2006 Ford Freestar and baby on the way

SYDSMOM · Apr 20, 2012

Hi! I just bought a 2006 ford freestar with a. 2 seat bench in the middle and I have a 4.5 year old in a harnessed nautilus (JUST moved her op to second to last top slot so she'll be harnessed for a while I hope). We have a baby on the way due the end of August and I would like to start looking at seats now. I would like to put him in the middle Row next to DD if possible and I must have a seat that ERFs. There is a loose budget of $300. We have an infant bucket (Safeseat) that expires December 2012 so if we need to use bucket for a bit we can if I can get new straps. I have a feeling MIL was being 'helpful' and washed the straps while it was in storage in her basement. I have a buy buy baby locally so I can try out a few seats if needed but I would like a few suggestions on what will work. I was hoping the radian xtsl ( or whatever diono calls it now) would work because I like the high rf weight limit but I'm open to suggestions. Thank you so much for your help!!

Suzibeck · Apr 20, 2012

I'm not super familiar with the Ford Freestar so I can't give specific advice. I do know that our Buy Buy Baby is really good about letting you take seats out to your vehicle to try them out. If yours is the same I would recommend that you go and try out several and see what will puzzle best. You should have many seats to choose from.

2BunniesMommy · Apr 21, 2012

I know Radians over recline beyond 45 degrees in Freestars. Not sure if that is fixed with the angle adjuster, but that wouldn't help you out until baby is a year old.

I used a Safeseat in our Freestar next to both a Nautilus and a Frontier and it did great next to either. I also used a MyRide and that was great also. If you have a non power seat it should have a tether anchor on the front seat and it makes a great rear tether anchor if you want to do a Britax seat or a Combi Coccoro there or a Radian when baby is old enough to use the angle adjuster. I am not sure about the other companies, but Britax did say it was not a problem when I checked with them, as well as Ford being OK with using it that way.

Also, on that note, did you notice in the manual that Ford wants the tether to be hooked on what seems backwards. It is tricky to get it in there, but I figure they must have a reason. If you were not aware, I will try to find some posts on here that explain it better.

Another thing, ours is a 2004, so not sure if your bench seat also has the tiny female ends. It is very hard to get in there to buckle a booster when the time comes, just a heads up for down the road.

Anyway, for the most part, no problems with fitting 2 seats next to each other and most seats install pretty easy. The only 2 I know of that don't work, are the Radian, rear facing and no angle adjuster, and the Baby Trend Latch loc that they don't make anymore. Hopefully someone can chime in on if the Radian will be a future option for you with the adjuster.