2013 Infiniti JX35: Car Seat Check
When it comes to three-row vehicles, third-row access is a big deal, especially when child-safety seats are part of the equation. With child-safety seats installed in a second-row bench, it can be anywhere from difficult to impossible to get into the third row without crawling over a set of seats.
The designers at Infiniti have fixed that problem with the all-new 2013 JX35 and its sliding second-row bench. The 60/40-split seat slides and tilts forward — all with a forward-facing child-safety seat installed on it — to create a walkway to the third row.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.
The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver's seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the convertible seat in the second row's middle seat with the booster and infant seats in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.
Here's how the 2013 JX35 did in Cars.com's Car Seat Check:
Latch system: The JX falls down on the family-friendly front by having just two sets of lower Latch anchors in its three rows of seats. The Latch anchors are in the second row's outboard seats. The anchors are easy to use because they're not buried behind stiff seat cushions.
There are three tether anchors in the second row's seatbacks and a fourth anchor in the third row's seatback. All are easy to use, with plenty of clearance around the tether anchor.
Booster seat: In the second row, our high-back booster seat fit well (photo above), thanks to the reclining seatbacks. When buckling up, the seat belt buckle gets pushed down into the seat cushion, but then it springs back up. It's tough to tell if kids will be able to buckle up easily by themselves.
The third row has two passenger seats with head restraints that fold down. The seats are really flat and wide, making it easy for our booster seat to fit on it. However, those same flat seats make it easy for the booster to slide over the seat belt buckle that's deeply recessed in the seat cushion.
Convertible seat: Both the forward- and rear-facing (photo above) convertible seats fit well in the second row. In the third row, we installed the forward-facing convertible (photo below) using the seat belt without any problems.
Infant-safety seat: This rear-facing car seat (photo below) had plenty of room in the JX's second row.
Third-row access: The JX's sliding second row creates a walkway to the third row — even with a forward-facing car seat in the seat.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
How many car seats fit in third row? Two
Editor's note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
Related
Research the 2013 Infiniti JX35
More Car Seat Checks
More Safety News
Previous
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!
The first picture of the convertible seat in the 2nd row looks to be mis-identified. You have it labeled as forward-facing.
This "baby chair seat-check" series is easily one of the most useless articles of cars.com
Agreed and it's obvious space filler.
These posts are great for people with small children. Very helpful.
How is it remotely useful? Tell me any family who would come to cars.com and specifically look for these articles. Every article sums up to this: 1 picture of 2 kid seats fitting in the backseat. And the car cannot fit 3 seats unless it's a minivan.
This series is a joke. LOL.
Well, one of our Top 10 most popular stories is this one:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2012/04/which-cars-fit-three-car-seats.html
So many, many people are finding Cars.com because we're the only ones doing it. We're happy with that and think if we can help families we will. It does not take away any other coverage so we don't really see why anyone would complain.
I'll complain because the picture captioning is still wrong.
I suggest adding to your seat collection as well namely the rear facing convertibles.
I actually googled this to see the article! I think it's great! It's about time car manufacturers start thinking about these things and people start realizing how important car seats being installed properly are! Thank you cars.com!
The Willehpad Car seat pad provides you extra support and padding that your truck Or car lack to maximize comfort.
http://www.willehpad.com
I think these articles are great. We are looking for a larger car and will need 3 car seats (at least) and looking for options not just a minivan. The pictures are always helpful - helps me narrow down which cars are worth dragging all my car seats to test out. Please keep up the good work!! Thank you!
Yep, just did a google search for JX and "three in a row" and this article came in second. The first was a related article from cars.com. Expecting a third kid and trying to acoid the minivan.
I googled this as well. Expecting a third child and already have a 2012 Honda Odyssey, but we want another car (not a mini-van) that can hold all three kiddos under 5.
I'm strongly considering the JX35. Does anyone know if I can get 2 narrow car seats (Sunshine Radians) which measure about 35" for both on the larger side of the 2nd row bench? I'd still like to be able to fully flip the smaller side forward to get to the 3rd row. Thanks!
I saw the JX35 today. The larger section of the 2nd row seat is approx. 30" wide and will not hold 2 car seats (as most are 17" or more wide). You could put 2 car seats in the outboard positions obviously.
Has anyone tried configuring the JX with two rear-facing convertibles fully/properly reclined? Can you still access the third row, even if it means moving the front passenger seat all the way forward first to make room for the second row seat to slide forward?
I'm also guessing the JX is incompatible with rear-facing tethers anchored to the floor of the second row because it would inhibit the sliding action of the second row. Is that correct? Thanks!