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HELP!!! Rear-facing infant car seat that DOES NOT require passenger seat to be pushed forward?

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by RomaniGypsy, Aug 31, 2017.

  1. RomaniGypsy

    RomaniGypsy Junior Member

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    I am 6'2" and my wife is 6'3". Our first child is on the way in 3 months.

    WE REALLY DO NOT WANT TO GET RID OF OUR FAITHFUL PRIUS V (2014 model)!!! This thing has been a BEAST, which I hate to say about new cars because I've always been an "old car" guy. With almost 145,000 miles, we've still had ZERO mechanical trouble with it... and the gas mileage...

    ...so why would we have to get rid of it? Well, we tried a rear-facing infant seat in the back, and it required that the front passenger seat be pushed forward approximately 2 inches so that the child seat would fit. My wife was so uncomfortable on the "test run" when we had the empty seat installed that we knew there was no way we could keep the Prius v and still use that seat. It would be no better if I were the passenger and she drove (who wants to drive ALL THE TIME when you drive 50,000+ miles per year?!), or if the child seat were behind the driver's seat. We cannot have the passenger in the rear behind the driver, and the empty passenger seat pushed forward to accommodate a child seat. We need to carry our musical equipment and it will only fit if at least one of the rear seats can be pushed all the way forward or folded flat.

    Is there a well-regarded infant seat that will fit in the rear seat of the Prius v, while still permitting the seat in front of it to be all the way back with an average comfortable recline position? (It'd be no gain to have the seat all the way back but have to put the seatback as far forward as it can go - that isn't comfortable either.)

    If we can't find this, we will have to get rid of the Prius. And we will be cursing Toyota all the way to and from whatever place we go to get our next vehicle, for making a hybrid version of every last one of their small and mid-size vehicles... EXCEPT THE SIENNA!!!
     
  2. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    That is really tough. I was immediately thinking the middle seat position for the baby seat? Most likely won't make a difference, but I had a Britax Baby Safe car seat. The new model that is closest is the Endeavours. It had an anti-rebound arm and also had a leg that went into the foot well. My wife's friend borrowed it, and we never got it back!

    My son is now 11 and is actually turning 12 tomorrow, but we got a minivan just before he was born basically...

    The only (plug-in) hybrid minivan that I know of is the Chysler Pacifica. Great specs/reviews...
     
  3. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Just to verify you did slide the rear seat as far back as it will travel?
     
  4. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    We used the middle position for the rear facing carrier and that allowed us to recline all we wanted. It's also the safest position in the car to boot. The 40 portion of the seat can still be folded.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  5. RomaniGypsy

    RomaniGypsy Junior Member

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    Yeah, but it's a Chrysler product. Given their abysmal reliability ratings in the past, until a few years go by to prove the mettle of the Pacifica hybrid, I'm not going to throw my money out the window on a Chrysler product.

    Yes.

    Only trouble is, we also have a dog who travels with us most of the time. The only way that this could work is if we let the dog into the passenger side of the "60" portion, through the back door. It's possible... she's a small dog... it'd be worth trying.

    I checked out the new Sienna today and it has uncomfortable immobile seat belt anchors. With my wife's dimensions, that won't work.
     
  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    We got it in the middle but I think it still hits the seats.
    Gen2 might have more room because the front seat does not travel back as far.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    That's a relatively bigger convertible seat, in a non-wagon? I think the OP has the wagon.....
     
  8. RomaniGypsy

    RomaniGypsy Junior Member

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    I have the big boy... the Prius v. Today we're going to test the seat we have, in the middle position. The acid test will be how the dog reacts to being stuck in the back seat.
     
  9. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Don't underestimate the legendary rear seat space of a Gen2, but it's at the expense of a front seat that does not move as far back as it should, almost a design flaw some say. I might get a v and I'd be worried if I can do this in a v.
     
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  10. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    Does the Gen 2 have more space than a Gen 3? I didn't notice. I own both. If it did, I'm with @wjtracy . Front seat ergonomics n a Gen 2 is lacking versus the already not that great front of a Gen 3.

    Given your restrictions, you may need to move up to a Rav4 hybrid. My sister recently picked one up after handing down the v to her mother in law. She also wasn't ready for the minivan.
     
  11. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    But are you willing to give up 20% in MPG with the Rav4h? Also look at the trunk room in the Rav4h. I thought I wanted one, wasn't that impressed.

    When grandchild #3 was little, we often had a rear facing car seat in the back for 50 mile trips. Don't remember if we had to move the seat but it was just a bit. Wife never complained and we wanted the car seat accessible from the side door without a lot of climbing around with the precious cargo in our arms.
     
  12. benkhanobi

    benkhanobi Member

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    Skip the new Pacifica minivan- try and buy the 2017 old style Dodge minivan- I have a 2014 Dodge Caravan- 6 speed, and it gets 28mpg hwy on trips- around 22 avg mixed driving ( mostly suburban)- I retired from the Chrysler transmission plant in 2008- my working friends tell me the 9 speed still has issues- down from 3 warranty claims to a little over 1 per 1000- still way too many.
    The older technology is very good- I can get up to 30mpg on trips in my minivan, if I drive like I did in my old 2007 Prius.
     
  13. RomaniGypsy

    RomaniGypsy Junior Member

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    I don't think I will be buying any Chrysler products. They constantly get terrible reviews, and the people I've known who've had Chryslers seem to have nothing but trouble with them. It's a shame, too... Chrysler used to make the best vehicles money could buy. I've had three 1980s era Chrysler products and they were all bulletproof. Nowadays... yeah, it's a shame.

    But, there is one potential variable. Toyota's Sienna is not designed well for my wife. It has rigid seat belt anchors that are uncomfortable for her. It's the same with the Honda Odyssey. However, the Dodge and Chrysler minivans don't have this design problem. So... if we do have to get a minivan... we might just spring for a Chrysler product.

    Thus far, we've solved the car seat problem by moving the driver's seat forward a bit... but hopefully our son will continue growing at a rapid rate so that we can face him forward soon. In December, we bought a 2004 4Runner, so when we need a bigger vehicle that fits the car seat a little better, that's the one we use. (I have to imagine that the resale value on the Prius v has been increasing dramatically recently, with the shocking run-up in gas prices... those poor oil companies must not have been profiting enough at two bucks a gallon, which is still too freaking expensive given that just two years ago or so, gas was a buck-twenty-nine here in northeast Ohio.)
     
  14. Offline

    Offline Active Member

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    Where are these "rigid seat belt anchors" in a Sienna? We own a 2014 Sienna and rented the previous generation Sienna and never noticed the seat belt anchors being different than those in other vehicles made by Toyota including our 2012 Prius v.
     
  15. Bampbell

    Bampbell New Member

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    I see you are making due by moving the seat up and hopefully they will be forward facing soon but the Graco 4ever car seats will fit rear facing and let the driver/passenger sit all/most of the way back depending on recline. We have a 2013 Prius v.
     
    #15 Bampbell, Jun 17, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018