Model S - Car Seats

Kipernicus said:

The updated specs page says

But then engadget has this picture:
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I don't recognize that brand of carseat - not your typical Britax. I guess if you can squeeze them in then go for it!

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Very curious about that picture as something doesn't seem right. They don't look like any car seat I've ever seen, but I hope we have the option of center, left or right like the picture shows.

Discoducky said:

Very curious about that picture as something doesn't seem right. They don't look like any car seat I've ever seen, but I hope we have the option of center, left or right like the picture shows.

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No way 3 normal car seats fit across the row. That doesn't work in SUVs much wider than the S. I assume those are bespoke, scaled down "child seats" for demonstration purposes only. Britax, Graco et al always prominently put their logos on their seats. They're just too wide to fit together. It's still a great accomplishment to have the center seat with the LATCH, though. Great for new parents or when transporting only 1 young child.

I think it is this one:
Combi : Car Seats : Coccoro

It is 15.5 inches wide and the specs list 54.7 inches of hip room.

Looks like this one...

http://www.best-baby-stroller-reviews.com/2009/03/28/combi-coccoro-convertible-car-seat-chesnut-brown/

Edit: Looks like richkae beat me too it by a minute...
Edit2: "* Allows up to 3 seats across the rear seat of most vehicles"

Kipernicus said:

Good find, guys. These are infant carriers, so unless you have triplets you won't be needing 3 of these at once.

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I was wondering about that... Means they should be rear facing.

Trnsl8r said:

I was wondering about that... Means they should be rear facing.

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Actually they are convertible car seats which means they can be installed front or rear facing depending on the size of the child. If there were no hatch seats this would be useful for playdates/child care sharing. But I guess that is what the hatch seats option is for. Still nice to know it is possible. Maybe one would do this if they were going on a walk with another parent with children and the frunk was not big enough for the strollers.

It's a smart product to allow three across. Even without triplets, some parents have two or three kids who needs seats (or friends for carpool). I wonder if the middle one can go rear facing with the other two front facing?

In any event, kudos to Tesla for putting three LATCH seats in the back! Yet one more selling point.

Arnold Panz said:

No way 3 normal car seats fit across the row. That doesn't work in SUVs much wider than the S. I assume those are bespoke, scaled down "child seats" for demonstration purposes only. Britax, Graco et al always prominently put their logos on their seats. They're just too wide to fit together. It's still a great accomplishment to have the center seat with the LATCH, though. Great for new parents or when transporting only 1 young child.

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I've had 3 in our 2003 Saturn vue.

132 said:

I've had 3 in our 2003 Saturn vue.

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Shows how long it's been for me. 3 years since my last child car seat, and 5 years since I tried to fit two next to each other. Glad things have evolved since then!

HELP: 3 Children? What's your setup? Save me from minivan...

Wife is hung up on fitting 3 carseats in the MS and it threatens to derail my order. I'm reaching out to the TMC community for help:

(1) All three children are <3 years old
(2) Wife thinks third row is not helpful for the one kid that will fit back there for anything but the shortest of trips because a) it's a hassle to reach in to buckle up, b) it gets too hot, even with tint (she's heard about the lack of ventilation), c) you can't easily reach back to hand over an apple juice or whatever, d) vague safety concerns
(3) She thinks the 3-carseats-across solution in the second row is unlikely to work in real life because of how hard it would be to access the middle carseat and the narrow door openings. She doesn't like the idea of buying new narrow carseats.

Let me say, these are all valid concerns, so I want to be responsive and honest.

Thank you for your help and (constructive) ideas! Please save me from a minivan.

*Apologies in advance for this redundant thread, but I need some new facts and warm fuzzies to close the deal.

DIL said:

(1) All three children are <3 years old
(2) Wife thinks third row is not helpful for the one kid that will fit back there for anything but the shortest of trips because a) it's a hassle to reach in to buckle up, b) it gets too hot, even with tint (she's heard about the lack of ventilation), c) you can't easily reach back to hand over an apple juice or whatever, d) vague safety concerns
(3) She thinks the 3-carseats-across solution in the second row is unlikely to work in real life because of how hard it would be to access the middle carseat and the narrow door openings. She doesn't like the idea of buying new narrow carseats.

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We have kids 2 and 4... We've kept our odyssey but don't use it.
2a... Easier to buckle in S trunk than 3rd row of our minivan
2b... We haven't had significant heat issue... We do have a USB fan there but haven't bothered to tint yet. Just precool the car 5minutes before you get back to the car is fine for us.
2c... Just like 3rd row of minivan... Except in the S the kids can pass things back and forth as they are back to back.
2d... Safety concerns? I'm reluctant to use our 2007 minivan due to safety concerns among other reasons .

Ultimately our kids prefer the middle row as they can see better... So that is where they sit unless the in-laws are around.

DIL said:

Wife is hung up on fitting 3 carseats in the MS and it threatens to derail my order. I'm reaching out to the TMC community for help:

(1) All three children are <3 years old
(2) Wife thinks third row is not helpful for the one kid that will fit back there for anything but the shortest of trips because a) it's a hassle to reach in to buckle up, b) it gets too hot, even with tint (she's heard about the lack of ventilation), c) you can't easily reach back to hand over an apple juice or whatever, d) vague safety concerns
(3) She thinks the 3-carseats-across solution in the second row is unlikely to work in real life because of how hard it would be to access the middle carseat and the narrow door openings. She doesn't like the idea of buying new narrow carseats.

Let me say, these are all valid concerns, so I want to be responsive and honest.

Thank you for your help and (constructive) ideas! Please save me from a minivan.

*Apologies in advance for this redundant thread, but I need some new facts and warm fuzzies to close the deal.

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Given how well the Model S has held up in collisions (front and side at least) you are more likely safer in a Model S than most other cars or minivans. I would think the rear facing seats are the safest seats in frontal collisions at least which are fairly common. They do reinforce the rear bumper if you get the rear facing seats if that helps. Those are all valid concerns that she has of course. Tesla has said they will address the ventilation issue but no details yet.

Don't think this totally answers your questions about 3 seats across (just skimmed it) but seems to be a review about car seats and the Model S
Tesla Model S Review: The Only Emissions Come from the Kids

Arnold Panz said:

No way 3 normal car seats fit across the row. That doesn't work in SUVs much wider than the S. I assume those are bespoke, scaled down "child seats" for demonstration purposes only. Britax, Graco et al always prominently put their logos on their seats. They're just too wide to fit together. It's still a great accomplishment to have the center seat with the LATCH, though. Great for new parents or when transporting only 1 young child.

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On the contrary, I fit 3 normal car seats across daily.

islandbayy said:

On the contrary, I fit 3 normal car seats across daily.

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Which car seats are you using? What type (i.e., convertible, booster, backless booster, etc)?

I took 2 of my (now backless) booster seats to the store and strapped them in and it looked like you could get 3 across in a pinch. These are not especially narrow--a Graco Turbobooster and a Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR. Access to the seat buckle looks like the trickiest part, so three boosters across would probably not be workable on a day-to-day basis, unless you wanted to help buckle all three kids in every time you went somewhere. But for occasional trips? Doesn't seem like a problem.

Not sure I'll be able to get two of those and the Recaro ProSport I have for my 2.5 yo in at the same time, but it certainly looks possible.

I've got 2 Diono radian r100 seats in the back for my 18 month old and almost 3 year old. In the middle sits our six year old with a backless booster. If I had 3 kids under 3, I'd simply have 3 of the Diono's in the back. Our other vehicle is a Sienna and it almost never get driven.

mnx said:

I've got 2 Diono radian r100 seats in the back for my 18 month old and almost 3 year old. In the middle sits our six year old with a backless booster. If I had 3 kids under 3, I'd simply have 3 of the Diono's in the back. Our other vehicle is a Sienna and it almost never get driven.

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The Dionos are nice, but $$$, especially if you've already got three other seats you're already using.

PLEASE NOTE!

You shouldn't put 3 LATCH style seats across the back seats. You shouldn't put two LATCH seats on the 60% side either.

See the page in your book. You can use 3 seatbelt attach seats across the back however.