Mazda 5 couple of questions

[clarinetb]

Hi! We recently got a Mazda 5. My daughter is in a Nautilus behind the passenger seat.

The manual mentions to have the middle seats all the way back if there is a car seat installed on them. If we are using the back seats ever, that isn't especially practical since that leaves almost no room. Is this so that in case of a bad accident there isn't any chance of the seat sliding backwards? Just a bit worried about this comment.

Also, since there is a head rest to deal with, what do you do with yours? I'm not sure it goes high enough to leave it in above the seat. It seems to go in backwards, but it isn't clear to me that it clips in the way it does facing forward. Do you keep yours in the car or just stash them somewhere in the house?

Thanks!
Lauren

 

[wendytthomas]

What I'm planning on doing (I'm getting a 5 in April) is if I need to transport people I'm going to move the kids to the third row. Then I can move the middle row forward or back as needed. Plus that'll be easier for my guests to get in and out.

As for the headrest, provided Mazda doesn't require it stays in, I tuck mine under the seat. Right now for me that's the front passenger where no one sits, but I keep it in the car, metal bars facing under the seat, so that way it's not a risk, but if I have a passenger they have head support.

Wendy

 

[clarinetb]

What I'm planning on doing (I'm getting a 5 in April) is if I need to transport people I'm going to move the kids to the third row. Then I can move the middle row forward or back as needed. Plus that'll be easier for my guests to get in and out.

As for the headrest, provided Mazda doesn't require it stays in, I tuck mine under the seat. Right now for me that's the front passenger where no one sits, but I keep it in the car, metal bars facing under the seat, so that way it's not a risk, but if I have a passenger they have head support.

Wendy

Thanks for the ideas.

I'm a big fan of moving car seats to the back when we're going to have more people, the back seats aren't exactly adult comfy for very long More car seats could make it more fun! We went to a cottage and had my sister's baby in the middle row with an adult beside her and put mine in the back row.

 

[LuvMyCharlie]

What I'm planning on doing (I'm getting a 5 in April) is if I need to transport people I'm going to move the kids to the third row. Then I can move the middle row forward or back as needed. Plus that'll be easier for my guests to get in and out.

As for the headrest, provided Mazda doesn't require it stays in, I tuck mine under the seat. Right now for me that's the front passenger where no one sits, but I keep it in the car, metal bars facing under the seat, so that way it's not a risk, but if I have a passenger they have head support.

Wendy

This is what I do.

And yay Wendy! Welcome(early) to the 5 club!

 

[chay]

Towards the end of this thread there is a discussion about having the seats all the way back -
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=14289&page=2

I usually put my kids 3rd row and guests 2nd row or else I sit third row (I'm small and can fit with the 2nd row all the way back). If I have 4 car seats then I put FF 3rd row, RF 2nd row. If I have more than 2 RF then I have put the 2nd row seat up a bit to make room.

I put my headrests in my front closet in the house. One of our cars has something in the manual about not having anything under the passenger seat because of airbags (can't remember if it was the 5 or our Accord), anyways, I know where they and they are high up so they won't wander off.

 

[clarinetb]

Yeah, there is a note in the manual to not put anything under the front seats of the Mazda 5 due to the airbags. FIgured it could work with the second row seats potentially. Or leave it inside

 

[Pixels]

If/when you put FFing harnessed seats in the third row, you will need to leave the headrests on and all the way lowered for the tether. Tether routes over the lowered headrest in the third row, under in the second.

 

[clarinetb]

If/when you put FFing harnessed seats in the third row, you will need to leave the headrests on and all the way lowered for the tether. Tether routes over the lowered headrest in the third row, under in the second.

Hmm, but it pushes the seat a bit forward, isn't that an issue? Nautilus I thought said you had to remove head rests to install it. Thanks!

 

[chay]

I don't think you can remove the headrests on the 3rd row even if you wanted and Pixels is right about the 3rd row tether routing.

I've had a Nauti 3rd row in mine but my sister installed it so I don't remember the gory details. It was very solid (I always give the seats a tug while tightening just to be sure) and I know it was tethered over the lowered headrest (I checked that part because I know she is used to cars where it goes under).

I know with my MA I sort of jam the headrest into the perfectly sized gap in the back of the car seat which results in a great install. Not sure what the back of a Nauti looks like.

 

[Pixels]

Hmm, but it pushes the seat a bit forward, isn't that an issue? Nautilus I thought said you had to remove head rests to install it. Thanks!

In that case, it's a question of finding carseats that are compatible with your vehicle seats. Either a seat that puzzles with the headrest, as Chay described, or one that is okay with the headrest pushing the seat forward a bit.

It's just like if the Nautilus had overhang. Then it's incompatible with that vehicle seat.

 

[luckyclov]

If/when you put FFing harnessed seats in the third row, you will need to leave the headrests on and all the way lowered for the tether. Tether routes over the lowered headrest in the third row, under in the second.

Yeah, that.

It's pretty cramped in the 3rd row with teh 2nd row all the way back, but depending on the person in the 3rd row, it's definitely managable. When I had my 5, I only had 2 kids...but I regularly had some "spare" kids. They were younger and the trips were short, so it was fine. We worked out all kinds of car seat/booster configurations.

The 5 is an awesome car...I miss it. *sniffle*

ETA: I've had a Nauti, RA, and MA installed, SB (no lower anchors) and tethered, in the 3rd row. IIRC, it took some effort, but all resulted in a very solid (FF) install. I never tried anything RF in the 3rd row while I had the car.

 

[clarinetb]

Thanks for all the information

I don't think you can remove the headrests on the 3rd row even if you wanted and Pixels is right about the 3rd row tether routing.

I've had a Nauti 3rd row in mine but my sister installed it so I don't remember the gory details. It was very solid (I always give the seats a tug while tightening just to be sure) and I know it was tethered over the lowered headrest (I checked that part because I know she is used to cars where it goes under).

I know with my MA I sort of jam the headrest into the perfectly sized gap in the back of the car seat which results in a great install. Not sure what the back of a Nauti looks like.

The 3rd row head rests definitely come off, my husband took one off when trying to get the seat down for some reason

We tried it in the 3rd row and it was the first time I had ever used a seat belt to install the Nautilus and it was super easy and went in solid. Very nice

 

[clarinetb]

Hi. Just wanted to follow this thread up as I was looking through the manual again and had a look at the car seat info again and wanted to mark it for my husband if he needed it.

It explicitly said that the tether always has to go between the headrest and the seat. They have a picture for each the second and third row drawn separately and both have it routed this way. Since it had been mentioned a couple of times here that it had to go under in the third row I wanted to comment that this is not agreeing with our manual. The car was bought in Canada, no idea if perhaps there is a difference?

 

[Pixels]

Looks like it's a difference between 2009 (and earlier) and 2010 models.

 

[clarinetb]

Looks like it's a difference between 2009 (and earlier) and 2010 models.

Ah, makes some sense Figured I'd post the update in case anyone else reads through it. Thanks