John510

Hello GX Owners…..

I need to get rid of my IS to fit 3 car seats. Questions I have for you GX owners:

Does the 3rd row seat have the LATCH system? How many LATCH systems in second row?

If I have 2 car seats strapped to the second row can I slide that row forward to get to the 3rd row?


Thanks

John

chiph9

Not a parent, so take this with a grain of salt..

Mine has a LATCH tag sewn onto the center seat. But I haven't felt around for the actual bars yet. The center seat is somewhat narrow, so make sure the child seat isn't too wide.

I'm guessing that the third row seats will be inaccessible with 2+ child seats in the 2nd row. But this may depend on the seat design.

Chip H.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

for 2nd row, there are latches for 2 car seats but the positions are weird. one is on the passenger side and that's a direct fit over the existing seat.

the one on the driver side is weird, it's not exactly on the side seat, it's in the middle of the left two seats (if you face forward). if you use the latch system for car seat it will basically take up both seats.

in short if you use the latch system for 2nd row, you can hold two seats and won't be able to sit another individual. on ours, the passenger side we use the latch system, the driver side i use the factory seat belt system instead, leaving the middle seat available to be used if necessary.

the 2nd row does not slide forward at all. it folds down and flip up for ppl to get into 3rd row. so with car seats in, there is no way you can do that anymore. for me, passengers climb into 3rd row from the back. and i have only had 1 person in 3rd row so far. if you need both seats in 3rd row? good luck

the 3rd row seats do not have any latch system to them at all. i have only had to use that for car seat once, and i used the factory seat belt system

RCsGX

The GX has the worse latch system. The GX latches on the drivers side are between seats as rominl described. We just use the seatbelt (pull the seat belt all the way out then retract it back and pull it tight the last little bit and it'll lock in place, cannot be pulled out, until you release it from the buckle) so the car seat can sit in one seat and not take up 2 seats in the 2nd row. Never used any car seat in the 3rd row.

If you're needing to fit 3 car seats I wouldn't get a GX.

msn619

realistic you can only put 2 baby seats on second row(front/rear facing), 3rd row booster seats are ok

amccaulx

Attaching seats with seatbelts is just as safe as the LATCH system, in fact, once the car seat/child combined with reaches about 70-80lbs, LATCH is no longer safe because it can't hold that much weight in a crash. It is just easier to correctly a child seat using LATCH then a seatbelt install, but a good seatbelt install can be just as safe, if not safer then LATCH.

In our GX:

In the Middle Pass seat, we use LATCH

In the Middle Driver Seat we use a seatbelt because of the weird LATCH system location.

In the Rear Driver Seat we attach using a seatbelt, and access it through the barn door (Rear Pass seat removed)

The rear carseat barley fits, so you should test fit before buying. The bad thing about the 3rd row isn't not having LATCH, its that there is no top tether anchor. I have heard though that it may be possible to have a Lexus Dealer add one, but I have yet to look into that.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

agreed, a well installed seat belt system install is just as safe if not safer. just that it's definitely more work and harder. also agreed that on the 3rd row, the problem is lack of top anchor. i wonder if it's true that lexus can add one and where would they add it

John510

Thanks for the replies. Maybe a GX isn't for me. I need a car i can fit a seat in the rear while sliding the second row forward. Or something like a suburban that has two captains chairs in second row and climb through the middle to get to the rear. No minivans!

jpac811

I hope not to get bashed here but have you looked at a Nissan Armada or Toyota Highlander?

The Armada comes with captain seats in the second row and a good size 3rd row. Of course they also came with a bench in the second row but you just have to look around for the ones with the Captains.

The Highlander is kinda set up like a mini van, depending on which model you get. The second row slides but the 3rd row is super tiny.

Oh yeah, another choice is the Sequoia.

Sounds like you will need a full size SUV like an Armada, Sequoia, Suburban etc.

RCsGX

Look at a Sequoia. It has 2nd row captain chairs and a 3rd row.

That's what I originally wanted to buy but I couldn't find any 4wd in my area so I bought a GX.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have never tried but maybe check out the infiniti jx too. it's more like a crossover but one of the selling point is you can have car seat in 2nd row but still roll and tilt forward to get into 3rd row

bauer26

We seriously considered a Chevrolet Traverse before buying our GX. You can get em with captains chairs in the 2 row that allow access inbetween to the 3rd row. It also has a fair amount of cargo space behind the 3rd row, unlike a GX =(

N305AS

If you need to fit multiple car seats, try the Diono Radian EXT - it's a highly rated seat and you can fit three across in the GX middle row using the seatbelt installations.

I've got a Britax Advocate 70-G3 installed forward-facing using LATCH directly in back of the driver's seat and it works just fine, although the middle is even better for the forward-facing LATCH installation.