 8 passenger Sienna as easily as an old 7 passenger, but all of the Siennas of that era had a nice wide back seat (3 1/2 inches wider than the ody and an inch and a half or two wider than the new Sienna) which opens up more possibilities for car seat or adult passenger comfort. Just a little bit but it is something. A 7 seater is more than adequate for 3 kids.

I miss my '08 8-passenger sienna so bad. :(

Kia having an 8th seat is interesting... looks to be smallish but can't tell how small. The old Sienna was called a 35/30/35 split so the seats were very close. The center seat didn't slide independantly but had two positions you could lock it into. It looks like Kia might be doing the same? The tracks are shorter than the outboard ones but I can't tell for sure. The new Ody seat actually slides on its own, the new Sienna 8th seat is attached to the captain's chair beside it. Looks like Kia has a ceiling mount seat belt for the center which I am not a huge fan of (Sienna puts it on the seat for the center although for the new one it is on the captain's chair beside it) That ability to stand an outboard seat and have it stick there to free up room is nice, like the old Sienna sort of (only those stood on end when tumbled)

I hate how the 3rd row of the ody is supposed to be accessed. My girls just jump over the middle seat (folded like an arm rest)

I think Kia has less trunk space than the Ody but I am liking where they are going with the middle row... I really think Toyota had it right with the old generation and I don't know what they were thinking with the new.

I feel like Kia copies a lot of what Toyota does and I kind of wondered/hoped they might try to copy the old Sienna 8 seater.


I may have to check out a 2015 Kia just for the sake of being nosey.
 

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