volvo station wagon 3rd row seats

[Unregistered]

has anyone seen/heard any stats on the optional 3rd row seats..that is putting them into an older station wagon?

 

[SafeDad]

Wagon third row seats

I would have no problem putting kids into the third row of current wagons that have factory options for these seats. You do have to be sure your child is within the age/weight/height limitations.

I would be very careful about installing any aftermarket seating row or device that is not fully approved and tested by the vehicle manufacturer. If the manufacturer of your vehicle has an accessory 3rd row specifically for your wagon model, that that would be essentially the same as having had one installed at the factory and should be just fine.

 

[bazanna]

But are you talking about the ones that face the rear or face forward?

 

[SafeDad]

Either one-

Most wagon seats that I have seen are rear-facing. As long as it is an option made and installed by the manufacturer/dealer for the specific model vehicle, then it should be safe for occupants within the listed weight/height ranges.

Here's a link on Volvo rear seats. It's a bit out of date, but still interesting:

http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/crash-rear.html

 

[bazanna]

that was interesting and illuminating. so darren, would you put your children back there? the ones old enough/big enough to ride without boosters, i mean......

which brings up another thought....hopefully, we can keep our kids in some type of booster or alternative restraint (husky, bodyguard, or otherwise) until the 80 pounds (or more, in some cases)...so if you have that rear seat that can hold 2 children up to 88 lbs each....i have to ask what is the use of the seat, really? it doesn't seem practical to get it if you will only be using it for about 8 lbs per child...

i suppose it'd be good for the times you are carrying extra children (friends, playmates etc).....my question there would be how much would it be used? my kids are still little so we don't do much carpooling or carting around other people's kids yet...so i honestly don't know LOL

if you needed the seats for everyday use, would you just get a minivan instead, for practicality reasons?

i like the letter from volvo, especially the point they made about the alternative of having kids bouncing around the cargo area unrestrained (EEK!). it's certainly a better answer to that. i also appreciate the points he made about the safety of the various seating positions being relative to the others. that certainly is true.

personally before i read that letter, those rearfacing back seats were freaky to me, i was worried about rearend crashes...and i already knew the relatively small number of those that occur...but still i thought that kids look SO close to the rear window/gate, etc. i guess that discussion made it a little less scary for me.....

lastly...my sincere apologies to this thread's originator....i hope you don't feel i've hijacked your thread LOL!

 

[SafeDad]

Yes-

In fact, rear-facing is a big bonus for those types of seats. I would have no problem putting my kids in one.

I agree about the limited use over the 80 pound Husky limit. On the other hand, a lot of kids near 80 pounds will not be seen in a child restraint, but would be happy in the back of a wagon...

We did consider a Volvo wagon with a third row, but the minivan was almost 10k less expensive and a bit more flexible.

 

[bazanna]

i was impressed by that site's crash stories.....i've been wanting a minivan, hoping to get one maybe next year....now i'm entertaining thoughts of the volvo wagons

 

[jst]

At what height is it safe to use the third-row? What about booster laws?

 

[kducka1]

My 2002 Volvo v70 was rear-ended last week and it would have been tragic had my kids been in the 3rd row seat. The SUV that hit us left it's license plate in the place where a child's lap would be. The SUV's bumper cleared our bumper completely, and hardly even impacted the frame of our vehicle, but the entire hatch/door buckled, the glass shattered, and the SUV was a good 18" into the rear of our car. We (in the front row) were not injured, and the air bags didn't deploy on any of the 3 cars involved. Given that, I think it was a relatively minor accident, but it could have had major, permanently crippling consequences had there been a child in the third row.

As of now, I will never put a child (or even a dog) in the third row.

 

[SafeDad]

Wow, it appears that the other vehicle entirely missed the lower bumper and side pillar crush zones and impacted the center of the hatch. Kind of a worst case scenario if you happened to have a rear-facing 3rd row seat in a lower riding wagon. I'm glad no one was back there!

May I ask what type of SUV struck you?

I think a higher riding SUV or even a minivan might also provide a slightly higher bumper that may be more compatible with other higher vehicles. Plus, a front-facing third row would provide additional protection in the form of the seat back and the shell of a child seat. Although relatively rare, fatal crashes of this type do happen. It's not unlike having a child in an outboard seat in the second row, where there is minimal distance between the occupant and the oncoming vehicle. Fatal side impacts are more common than rear impacts. For that reason, the center of a 3rd row seat could be safer than an outboard seat in the second row, depending on the child and vehicle of course.

 

[bubbles]

I really appreciate the information in this discussion. I have a 2005 Volvo wagon with a third row seat. I do use it for field trips, extra kids, etc. but keep kids in the back seat when I don't need the extra seating.

My initial reaction to the picture and description of the accident above scared me. However, I appreciate CPSDarren putting it into perspective by comparing it with side impact accidents. The absolute safest place is in the middle seat. Since I have two kids there will always be one in more danger. It looks like in certain side impact accidents kids would be safer in the third row.
It doesn't appear the rear is any more dangerous statistically. It would all depend upon the accident. As for putting a child in the center of the 3rd row, I haven't seen a car that has that. Neither of my Volvo's had three across in the 3rd row and I believe Mercedes are the same way.

On a side note, you also made a good point about SUV's. They (and trucks) sit higher and cause more fatal accidents. I once read that you are 100 times more likely to be killed by being hit by an SUV (in a passenger car) than by another car. I know car makers are addressing this issue but I still have concerns over defending myself against all the SUV's.

 

[kducka1]

The SUV that hit us was a 2012 VW Tiguan. It was a 3 car accident, where we were the first car in the line. (I.e., the VW Tiguan was rear-ended by a large Ford truck, and the VW in turn rear-ended us). From my reading of the statistics, rear impacts are more common than side impacts. The same force applied to the side of our vehicle would not have cleared the frame because the opening on the passenger doors is smaller -- i.e., the VW would have hit steel, rather than glass and fiberglass. I don't doubt it would have caused injury, as side impacts more often do, but the vehicle would very definitely have offered more protection.

Many parents read these forums while shopping for vehicles. I ended up replacing this car with the supremely unhip Honda Odyssey. I believe the passengers in all 8 seats are better protected in the Odyssey than they were in the Volvo because of the vehicle height. The low-riding wagon is simply no match for too many of the other cars on American roads today.