Carseat Positioning

I have a pathfinder and put one on each side. I put my oldest behind me because he can reach to me too. Where as the baby I can stretch to reach to him on the passenger side. I think we have tried to hook one up in the middle just so we could take another adult with us but with a Britax it doesn't work since they are wider as it moves upward.

I am also in the position for the last 16 months and after careful research, I decided to leave my 3 year old in the middle and put the baby on the drivers side, where I can get her in & out easier. My 3 year old can climb to the middle). The reason for this positioning is research that I looked at said if you are in a position to avoid an accident, your instinct is to turn away (from driver's position), so the most dangerous side of the car is the passenger side, also more cars are t-boned on passenger side due to driver's reduced visibility. It still bothers me too, to have one so close to the door. One site I went to even called the passenger seats "the death wish seat"! I checked on carseat websites as well as BabyCenter & Baby Zone. Good Luck!

Carseat placement is why I bought a Honda Odyssey. My research showed it is probably one of the safest cars on the road. You can position the seats away from the doors if you don't use the stow-and-go seat in the middle of the EX model. It also has all the side airbags standard. And, boy does it ride great. I will never have any other van. For being as big as it is inside, it saves me on gas. I had a Plymouth Grand Voyager before which used twice as much gas as the Odyssey.

I don't know what to tell you about the Pathfinder. Sorry.

My friend just went throught Driving School and they discussed this exact issue. The recommendation from them is the youngest in the middle (safest spot) then the next one behind the driver. If you have three the oldest on the passenger side. The passenger side is the most dangerous and the older the child the greater chance they have of withstanding injury in an accident.
Good luck!

I put the baby in the middle and the other behind the driver, the majority of side hits are to the passenger side. If you have three kids like I do I put the oldest on the passenger side because they are older and stronger. Hope this helps, this is what was recommended to me by Mesa Fire Dept when I had them to a carseat check for me. Enjoy you new coming addition to the family, how wonderful!

M.,
I would check with your local fire department. They have fire fighters that have taken hours of classes to become certified in this area. They even offer carseat check occaisionally. In my opinion if the infant seat fits in the middle without causing to much trouble for the installation of the 2nd car seat I would put it there. The middle is always the safest place for an infant. But check with your fire department for more info. Good Luck!

I have an almost 3 year old girl and had a boy in January. I also had always had her in the middle and wasn't sure what to do. I did decide to move her to the side and put him in the middle. She likes her spot by the door, we talked it up and said it was the big girl spot, etc. I did have her on the passenger side just so I could see her and hand things to her more easily when I was driving alone. After reading one of the posts on your request though I am considering moving her to the driver side. Also, I have no problems getting the infant seat in and out of the middle, especially in a higher car like your Pathfinder.

I had the same dilemma when I had my second child. We drove a Jeep Cherokee and decided to keep the infant seat in the middle and place our older child (19 months) behind the passenger's door - this way when I was driving alone, I could see both of them.

You can always make sure your car seats are installed properly by taking them to your local fire department for a check - usually by appointment only.

In my car there was not way to do it but to put both seats next to the doors.

Everyone I know who need two car seats position them one on each side.