3 Car Seats in a Mazda CX9

We're expecting #3 in January and am wondering how people go fitting 3 car seats in the second row of a CX9?

DS is in a SNS Hi Liner and with him needing to put the seat belt in himself every trip it might be a bit difficult with an infant seat in the centre. Also is it's possible to put him in the 3rd row in that seat by having a bolt added in the back?. He's a little too short to just sit in the back row without some elevation to stop the seat belt cutting across his face. Plus I'm scared to have him WAYYYY back there.

DD is in a SNS MaxiRider.

Having both a Hi Liner and a MaxiRider doesn't really leave much room in the centre seat. Never mind actually having to reach over and put a real baby in it!

So if you have fit 3 seats in the back row, let me know what you have and what works best for you, or if you think relegating DS (who will be 6 when baby comes along) would be best.

TIA

I don't have a cx9 (I wish) But we do have a Mazda mpv - and we can fit 3 car seats across the second row because all the seats are the normal car seat size because they are individual seats - itms. The cx9 is wider than our car so I don't think you would have any issues?

We have 2 rows of 2 at the moment, but when the baby comes along we will have a hi liner, maxi rider and other safe and sound seat next to it. (Plus two other hi liners in the third row!)

Did you have to get the tether bolt thingo added to your third row Arimeh?

We had a Mazda 5 in Jersey (mpv with sliding door, awesome for squeezy places) and its centre seat in 2nd row could come completely out, so easier to get to3rd row. Cx9 you have to get to 3rd row through the boot, unless I leave the 1 single folding seat free....and have DD and baby right next to each other in second row.

I just know DS will be frustrated if he can't get to his buckle easily in the second row.

Or maybe I just get narrower car seats?

Hmmmm!!

Nah seats in the back row already have bolts. But we have one seat taken out at the moment but when this one comes along the two older kids (who will be nearly 7 and 5) will have to go through the boot and put their own belts on.

I looked into having a baby bolt added to our 3rd row and it is illegal to do it as they are not a proper seat. Apparantely you aren't supposed to have a child in the 3rd row if they need a booster bolted. I have put my older kids in their booster in the 3rd and they are a long way back and it is hard to hear them but that is also a good thing, LOL!!
You can buy seat belt extenders which I have two of for exactly the same reason and the kids love them and they can do up their own seat belts still with no issues. I would strongly suggest you look into buying one of these because they have been an absolutely god send as I couldn't get my hand down between the seats.
I have a Kia Sorento and have a S&S maxi rider, HiPod booster and a S&S carseat. They fit perfectly but I don't have a spare cm.

If he is 6, he can have a booster seat that doesn't require a bolt...

Liviam where did you get seat belt extenders? That sounds like a fab idea.

Lime - I thought he could, but I kinda freak out at the thought.

Arimeh - sounds like you'll need a minibus soon ;)

Thanks for the advice ladies x

Yules, we got our seat belt extender from the 'Seat Belt King'. Just google it. You can also buy them from car shops like Repco, Autobarn etc but I have a Corolla and the back seat belt buckles are made differently, so they didn't fit a standard extender. The ones in the shops have a list on them of which cars they'll fit. Ours is great. We never would of got DS's seat done up without it.

No minibus!!! I'll wait till my car dies and hopefully by that time all the kids will be older and I can get my CX9 that I want LOL

Thanks MrsCricket :)

Arimeh I do love my car, like a little bit too much, but it certainly drinks fuel!

Oh really? Damn :( The MPV is really good on fuel. Like, super amazingly good for its size. We filled up twice when we drove from tassie to queensland (obviously we didn't drive across water though but we still had to drive to the boat hahahaha) and I thought that was quite good fuel consumption.

I'm doing 66kms a day ATM picking and dropping dS at school and it will be not quite a week and needing a refill. Guess I've had it made though with our Mazda 5 in jersey, I could go 6 weeks without a refill in that. But jersey was a teeny tiny place.

Some cars just go and go and go.... That's a good thing :)

Yeah I had a little mazda before this one and it just ran on air I reckon, it was fantastic! Made me fall in love with Mazda's and I'd never buy anything else ever again. Even their services are really really well priced.

I have a mazda CX9 and have 2 car seats (both Hi liners) and a cushion booster in the middle row. It's a challenge each time i have to buckle in the side seat as you have to squash your hand in (to access the buckle) so i lift up the booster cushion first, buckle in the side passenger then fix in the seat belt of the booster cushion and then ask the middle child to slide in while i hold the strap loose enough for them to pass through.

I've got used to it, but basically it's squashy with 3 car seats that are not 5 point harness fitted as you have to squeeze your hand down inbetween to buckle them in. I prefer asking the older one to climb into the back (they normally just climb through the boot) and sit on their own in the (unattached) booster seat and use the seat belt to buckle themselves in.

With a baby capsule, i think you have no option but to ask the older one to sit in the back. Unless you want to fight the seat belt each time you need to strap them in! You can attach a separate little rear mirror if you need a different angle to keep an eye on him.

I have three across the middle row of a Honda MDX. I've frequently got my car parked end to end with a CX9 at school pickups and they seem to be pretty similar width wise. I've got two S&S hi liners and a rear facing S&S Meridien. I couldn't put the baby in the middle - it was just too hard reaching across to get her in and out so she is in the left hand side seat. DDs 1 and 2 are middle and right hand side, and their seat belt buckles are between their seats together - I was having a fit thinking if I did it any other way then one of my older girls might accidentally unclip their baby sister's seat! It is a monumental pain in the whatsit reaching down between them to clip them up, but I tend to do the middle child first having pulled the outside child's seat over a bit to give more room. I then buckle up outside child, shove her seat back over and tighten her belt again. Its workable but it makes me lust for a people mover

We have two in carseats in the back row and two in the middle. There are anchor points but they aren't "Aus legal".

The back row are adult size seats, one of the huge differences between the cx-9 and other SUVs.