The Nissan Pathfinder is Nissan’s most popular SUV after the Rogue, and is their most popular competitor in the hotly-contested mid-sized crossover market. It most directly competes with a range of 3-row mid-sized SUVs like the Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, Dodge Journey, Dodge Durango, Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Flex, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Highlander, and Mazda CX-9, and it holds its ground well.
After receiving a number of parent requests by email, I decided to look into how easy or difficult it was to fit 3 car seats across the 2nd row of various generations of the Pathfinder. Being a 3-row SUV, you can theoretically fit 3, 4, or even 5 car seats in it. However, I wanted to learn which seats would work and which ones wouldn’t. Before we go into the details, let’s look at best practices, in terms of using the right kinds of seats for the right amounts of time in our vehicles.
First of all, I like to begin with rear-facing, since it’s the safest position for young children. I suggest rear-facing from day one until you can’t anymore, even if that takes you through the preschool years (ideally until 4!), before forward-facing them in harnessed convertible or combination seats (ideally until 8!). Once they outgrow their harnessed seats, it’s best to keep them restrained in high-back boosters until they’re physically and psychologically ready to use adult seat belt systems (which typically happens between 10 and 12). These suggestions may take a bit of extra work, but they provide a lot of extra safety.
My results of car seat puzzling and juggling in the Nissan Pathfinder are below. It’s not a complete list, but as with all of my 3 across guides, it’s my goal to make it the most complete on the Internet over time, especially as I get access to more seats. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test 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 courtesy of Wikipedia.
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Nissan Pathfinder (R52)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65 (x2).
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Graco TurboBooster, Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco TurboBooster, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Tips and Tricks:
The current generation of the Nissan Pathfinder is 197 inches long and 77 inches wide, making it both the longest and largest version of the Pathfinder yet. As a result, your 3 across odds are going to be strong with nearly any combination of seats you can put together. This is if you’re using the seat belts, of course. The LATCH anchors in the Pathfinder are relatively close together, so if you try to use them with 3 seats, there will probably be many seats you can’t get to work, despite the width of the Pathfinder. Use the seat belts to maximize your space.
A downside to the current generation Pathfinder is that there aren’t any lower LATCH anchors in the third row. You can get around this easily by using the seat belt there, but you can’t get around the downside of only having a single tether anchor in the 3rd row. It’s located behind the passenger outboard seat, and you can easily confuse it with a number of cargo hooks behind the 3rd row. Tethering while forward-facing is important for safety, so if you need to forward-face multiple children, keep them in the 2nd row, as there are 3 tether anchors available for the three 2nd row seats.
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Nissan Pathfinder (R51)
Guaranteed 3 across installations:
Clek Fllo (x3).
Clek Foonf (x3).
Diono Radian RXT (x3).
Diono Radian R120 (x3).
Diono Radian R100 (x3).
Combi Coccoro (x3).
Graco Size4Me 65 (x3).
Graco Contender (x3).
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65, Diono Radian / RXT.
Clek Fllo, Graco Size4Me 65 (x2).
Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Graco TurboBooster, Clek Fllo, Diono Radian / RXT.
Graco TurboBooster, Diono Radian / RXT (x2).
Tips and Tricks:
The 2005-2012 generation of the Nissan Pathfinder is 188-193 inches long, depending on whether you drive a pre-2008 or 2008-2012 model, and 73 inches wide across all years of this generation. The width means you’re unlikely to have many troubles with car seat installations as long as you use relatively narrow seats and take advantage of your seat belts. Save the LATCH system for when you don’t have to install a pair of seats next to each other.
—
If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.