Child seat in two-seater? (370z)
 

Is it illegal to put baby in a child seat in the 370z? I've heard it's illegal to (federal law) to put a child seat up front in a car - sso assumedly it would be illegal in the 370 correct? I noticed we do have a child seat anchor in the car - so it has to be legal somehow... I know the passenger airbag disables if you are under 70 pounds or something, so it wouldnt trigger it - although I have Bride seats so the passenger airbag is never on... Is it legal to have a child seat in the 370?

local laws may vary

I am also curious about this. I never looked for the child seat anchors, but if we have them it shouldn't be an issue.

1. What's the Problem?
Most new cars have air bags for front-seat passengers. When used with lap/shoulder belts, air bags work very well to protect older children and adults. Air bags do not work with rear-facing child seats (those used with infants). Airbags could seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child or adult who is sitting too close to the air bag or who is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking. In a crash, the air bag inflates very quickly. It could hit anything close to the dashboard with enough force to cause severe injuries or even death. Because the back of a rear-facing child seat sits very close to the dashboard, the seat could be struck with enough force to cause serious, or even fatal injuries to a baby. Even older children (who have outgrown child seats) are at risk from a deploying air bag, if they are not properly restrained.


2. What Should I Do?
The rear seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride. An infant in a rear-facing child seat must ride in the back seat if your vehicle has a passenger air bag. Make sure that everyone in the front seat is properly buckled up and seated as far back from the air bags as is reasonably possible. Make sure that all young children are properly secured in an age and size appropriate restrains. Know how to properly install your child seat in the vehicle. Read both the owner’s manual for the vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat.


Federal Website boosterseat.gov

Looks liek federal law says no - but it just says because of the passenger airbag you can't have a rear facing (infant) seat, but it doesn't say if you have an active passenger airbag like ours....

Alabama law...
http://www.dps.state.al.us/Administr...straintLaw.pdf

Not very helpful, I'll have to break down the federal law more, Alabama is like - YOU HAVE SEAT FOR KID IFFUN KID LESS THAN 15 YURS ELD.

I'm pretty sure that if it's illegal to put a child in a front seat, and exception is made in the case of a vehicle that doesn't have a rear seat.

The manual does outline how to implement a child seat in the 370Z - I do remember that much from it...which is odd because I have no kids.

I believe most state laws have an exception for cars with no back seat that allows child seats in the front.

Why take up the space of the passenger seat? just put the car seat in the cargo area, thats what the cargo net is made for right? to keep things from rolling around. I'm at least 50% sure it would work.:ugh2:

According to IIHS (Child Restraint Laws), the California law is that children 5 years and younger or less than 60 pounds must be in the rear seat. Many other states express no preference for rear seat. There are exceptions in CA, however.

In California, children weighing more than 40 pounds may be belted without a booster seat if they are seated in the rear seat of a vehicle not equipped with lap/shoulder belts. The California rear seat requirement does not apply if: there is no rear seat; the rear seats are side-facing jump seats; the rear seats are rear-facing seats; the child passenger restraint system cannot be installed properly in the rear seat; all rear seats are already occupied by children under 12 years; or medical reasons necessitate that the child not ride in the rear seat. A child may not ride in the front seat of a motor vehicle with an active pasenger airbag if the child is under 1 year of age, or weighs less than 20 pounds or is riding in a rear-facing child restraint system.

I have 3 kids. If they are under 80 lbs the passenger seat in the 370z will automatically un-arm the air bags on that side. (the light adjacent to the start button will light up). Kinda cool.

works like a charm for me when I have to take one with me, but I got my wife a SUV to tote the buggers around in. Not my Z

Most states will allow you to use the "front" seat if you have no rear seats. However, this assumes your child is old enough to have a forward-facing car seat. If your child is still too young and you need to use a rear-facing seat, an airbag deployment will either kill or seriously injure them (usually by snapping their as-yet-undeveloped and weak neck/spine).

You can purchase a cut-off switch for an airbag for use in these cases, provided by the car manufacturer, but it's not highly advertised. Expect around $500 installed for such a switch.

You folks should really read the manual..There's 10 pages addressing this. rear facing seats are not recommended in any circumstance..

What's a manual? :p

As said by others, in most cases no matter the state:

If your child is still in a rear facing car seat, it would be a violation to put them in the from seat, even it your car does not have a rear seat.

If you child is old enough for a front facing car seat and you have no back seat (such as with the Z), you may place their car seat in the front.

If your child is out of a car seat and in a booster seat, the front seat is o.k. If they are under 80 pounds, the airbag will automatically deactivate itself.

My RX8 has that feature and it DOES work. My mother lost a TON of weight after her surgey a few years back and the airbag deactivated for her when she rode someplace with me!

Putting a kid in the front seat is crazy, they belong in the hatch.