Rear Facing Car Seat in A4 or 3 series or TLX?

Regin8r wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 10:44 am

If you haven't bought a car yet, just keep in mind this pain you will only have to endure for like 1-2 years until they are front facing (assuming your children are of avg size, you should hit 20 lbs maybe at 1.5-2 years).

My daughter is 3.25, and we will likely keep her rear facing until age 4 or so. She's small, but then again she's way over the minimum, at 30 lbs now.

Our son is 1.3 is a big guy for his age, at over 25 lbs now. We will likely keep him rear facing until at well over age 2, but possibly even over age 3.

ie. We plan on keeping them both rear facing at least until about 35 lbs or more. This is recommended for safety reasons. The 10 kg / 22 lbs (or 9 kg / 20 lbs) is absolute earliest, but most safety experts recommend much later, even up to around 45 lbs actually.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dr ... le5958964/

BTW, what this means is you definitely need a seat protector, or else your back seat will be damaged in no time.

EugW wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:02 am

My daughter is 3.25, and we will likely keep her rear facing until age 4 or so. She's small, but then again she's way over the minimum, at 30 lbs now.

Our son is 1.3 is a big guy for his age, at over 25 lbs now. We will likely keep him rear facing until at well over age 2, but possibly even over age 3.

ie. We plan on keeping them both rear facing at least until about 35 lbs or more. This is recommended for safety reasons. The 10 kg / 22 lbs (or 9 kg / 20 lbs) is absolute earliest, but most safety experts recommend much later, even up to around 45 lbs actually.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dr ... le5958964/

BTW, what this means is you definitely need a seat protector, or else your back seat will be damaged in no time.

It is recommended to stay rear facing for as long as possible. The Diono Rainier (for example) can handle rear facing upto 50lbs. It will all depend on the car seat.

Have an entry level 3 series 323i and there is no way to fit the Diono rear facing at all without sacrificing the front passenger seat. Heck I was barely able to fit the infant carrier rear facing (Orbit Baby). Entry car is just too small.

EP32k2 wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:12 am

Have an entry level 3 series 323i and there is no way to fit the Diono rear facing at all without sacrificing the front passenger seat. Heck I was barely able to fit the infant carrier rear facing (Orbit Baby). Entry car is just too small.

did you try with the angle adjuster?

ziaa wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:19 am

did you try with the angle adjuster?

Yup bought the pad and it helped, but not enough without making the front passenger feel cramped.

ziaa wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:19 am

did you try with the angle adjuster?

Have studies been done saying it's safe to put the "pad" underneath the rear facing seat?

ziaa wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 10:50 am

if your car allows, put the car seat in the middle. It'll give you better leg room in the front. But a bit of a pain to remove.

Anyone else put their infant rear facing car seat in the middle? Heard it wasn't as safe? (Plus pain in the ass to remove)

foodyforlife wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:33 am

Have studies been done saying it's safe to put the "pad" underneath the rear facing seat?



Anyone else put their infant rear facing car seat in the middle? Heard it wasn't as safe? (Plus pain in the ass to remove)

Well Diono sells their own pad, so yes it is tested and safe to use. I heard the same too with the middle, but never found anything concrete.

I've got a Diono radiant rear-facing with the foam lift block (raises it up like 2 inches) in the middle of my 2012 335I sedan. for sure can not fit behind either seat unless you want to be killed by the airbags (if they deploy of course)

Most cars aren't actually specifically set up for LATCH installation in the middle. Strangely enough though, many experts recommend the middle as the safest spot (if you only have one child). However, even without the proper LATCH setup, it's not a big deal, because you can install the seat with the seatbelt, assuming your car seat is narrow enough. (Typically, the centre seat is the narrowest, with less space between the seatbelt's origin and the clasp.)

What I've noticed though is some of the lower end seats really suck for installation with a seatbelt or sometimes works better facing one direction than the other, so there's that too. (We discovered this the hard way, as we purchased a cheaper car seat to leave at a relative's house in a different city when we flew there. It was harder to make stable rear facing than it was front-facing, whereas our Britax ones work well either way.)

In our case we have two kids, and our giant Britax Advocate / Advocate ClickTight car seats won't fit 3-across, so using the centre position is impossible. So, we have one car seat on either side. The other issue to remember is that it can be kind of a pain in the @ss getting a kid into a centre seat.

foodyforlife wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 11:33 am

Have studies been done saying it's safe to put the "pad" underneath the rear facing seat?



Anyone else put their infant rear facing car seat in the middle? Heard it wasn't as safe? (Plus pain in the ass to remove)

the "Pads" are being sold by the car seat manufactures. I doubt they would sell something that isnt safe. Also, I would think that the middle is the safest part of the car. If you get T-boned hard, there is less of a chance the door will cave into the cabin. I would assume that there would be less broken class on the baby too. Plus there are the side airbags that get deployed that dont help a car seat.

What would make the middle unsafe?

ziaa wrote: ↑

Jan 27th, 2016 1:16 pm

the "Pads" are being sold by the car seat manufactures. I doubt they would sell something that isnt safe. Also, I would think that the middle is the safest part of the car. If you get T-boned hard, there is less of a chance the door will cave into the cabin. I would assume that there would be less broken class on the baby too. Plus there are the side airbags that get deployed that dont help a car seat.

What would make the middle unsafe?

The middle is indeed statistically the safest, but there are some problems, as mentioned:

1) No LATCH connectors in the middle.
2) Narrowest seat, which may pose a problem for the width of some car seats and using the seat belt.
3) More awkward to access a car seat if it's all the way in the middle.

Just a side note, there's a weight limit for using the latch connector! At which point you are to use the seat belt. Check your manual!