The Infiniti QX60 (formerly known as the JX35) is Infiniti’s mid-sized luxury crossover SUV, and Infiniti’s counterpart to the Nissan Pathfinder, on which it is based. The QX60 competes with an ever-growing number of 3-row mid-to-large sized luxury crossovers, including the Volvo XC90, Acura MDX, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Buick Enclave, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Cadillac Escalade, Audi Q7, and of course the Nissan Pathfinder, despite that not being a luxury SUV.
Because it shares a platform (and close external and internal design features) with the Pathfinder, I expected there to be little, if any difference, between the two vehicles when it came to their abilities to fit 3 car seats across the 2nd row and an extra 2 as needed in the 3rd row, and that turned out to be the case. The Pathfinder and QX60 are about as different as the Traverse and the Enclave, which does make things easier for parents looking for information on car seat compatibility. At any rate, I decided it was still worth making a 3 across guide for the QX60 / JX35, so here we are. Before getting into the details, here’s a quick primer on why using different types of car seats at different stages of your child’s development is essential.
First of all, car seat safety starts with rear-facing from the day your child leaves the hospital, and for many years to come, due to the safety advantages it provides over forward-facing. Rear-facing is the way to go even if it takes you through the preschool years (ideally until 4!). Once you can’t fit your child in a rear-facing seat anymore, forward-face him or her in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until at least 5 or 6!). Once your children outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The overriding goal is safety, which comes from using certain kinds of seats at certain times.
My results of car seat puzzling and juggling in the Nissan Pathfinder are below. It’s not a complete list, but as with all of my 3 across guides, it’s my goal to make it the most complete on the Internet over time, especially as I get access to more seats. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
You can access the complete 3 across guide for every vehicle here and the complete list of recommended seats here. The Canadian car seat guide is here. 3 across car seat images are courtesy of Wikipedia.
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Infiniti QX60 / JX35
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).
Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).
Clek Oobr (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65 (x2).
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Graco TurboBooster, Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco TurboBooster, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Infiniti QX60 / JX35 is 197 inches long and 77 inches wide (exactly the same as the Pathfinder). As a result, your 3 across odds are going to be strong with nearly any combination of seats you can put together. However, to make this work, you’ll need to use your seat belts. Why? The LATCH anchors in the QX60 (both in the outboard 2nd row positions) are relatively close together, so if you try to use them with 3 seats, there will probably be many seats you can’t get to work, despite the width of the SUV. Use the seat belts to maximize your space.
A downside to the current generation QX60 is that there aren’t any lower LATCH anchors in the third row. You can get around this easily by using the seat belt there, but you can’t get around the downside of only having a single tether anchor in the 3rd row. It’s located behind the passenger outboard seat, and you can easily confuse it with a number of cargo hooks behind the 3rd row. Tethering while forward-facing is important for safety, so if you need to forward-face multiple children, keep them in the 2nd row, as there are 3 tether anchors available for the three 2nd row seats.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.