Three Car Seats In a Prius!

Good to know and thanks for the tip. We have 3 Britax in our Odyssey, but it's good to know that we now have the option of getting all 3 kids in the Prius if necessary.

 

Good advice. You should never hook two attachments to the same anchor. Also, Toyota does not recommend using LATCH for a child restraint installed in the center position. That said, this is a good setup for 3-across and the seatbelt installation(s) should work fine, also.

 

Nice job, just remind little Sleepy McDozerson not to block the air intake for the battery and you're good to go.

 

Cute kids.

Do you think that three of those Radian 80 XTs would fit all front-facing once your little one outgrows the rear facing seat?

BTW, it looks like the seat on the right could have the should straps adjusted down a bit - either that or your daughter is slouching.

We've got two kids but the Boulevard seats we have leave absolutely no room in the middle for another seat should we have the need!

 

This publication establishes best practice on the subject and compiles information from manufacturers regarding their policies, too-

LATCH Manual

Edited to add information from Toyota:

LATCH System anchor maximum weight (lb), both lower and tether anchors used: Follow Child Restraint Instuctions

Tether anchor maximum weight with seat belt(lb), if CR instructions allow: Follow Child Restraint Instuctions

Use of inner bars for center seat in non-LATCH positions- if CR instructions allow: Not Allowed

 

Honestly, there is ongoing debate about "borrowing" the innermost anchors to install a seat using LATCH in the center, especially if the spacing of the anchors is about the same or somewhat wider than the standard allows. Some manufacturers, like Ford, have allowed this for years on many models, within certain constraints. Most, like Toyota, do not.

On the other hand, attaching two attachments to the same anchor is a definite No-No in any situation.

 

As a side note, Amazon may have older info. All Radians made after 9/1/08 now have updated (and retroactive) rear facing limits of 40 pounds.

 

Rear-facing is also showing to be extremely beneficial in side impacts, even moreso than frontal impacts for older toddlers. The most recent study indicates significant benefits to rear-facing up until 24 months old.

The recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics that infants should remain rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer. The 1 year and 20 pounds mark is a minimum mark where it is acceptable to turn a child forward facing, but is not considered safest practice.

As you suggested, keeping a kid rear-facing can be more difficult in smaller vehicles with upright seat backs. Usually, it isn't too difficult to keep them rear-facing to 18-24 months in most vehicles. In fact, some kids tolerate it well until they are 3-4 years old, though others won't. In vehicles like minivans or other large cars where the seat back reclines, you have a little more room for older toddlers to remain rear-facing.

 

4 months now with three carseats in the back! The kids are cozy, we didn't have to sell the prius to buy the minivan, and we still get the fuel economy.
Thanks for posting this thread and turning my wife into a believer. We would have gotten rid of the prius without your guidance.

For the record:
a 4yo, 2yo, and a 4 month old.
-ALpha Omega front-facing on the drivers side (2yo)
-Graco Booster in the middle (4yo)
-Smaller rear-facing infant seat on the passenger side. (4 month old)

I'll take a pic and post later.

Thanks again

 

I've got 4 year old twins and an 8 year old, and they all fit nicely in the back with the Radian car seats (we got the XT's). At first we tried it with different car seats, but there wasn't enough space in the middle for the 8 year old. The only downsides:
1) No cup holders when all three are in the back
2) Unlike our Sienna, now the kids can kick and smack each other when they get into fights!

 

Yeah, but life just wouldn't be interesting without sibling rivalry.

 

Hi How did you get 3 radians in the back? we installed two Radian 65, one behing driver, one behind passenger, and there are only 10 inches between the two, we need to get a third seat in the middle could be a booster, any advice would help!
Thanks

 

All three has radian car seats or just 2 with the 8 y.o. w/o seat?

 

What do you plan to do when your baby grows out of the infant seat?

In our 2010 Prius, we presently have a Britax Boulevard front-facing passenger side, and a Chicco Key Fit in the middle. This fits great, and then a passenger can sit in the back with the baby and she is in the center, which is safest.

However, she's already outgrowing the infant car seat, and now we need to get her in a convertible seat. I'd like to keep her in the middle.

We could either put the baby in the Boulevard in the middle rear-facing and get a new seat for my 3-yr-old, or we could get a different convertible for the baby and leave my son in the Boulevard. Suggestions? (We know that 2 Boulevards won't work in the configuration we want because the rear-facing Boulevard gets all crooked.)

I'm even considering putting my 3-yr-old back to rear-facing if possible (He's only 37 inches and 27 pounds). We moved him forward-facing because we didn't think we could fit rear-facing very well on the sides and because I didn't fully realize how much safer it might be rear-facing even at his size. Have other people successfully done rear-facing on the sides without having to scoot the passenger seat annoyingly forward? How might that change any suggestions?

Thanks!