Anyone using 3 car seats (Diono RadianRXTs?)

[andyrebele]

I have the 7-seat version.

The reasons it's harder:
1) leg-crushing mode, as described above. Every time you use the seat tilt function to get the 2nd row seats to slide forward tor 3rd row entry, they forget the front-back set position, and return to the default position of back 100%. If you try to avoid this problem by holding the tilt back button down to try to stop early, then the car warns you that you can't drive without the 2nd row seat locked in position. So upon every entry into the car, you have to try to save your kids' legs. With the 6-seat version, you could use the center to have the kids move to the 3rd row, but you would have more difficulty personally assisting them to get into the seat and lock them in without being able to tilt the 2nd row seats forward.
2) The 2nd row center seat slides forward when either side seat is tilted forward; however, it only slides less than half as far, so it remains an impediment to getting from one side to the other, so if you have kids on both 3rd row seats, you have to tilt both 2nd row seats forward and get the kids in both sides, and therefore you have to do the leg-crushing avoidance twice each time you load the car.
3) We use a car seat base (Chicco) in the 2nd row. When we tilt the associated seat forward, to get to the 3rd row, it touches the 1st row seat, and I suspect it will scratch it up over time.
4) The total front-back space feels smaller than the S. With our 2 and 3 year olds in the 3rd row, if we adjust the 2nd row to accommodate them, and we put a normal size person in the 2nd row, then they would be very cramped sitting behind the driver (me) with the front seat adjusted fully rear. I think one reason is that the seats are thicker than I would have anticipated.

Reasons 1 and 2 are enough to make it far more time-consuming to get into our X than our S.

We could not put our 2 and 3 year olds in the 2nd row, because we would not have room for the rear-facing Chicco seat in the 3rd row.

 

[ohmman]

leg-crushing mode, as described above. Every time you use the seat tilt function to get the 2nd row seats to slide forward tor 3rd row entry, they forget the front-back set position, and return to the default position of back 100%.

The front seat has this same problem. If you use "easy entry" to get to the third row, it returns to the full back position. I have to think this will be fixed in a firmware update soon. That should help a bit with your issues.

 

[elguapo]

Okay, so I use Clek Fllos and they fit fine.

Biggest question - how can I protect my seats? I've not found any seat protectors that get good reviews and don't want rubber melting in my car. I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.

I am beginning to resign myself to the fact the seats will just be indented and look like crap after a while...

 

[elguapo]

Also, all are forward facing. Rear facing would be awful. Leg crush mode sucks in 2nd and 3rd row. They need a software fix.

 

[ohmman]

Biggest question - how can I protect my seats? I've not found any seat protectors that get good reviews and don't want rubber melting in my car. I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.

Pay attention to the dates on some reviews. In some cases, the protectors have changed since the bad reviews. I purchased the pretty cheap Munchkin ones which have a lot of complaints about dye transfer. The originals had black on the bottom, mine have light colored material - and I've put a piece of white felt between. I'm seeing if anything transfers to the felt and then I'll remove it.

On Amazon, you can sort reviews by most recent, and you might get a better representation of the way things are now compared to before. Still no guarantees, though.

 

[millertime]

We have a seven seat configuration with three kids. We have the 4 and 7 year old in the outer second row seats in Radian car seats and our newborn in an infant seat with click in base. All three fit just fine. Have also used a booster for my 7 year old and needed a seat belt extension to reach the fastener, but otherwise also fine. Decided to put all three in second row to allow the rear seats to be folded down to carry all our junk. Have also noted "leg crushing mode" and didn't want to deal with it. So far, the infant car seat acts as a neutral zone to keep bickering to a minimum. Well aware of the sort term nature of this arrangement.

 

[Sri Kooturu]

We have a seven seat configuration with three kids. We have the 4 and 7 year old in the outer second row seats in Radian car seats and our newborn in an infant seat with click in base. All three fit just fine. Have also used a booster for my 7 year old and needed a seat belt extension to reach the fastener, but otherwise also fine. Decided to put all three in second row to allow the rear seats to be folded down to carry all our junk. Have also noted "leg crushing mode" and didn't want to deal with it. So far, the infant car seat acts as a neutral zone to keep bickering to a minimum. Well aware of the sort term nature of this arrangement.

Is it possible to take a picture of the arrangement and share?
Thanks in advance

 

[Aerobatic]

we regularly use 3 seats across in both our tesla model s and our q7 using the Clek FOONF seat, which is 17" across. we use isofix for the two outer seats, and a belt for the middle seat. we have 5 kids! they fit better in the model s than in the q7 because access to the rear seats is easier in the tesla (when 3 child seats are fitted in the middle row the only entry on q7 is via the rear hatch and some dexterous maintaineering.)

 

[millertime]

Is it possible to take a picture of the arrangement and share?
Thanks in advance

Car is at Service Center currently getting the promised all season tires for our 20 inch rims and taking care of a few minor cosmetic issues. Will post a picture when I get it back.

 

[30seconds]

Okay, so I use Clek Fllos and they fit fine.

Biggest question - how can I protect my seats? I've not found any seat protectors that get good reviews and don't want rubber melting in my car. I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.

I am beginning to resign myself to the fact the seats will just be indented and look like crap after a while...

Will depend on the carseat, but the "Prince Lionheart" protectors definitely do not melt and come in black, tan and grey.

 

[Dazureus]

Biggest question - how can I protect my seats? I've not found any seat protectors that get good reviews and don't want rubber melting in my car. I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.

I'm using the Brica Seat Guardian, but I haven't used it for multiple hot days. It has plasticized rubber strips that go through the bottom to prevent sliding, and now you have me worried about melting rubber . Other than that, they're pretty good, and have worked on the Clek Foonf and Diono R120s.

 

[systemcrashed]

Just thought I'd drop my 2 cents, since I have had difficulty in the past finding a great car seat. We have had a great experience using the Recaro Performance SPORT Harness and Boosters, They were the only seats I could fit in the back of my BMW X6M side by side, they have a narrower base that fits nicely in a Sport style seat. My kids are 2 and 6 now and a nice feature of the Recaro is it can convert to a booster as the kids grow into it.

Amazon.com : RECARO Performance SPORT Combination Harness to Booster Car Seat, Haze : Child Safety Booster Car Seats : Baby

 

[Sri Kooturu]

Millertime
Did you get your X back? Please post the picture with car seats.
Thanks

 

[millertime]

Millertime
Did you get your X back? Please post the picture with car seats.
Thanks

It's supposed to be ready tomorrow.

 

[millertime]

It's supposed to be ready tomorrow.

Here it is with the radian, a click-in infant seat base, and a booster across the middle row. Fits no problem with all three kids.

 

[Sri Kooturu]

Here it is with the radian, a click-in infant seat base, and a booster across the middle row. Fits no problem with all three kids.

Thanks a lot for sharing the picture. There seems to be plenty of room between carcseats. I want to ask you if the two boosters can be placed in third row and infant seat in the center of middle row?

 

[millertime]

Yes, we have tried the booster and the Radian in the third row and it works out fine. The kids can't see as well back there though and liked the second row better. We also found that our son needed a seat belt extension to fasten his own seatbelt with the booster.

 

[Sri Kooturu]

Finally I test drove, with my wife and two kids (4 and 6 year olds). We also took a rear-facing infant seat as well as we re expecting our third one in september. I have placed the booster seat, toddler seat and infant seat in different positions. Three of them fit well just in second row. I even tried placing toddler and booster seat in third row; with infant seat in the middle of second row. With this placement, the outer seats in second row can easily slide and there was no problem getting in to third row. Me (6ft) and my wife 5'6) also sat in third row. There was good leg and head room. But, we realized that with 7 seater, the people in third row essentially partitioned from the rest of the car and the ride felt less interesting. With these observations, we are leaning towards a six seater!

 

[elguapo]

Will depend on the carseat, but the "Prince Lionheart" protectors definitely do not melt and come in black, tan and grey.

Thanks! Some just suggest the prince lionheart yesterday as well. I will try one out.

 

[Dinosaver]

With respect to Leg Crush Mode, I saw a video today which suggested the 2nd row seat went all the way back because it didn't realize there was a passenger in the third row. Why not? Because the carseat distributes the passenger's weight and doesn't apply enough pressure to the seat sensor **and** the seatbelt wasn't connected (maybe people were relying on just the LATCH system? not recommended by carseat manufacturers!). If both sensors are defeated, the seat smartly goes to the rearmost position. A simple fix to ensure the seat knows there is a passenger might include a small pad under the carseat but atop the sensor (The Princess and The Pea comes to mind) or just making sure the seatbelt is clicked, regardless of whether it's performing a functional role securing the carseat.

Or maybe there's an OTA fix coming to make the 3rd row weight sensors more sensitive?

For what it's worth, I'm planning to get two Britax Clicktights for the 3rd row of a 7-seater due next month. The smallest two ride back there and the 11y old rides in the middle row (sometimes with grandparents). On family trips, all kids move to the 2nd row and the gear goes behind them.