Honda Odyssey 2016, 3 car seats

[Mamalove]

Hi, I'd like advice about the best/safest spots to place our car seats in the honda odyssey 2016.

we have our 5 1/2 year old in a harmony defender (forward facing), our 3 year old rear facing in a britax marathon 70 and baby on the way that will probably use the graco snugride 35 of course rear facing.

We probably don't want to have all three across in the middle row cuz we tend to have family members ride with us on trips and i would assume it would be difficult for adults to get into the third row with all the car seats in the second row. even moving one of the captain seats forward in the 2nd row, since there are car seats, would be difficult for an adult to pass through to the third row.

So, which are the safest seats in the odyssey, to install the three car seats. which child should go in the back (3rd ) row? and in the 2nd row, which child should go in back of the driver and which child in back of the front row passenger seat? and remove the middle seat so people can pass to the third row?

or try to install in the second row, middle seat and remove one of the outboard seats? so people can access third row?

I heard the middle seat is the safest and also i heard that rear facing children are positioned the safest so they shouldn't be priority for the middle. instead put a child forward facing in the middle- is this true?

anyway, im just really confused which is optimal way to go about this, and would love to hear what other people do. thanks so much!

 

[Nedra]

I heard the middle seat is the safest and also i heard that rear facing children are positioned the safest so they shouldn't be priority for the middle. instead put a child forward facing in the middle- is this true?

I don't know enough about your vehicle to be able to answer your other questions, but I just wanted to chime in and say that this is what I have heard as well. When deciding who to put in the middle, the least-protected child should get priority -- so a booster-rider would get priority over a harnessed child and a FF child would get priority over a RF child. When two children are in the same type of seat (two rear-facing children, for example) the youngest child gets priority.

However, there are other factors you may need to take into consideration when deciding where to place the kids, such as ease of loading and unloading (standing in traffic while you get the kids where they need to go isn't necessarily the safest thing either). Oftentimes, parents find that having a bucket seat in the middle is easiest, since the child is already fastened into the seat and just needs to be lifted in and clicked into place. You may also have only one way that the seats will fit, or sometimes certain seats will have side-impact features that make the parent feel more comfortable having those seats be outboard. Positions of tether anchors also make a difference in some vehicles.

So while it's best to have the least protected child in the center, you may need to make some compromises based on your individual situation.

Hope that helps!

 

[aporthole]

In that car with those kids, I would install the RFing Britax in one of the captain's chairs, SnugRide in the center, remove the other captain's chair, and put the Defender in the 3rd row.

 

[lgenne]

The toughest thing about this vehicle is getting a car seat that works in the center seat in the 2nd row.

We have 3, including 2 rear facers, and a 2013 Odyssey, which is the same as the 2016 in terms of seat configuration.

We've chosen to work hard to keep rear facers next to each other in the 2nd row with a captain's chair removed and the forward facer behind the removed captain's chair. The adult can get into the back and easily reach everyone for buckling.

You might be able to put the Defender in the center of the 3rd row (seat belt is forward of the bight, and no lower anchors in that position, so it can be a little tough) but getting an adult back there next to it could be a tight squeeze. Also, that seat belt comes down from the ceiling, which is a little annoying.

I think I've read that the Defender doesn't work in the center second row, but I could be misremembering. I know that Britax seats don't work there at all. Is your Snugride a click connect or classic connect? I want to say that the click connect Snugrides work there, but not the classic connects.

 

[maramarrie]

I don't know a ton about your car seats, but I do have the current Ody model and have put 3 seats in before, as well as using the 3rd row for adults often. If you won't be carrying extra adults more than once every week or two, I would put all 3 seats across the middle row and move one to the 3rd row when you need to. If you put your FF in the center, your Britax convertible would be outboard and possibly a good option for 3rd row (when you need to move it).

If you do have adults ride more often, I would put the oldest child in the 3rd row, especially if this child is capable of buckling him/herself. I would put the newborn outboard and put the Britax convertible in the center. If your Britax is a G3+ seat you should get a solid RF install on the "plus one" seat. If it is a previous generation Britax it WILL NOT fit securely RF in that center seat. Every Britax (old or new) I have tried there FORWARD facing will be rock solid.

One important thing to remember: even with your captain's chairs in "wide mode," you may have a challenge finding a seat that will 1) install securely in the center seat, AND 2) allow the captain's chair to fold/slide for 3rd row access.

The following seats I have tried in that 2nd row center position will fit securely AND allow 3rd row access: Recaro ProSport/Performance Sport combo, RF late generation Britax convertibles, Forward facing Britax convertibles (Marathon, Boulevard, Roundabout).

The following seats will not install securely or do not allow for the seat to slide: Graco Nautilus/Argos (not a flat bottom, feet slip over sides of seat), Evenflo Maestro and possibly SecureKid (same issue as Graco), Britax Frontier (secure, but too wide to fold/slide captain's chair).

If your Defender has a flat bottom it may be fine in that 2nd row center. If it has "feet" like the Evenflo and Graco seats, it probably will not work in that location. The beauty of the Ody, and one reason we chose it, is that you can pretty much put a car seat ANYWHERE. The choice of who to put where is really based on how much effort you are willing to put forth and when you want to work hardest (once in a while to move a seat to the third row, or every day plugging a kiddo into the 3rd row and helping them out).

There is a detailed review of the current Ody model and which seats fit/don't fit on that center seat (and why) in the Car Seat blog. The original review I read was on the 2011 model. I believe the seat information should still apply and be useful, particularly about the center seat fit.

 

[lgenne]

Britax has disapproved pretty much all of their car seats in that position. Even if the install is solid, they have side overhang. The exception would be if you put the captain's chairs in narrow mode, then the side overhang in wide mode would become install slightly on top of captain's chairs. You would have no access to the 3rd row then, though.

 

[Cnidaria]

For my own edification, would one of you explain what "wide mode" and "narrow mode" mean for the Odyssey? I have a rough idea/guess, but the exact answer would help me advise other people. Thanks.

 

[maramarrie]

For my own edification, would one of you explain what "wide mode" and "narrow mode" mean for the Odyssey? I have a rough idea/guess, but the exact answer would help me advise other people. Thanks.

Each of the captains chairs in the 2nd row of the Ody can be shifted toward the outside about 1.5-2 inches. This allows more room for 3 across and room for the chairs to fold/slide past the center when a car seat is installed in the center position. It basically puts a gap between the captain's chairs and the narrow center seat. It narrows the opening to the 3rd row slightly, but if your body could climb into the 3rd row in "standard" mode, you can probably still do it in "wide" mode.

 

[lgenne]

If you scroll down about 1/3 of the way in this article, there's an animated gif of someone switching a captain's chair from narrow mode to wide mode: http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-minivan/

Basically, the captain's chair is a couple inches closer to the door in wide mode, leaving a gap of a couple inches between the captain's chair and the +1. In narrow mode, there is no gap.

 

[bnsnyde]

Me personally, I'd put the baby behind the driver. Easy access is key to a heavy infant seat.
In the middle I'd put 3 YO RF in the Britax (I think this model fits there but newer ones are too big at the base), and 5 YO in the 3rd row (ideally center if that works for you).

If for some reason your 3 YO won't climb into her seat and throws a fit (like our 2 YO), then I'd switch the baby and 3 YO. This would put the infant seat in the middle, which can be a pain in the back! We have this setup right now in this van (2011). But I tend to use my leg to put the seat it; my leg acts as a kind of lowering device for the seat.

My setup would make use of each middle seat. I like those as they are the safest seats.

(And as someone mentioned, check with Britax. I thought the old ones were OK in that 8th seat? We had ours (of that model) there a long time. But anyway, something to check!

 

[Cnidaria]

Ah, thanks. I had thought it might change where the aisleway was. And was having a hard time reconciling with the statement in another thread that "the captain's chairs don't slide sideways."

 

[Mamalove]

thanks all! i really appreciate all of your detailed advice! extremely helpful

I realize i'll have to soon replace my graco and britax as they will expire in the next year or so.

i just checked and i'm def going to have to get a new car seat for the baby cuz it says on the bottom of the graco seat not to use past dec 2015 (i thought i had a little longer, till nov 2016 cuz i got it in nov 2009)

I'll have to check my britax. got my britax marathon 70, in 2010.

so i'll have to do some research on car seats that fit middle seats in the odyssey. thanks already for the previous suggestions.

and thanks again for all your responses

 

[Cnidaria]

Here's this thread, if you haven't already found it: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=246908