All posts by Mike

3 Across Installations: Which Car Seats Fit a Subaru Ascent?

January 24, 2019 Mike

The Subaru Ascent is the newest, largest, and highest capacity member of the Subaru family in the United States. Designed to be a family friendly, all-in-one vehicle, it serves as the larger counterpart to the best -selling Outback and Forester as well as a replacement to the not-so-popular Tribeca. Like many mid-sized crossovers, the Ascent competes with a range of 3-row non-luxury SUVs, including the Volkswagen Atlas, Nissan Armada, Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon, Toyota Sequoia, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Ford Expedition, Nissan Pathfinder, Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Suburban, Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-9, and Honda Pilot. Unlike most of these vehicles, it’s also made locally as well (in Lafayette, Indiana). But how does it do when it comes to fitting kids and car seats in the 2nd and 3rd rows? I made it my goal to find out. However, as always, before going into which seats fit (an awful lot of them) and which ones didn’t (very few), let’s review which kinds of seats are best for particular developmental ages and stages for your kids, and why.

In my books, the core of car seat safety involves rear-facing. It’s the safest position available in every vehicle, statistically speaking, and the benefits of extended rear-facing extend from childhood through adulthood. I typically suggest keeping children rear-facing as long as possible (until 4 or 5 like the Swedes), followed by harnessing until they can safely use booster seats (until at least 5, like the Swedes), and then boostering until the 5 step test is passed (typically between 10, 11, and 12). Beyond that, I suggest keeping kids in the back seat until at least 13, and delaying teen solo driving until 18 if possible. The goal isn’t to move through seats as quickly as possible; it’s to keep kids as safe as possible whenever they’re in motor vehicles.

If you find my list of what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Subaru Ascent on the Internet, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test or confirm 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 taken by yours truly or are courtesy of Wikipedia or the NHTSA.

2018, 2019, 2020 Subaru Ascent

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Diono Radian 3RXT (x3).

Diono Radian 3RX (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit (x3).

Safety 1st Grow and Grow EX Air (x3).

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Fit4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30, Diono Radian / RXT, Chicco KeyFit 30.

Tips and Tricks:

The initial generation of the Subaru Ascent is a shade under 197 inches long, 76 inches wide, and just under 72 inches tall. As a result, you’ll be able to fit a good number of seats in the 2nd row but will struggle somewhat with the 3rd row due to the somewhat compact length. If you want to install 3 car seats in the 2nd row, you’ll need to buy either the base trim level Ascent (which comes standard with a 2nd row bench for 8-passenger seating) or mid-level Ascent Premium (and choose the 2nd row bench). As long as you’re willing to use seat belts instead of LATCH, you can expect to fit just about any seat by width; front-to-back room will be limited in the 3rd row bench seats, however, making the 3rd row a better choice for forward-facing and boostered seats.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can buy my books here or do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Send me an email at carcrashdetective [at] gmail [dot] com.

3 Across Installations: How Many Car Seats Fit a Tesla Model S Sedan?

October 8, 2018 Mike

The Tesla Model S is the most popular large electric vehicle sold in the United States and around the world, and as of 2018 continues to be the longest-range mass production electric vehicle money can buy. Aside from its gasoline-free properties, it competes in the large luxury car sphere, drawing fire from luminaries like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and E-Class, the Audi A8 and A6, the BMW 7-Series and 5-Series, and the Volvo S90. Price-wise, it keeps up, and its safety features are certainly close enough to keep it in competition. But how does it compare to the competition in the all-important task of keeping your little ones safely restrained? I made it my task to find out.

Regardless of what you’re driving, everything starts with rear-facing when it comes to car seat safety. Whether you’re 8 hours old or 80 years young, you’re best off rear-facing. Practically speaking, if you can keep your little ones rear-facing until at least 4, the way the Swedes do, you’re on the right track. At that point, if you wish, you can switch to forward-facing. To be honest, you can keep rear-facing too, but if you forward-face, know that you can also switch directly from rear-facing into boostering if your children are ready. From then on, you’ll want to keep your kids in high-back boosters until they’re ready to use adult seat belts; this typically won’t happen until they’re at least 10 to 12. It’s not a race; keep kids in earlier stages if possible for as long as possible.

It’s important to note that the Model S, unlike nearly any other car currently sold in the United States (save the wagon version of the E-Class) actually seats seven, not five. It optionally includes a pair of rear-facing harnessed seats that allow you to fit a pair of children (not adults) in a 3rd row. However, keep in mind that the kids must be at least 37 inches (940 mm) tall while weighing at least 35 but no more than 77 pounds. The seats effectively function as a pair of rear-facing convertible seats for preschool-to elementary-aged children that can’t be turned forward-facing.

The guide below represents only a fraction of available combinations for the Model S; if you find other combinations that work, feel free to let me know through the forums; I’ll add more seats as I get the chance to test them.

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 or the NHTSA.

2016-2019 Tesla Model S (WhiteStar)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.

Clek Fllo,Graco Size4Me 65, Graco Size4Me 65.

Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.

Tips and Tricks:

The initial generation of the Tesla Model S fastback sedan is just under 196 inches long and just over 77 inches wide with a height of 57 inches and a wheelbase of 117 inches. In other words, you’re going to be able to fit most car seats inside without much trouble as long as you’re willing to use seat belts instead of LATCH for the wider ones. Remember that there’s no safety difference between seat belts and LATCH, but seat belts are much more efficient in helping you squeeze out every available inch of space in your back seats. The center seat is the narrowest and is where you’ll want to install the narrowest seat.

It’s important to note that the optional rear-facing seats can’t be used with separate car seats; they are the car seats. However, they can only be used with children between 35 and 77 pounds who are at least 37 inches tall; the effective height limit is around 45 inches due to the slope of the rear windshield. As a result, it’s best to see these additional seats as seats for preschoolers, kindergartners, and perhaps first graders; larger children are unlikely to fit due to height restrictions even if they fit the weight limits.

3 Across Installations: Fitting Car Seats in a Tesla Model 3 Sedan

October 7, 2018 Mike

The Tesla Model 3 is one of the most surprising entries to the packed mid-sized sedan market in the United States, and increasingly one of the most popular. Unlike its competitors (which include the Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Ford Fusion, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry), the Model 3 is only available as a fully electric vehicle. And it’s selling like hotcakes. But how does it do when it comes to keeping families safe?

First of all, everything starts with rear-facing when it comes to car seat safety. Whether you’re 8 hours old or 80 years young, you’re best off rear-facing. Practically speaking, if you can keep your little ones rear-facing until at least 4, the way the Swedes do, you’re on the right track. At that point, if you wish, you can switch to forward-facing. To be honest, you can keep rear-facing too, but if you forward-face, know that you can also switch directly from rear-facing into boostering if your children are ready. From then on, you’ll want to keep your kids in high-back boosters until they’re ready to use adult seat belts; this typically won’t happen until they’re at least 10 to 12. It’s not a race; keep kids in earlier stages if possible for as long as possible.

The guide below represents only a fraction of available combinations for the Model 3; if you find other combinations that work, feel free to let me know through the forums; I’ll add more seats as I get the chance to test them.

2018-2019 Tesla Model 3 (BlueStar)

Guaranteed 3 across installations:

Clek Fllo (x3).

Clek Foonf (x3).

Clek Oobr (x3).

Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (x3).

Peg Perego Flex 120 (x3).

Diono Radian R120 (x3).

Diono Radian RXT (x3).

Diono Radian R100 (x3).

Chicco KeyFit 30 (x3).

Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).

Graco Contender (x3).

Combi Coccoro (x3).

Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT, Diono Radian / RXT.

Clek Fllo,Graco Size4Me 65, Graco Size4Me 65.

Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.

Tips and Tricks:

The initial generation of the Tesla Model 3 fastback sedan is just under 185 inches long and just over 76 inches wide with a height of 57 inches and a wheelbase of 113 inches. In other words, you’re going to be able to fit most car seats inside without much trouble as long as you’re willing to use seat belts instead of LATCH for the wider ones. Remember that there’s no safety difference between seat belts and LATCH, but seat belts are much more efficient in helping you squeeze out every available inch of space in your back seats. The center seat is the narrowest and is where you’ll want to install the narrowest seat. Your biggest challenge will be finding enough front-to-back space when using larger seats or when dealing with taller drivers and front seat passengers. The angle adjuster will be a good idea for a Diono-based seat if using it with a child at least 6 months old.

Illinois Joins States Requiring Rear-Facing Car Seats Until 2

August 18, 2018 Mike

On January 1st, 2019, Illinois will become one of a handful of states throughout the US to require rear-facing infants from birth until age 2. The standard requirement to rear-face in the United States ends at age 1, which isn’t optimal, since research in Sweden has consistently shown benefits for extended rear-facing until 4. In fact, rear-facing remains the safest position for travel in a moving vehicle regardless of age (yes, including into and throughout adulthood). However, the greatest benefits of extended rear-facing are during the first five years of life when the spinal and cervical structures are most fragile in young children. Good job Illinois!

What exactly is the new Illinois law on rear-facing?

The exact language in the bill, HB4377, is contained here. The law itself is Public Act 100-0672, which you can read here. Here’s the most important part:

When any person is transporting a child in this State who
is under the age of 2 years in a motor vehicle of the first
division or motor vehicle of the second division weighing 9,000
pounds or less, he or she shall be responsible for properly
securing the child in a rear-facing child restraint system,
unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more
inches tall.

In other words, if you’re driving a normal vehicle (one weighing under 9,001 pounds, which describes just about any car, pickup truck, SUV, or minivan you can buy), you need to rear-face any children traveling in the vehicle who are under the age of 2 unless these children weigh 40 pounds or more or are 40 or more inches tall. Given the fact that virtually no children are going to weigh 40 pounds or reach 40 inches before their second birthdays (see growth charts for boys and girls here), the rule effectively applies to all children under the age of 2.

But my infant has outgrown his or her infant seat! What do I use?

If you’re worried about compliance with the new law because your baby isn’t going to make it to 2 in his or her infant seat, worry no more. Virtually no babies do! This is precisely why convertible car seats exist. While most parents drive their babies home from the hospital in infant seats, it’s perfectly legal to do so in a convertible seat as long as it fits your baby by weight and has harness straps or an infant insert that allow you to get a proper fit. At any rate, whether you start out with an infant seat and switch to a convertible or start with a convertible seat from day one, you’ve got a lot of seats to choose from. I typically recommend the Graco Extend2Fit; it’s one of the cheapest extended-rear facing convertibles on the market yet it’ll allow you to rear-face as long as any seat currently available in the United States thanks to its 50 pound weight limit and 49″ height limit.

What are the best convertibles for extended-rear facing and 3 across compatibility?

Illinois Rear-Facing Until 2 Guide, FAQ — While I prefer the Extend2Fit due to its cheaper price, if you need 3-across compatibility, you’ll want the Clek **Fllo**.

If you need a narrower seat due to having multiple children (hello 3 across car seat guide!) or wanting to carry adult passengers, my standard recommendation is the Clek Fllo. At 17″ wide, it’s one of the two narrowest seats on the market that allow you to rear-face until 50 pounds (the other being its brand twin the Clek Foonf). It’s important to note, however, that in order to rear-face from birth, you’ll need to pick up the Infant-thingy insert, or else you’ll have a minimum weight of 14 pounds for rear-facing. If you’re wondering what the differences are between the Fllo and the Foonf, you can read about them here. In short, though, for most families considering both seats, the Fllo will be the better choice.

Elon Musk’s Full Self-Driving Promises: Unrealistic, Dangerous

June 30, 2018 Mike

More than at any other time in the history of the automobile, the possibilities of self-driving cars are arriving, and quickly. However, every reputable organization in the field acknowledges that the technology, while progressing rapidly, is not nearly ready to be deployed in every environment with the necessary levels of safety for public acceptance. Tesla, however, in its insatiable desire to be first, has been repeatedly pushing the envelope by making autonomous technology ever-more available to the public. The consequences have not gone unnoticed; while most Tesla drivers have used their vehicles’ extended features responsibly, a significant minority has, naturally, begun testing the Autopilot functionality in ways Tesla technically discourages but tacitly encourages. Joshua Brown paid for this experimentation with his life. Elaine Herzberg, who had nothing to do with a Tesla, also died at the hands of autonomous technology (in an Uber-modified Volvo XC90, a vehicle from a company renown for its commitment to safety). As a result, you’d hope to see more caution from the figurehead of one of the most innovative car companies on the planet than what you’re likely to see from Elon Musk’s Twitter feed these days:

Self-driving Teslas just months away, promises Musk

Tesla’s cars will in August suddenly activate “full self-driving features,” the company’s chief executive Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday, three days after federal investigators said a Tesla SUV driving semi-autonomously had accelerated over 70 mph and smashed into a highway barrier.

There are a number of things wrong with such a statement, but let’s just focus on the most obvious one: the technology still isn’t ready for full time, hands-free, always-ready, mainstream deployment. This has been made obvious most directly (and most painfully, from the perspectives of their families) through the deaths of individuals like Joshua Brown, who was beheaded in 2017 while, per reports, either sleeping, reading, or watching videos in his Model S when it drove under a semi trailer at full speed under control of Autopilot. It was recently shown through the 2018 death of 38-year-old Walter Huang, who died in March while his Autopilot-driven Model X accelerated and veered into a barrier on the highway before bursting into flames.

Huang, like Brown, had not been driving his Tesla before it took his life, strongly indicating that both men had placed their lives in the hands of Tesla’s technology. While Tesla has consistently stated that Autopilot is not a replacement for a human driver and that drivers are always required to maintain control over their vehicles, they released semi-autonomous technology to the market with full knowledge that people were going to behave like people, which means going, “look Ma, no hands!” more often than not when given the chance. This is irresponsible, and I’m not the only person to point this out.

Tesla wants guinea pigs to get the bugs out of their technology; will you be one of them?

“Tesla has a history of using consumers as guinea pigs,” said David Friedman, the director of cars and product policy at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. Tesla’s “misleading” marketing, he said, has had the dangerous effect of “providing overconfidence and building you up to thinking it’s safer than it actually is.”

Friedman nails the key issue with Musk’s ill-advised, but thoroughly intentional tweet. Musk is a marketer–one of the most successful in recent times–and the more hype he generates about Tesla, the more stock shares rise, the more money the company raises, and the more people are willing to write thirty-, forty-, one-hundred thousand dollar checks for the hope and promise of driving vehicles that drive themselves. The problem, of course, is that the vehicles, while impressive, aren’t ready to be fully trusted to fully drive themselves. As a result, anyone driving one and expecting it to work as a fully self-driven vehicle may pay for it someday with his or her life.

However, as Edward Thorp would teach us, there are negative externalities, or additional consequences, that come into play when someone decides to turn on an Autopilot-enabled (or addled) Tesla and turn off his or her brain. Beyond the driver, any other occupants in the vehicle are now risking their lives, whether they wish to or not. Any other occupants of any other vehicles on the road are now at risk, as one never knows if the Tesla approaching in the opposing lane may be about to veer into one’s path. Pedestrians and cyclists are at even greater risk, as they won’t even have the basic protections of a vehicle around their bodies. These are the risks; we all become Tesla’s guinea pigs when they release their buggy software and encourage people to use it responsibly while wink-winking as people start behaving irresponsibly. Tesla collects data on every mile driven by their vehicles through telemetry, and they pay particular attention once their vehicles are involved in collisions, and they pay extra attention whenever those collisions are serious enough to lead to fatalities or receive media attention, because that’s a sign to move into damage control mode.

Upgrading your car’s brain isn’t as easy as upgrading your phone

Buyers of Tesla’s sedan or SUV, including the $140,000 Model X P100D, can pay an extra $5,000 for “Enhanced Autopilot,” a package of still-experimental features that the company says could include “on-ramp to off-ramp” autonomous freeway driving. Drivers can prepay another $3,000 on top of that for its “Full Self-Driving Capability” package, which the company advertises as “All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go.”

But Tesla has shared little about how it has tested these features, Friedman said, adding that the treating of self-driving capabilities as easy software updates could have deadly results.

If this doesn’t give you pause, I’m not sure what will. It’s difficult to tell whether you’re adding features to a MacBook Pro or a 4,000 pound vehicle capable of propelling itself at 70 mph without a driver’s input. Of course, you’re not supposed to use a Tesla that way–yet. But per Musk, you’ll soon be able to. Whether your Tesla is capable of doing so consistently or not. And thanks to Musk, anyone on the road will be at the mercy of any undiscovered bugs in the system. Of course, you could argue that this isn’t any different from the risks we run whenever we approach roadways dominated by human-steered vehicles, which still have a far, far worse safety record than Autopilot or any other mainstream autonomous technology. I’m not implying that the technology isn’t safer than human intervention, because it is. I’m arguing that Tesla’s rushing to be first in a race we’re all going to win in the long run so they can get the glory in the short run. And that’s just not safe for any of us.

35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.