First of all... Hello guys and girls. I've tried to do my research with the search tool. But it hasn't been the best. So before you flame me for not searching, I have.

I have just recently found out that I'm going to be a father. So I was thinking about my baby when he's born will need an infant car seat. Does any one have a good recommendation for a car seat. I own a 2002 XE/SC model. I know that there are some car seats that utilize the anchors in the back. Those this make it safer or not?

Hope to hear some good recommendations....

Have two car seats in the back for my 2 and 3 year olds. when they were infants we used a baby seat/carrier that was made by evenflo. Best palce i can recommend is babies r us. their employees are pretty knowledgable and can tell you what the rules and regulations are or california. Also some hospitals give you a car seat or other choices when your baby is born there. I believe that all seats (in california) have to be anchored in addition to being strapped with the seatbelt, your cargo area has the anchor hooks and i think all car seat have the teher to anchor it too the car. Good luck and congratulations.

Yeah, read up on all that LATCH stuff. I'm not sure if 02 X's are latch equipped or. Even if not though, a LATCH car seat will still work in a non-LATCH vehicle. Both of my car seats are LATCH, but I installed them the regular way.

Only advice I have is to get one with a level indicator on the side so you know when you have it installed at the correct angle. And also 5 point harness.

I bought an Evenflo and also a Graco. The Graco seems to be the better fit in my X, but both of them worked fine. Don't skimp on price, but you don't need some $350 Britax ultra deluxe model either. Spend around $80 to $100 or so. Mine were around $120 and are nice and have thick padding.

And yes, the people at babies-r-us actually did know thier stuff and didn't try and sell us the most expensive thing.

Thanks alot guys. I will be stopping my local baby r'us soon. I do appreciate the help. I know may baby will be safe inside it's brother big brother the X...

Well you kind of asking in wrong place 8)
You better off checking all the safety ratings and stuff
But basically deal is: get real stuff, do not settle for "travel system", go for 5 point restraint vs 3 point, and check if you could for multi positioning of bottom front restraint(as in try to go for most expandable stuff - 2-5 slots vs 1, it would be important as your baby grow - allow you to use seat longer). Check that handle (if you planning to move it around) has solid proper locking mechanism on it (so it would keep up in upper position, when you carry seat around, and baby wouldnt flip out). Also check that position of baby would be maximally close to laying down, not to seating, which is kind of important for spine development in few first months.

We used Graco's (couldnt remember model name, was X-travel or something like that), picked it up at Babies'R'Us. If i remember correctly Evenflo and Graco were top rated by that time (2 yrs ago).

And most important - contratz on baby 8)

My wife and I had good luck with the Graco carrier that came with the Metrolite Travel system. It was easy to setup in the back seat of the Xterra and it was nice to be able to take our son out of the X without waking him up. If you have an extra car, by the extra base and you are set.

When our son got older and grew out of the infant carrier we first bought the Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 Car Seat Car with LATCH, but this didn't work well in the back seat and we could not adjust the straps with the seat facing the rear. The problem was the angle of the seatback in the back seat of the Xterra was too sharp, even with the toddler seat fully reclined, my son would be hanging by the straps. Try sitting back there and you'll see what I mean.

We ended up buying the Triumph 5 Comfort Touch Car Seat with LATCH from Evenflo. This was a much better fit the toddler seat, it has 5 reclining positions and with the adjustment mechanism for the straps on either side of the seat it's a cinch to lock in the little bugger. The Latch system was a little hard to get locked in but once in it stays in and will not move.

Your 2002 Xterra should have the Latch Anchors in it, between the seat cushions and in the back cargo area.

If you have any questions at all stop by a fire or police station. I know in my dept. quite a few of us took classes on how to install child/baby seats in vehicles. Congrats on the father to be thing.

Congrat Ukin-Xterra!!! Glad to see you doing the homework so early in the pregnancy. You wouldn't believe how many people remember the carseat when it's time to take the baby home for the first time.

I agree with Cygnus-X1's post and don't really have anything to add to it except you might want to also invest in some seatcovers. Kids are murder on seats!

I greatly appreciate all of the welcomed advise. When I got the news of the new baby, two things popped into mind. One was the car seat, the second was how I was going to protect the X against the baby... lol. Like everyone on the board, I love my X and don't like to see it get dirty.. at least not in the inside.

I had some customer seat covers made for my X. The cost was about $100 dollars, but they are really nice. The quality is a bit below the Nissan seat covers and a bit higher than the Costco seat covers. I found a guy in a swap meet that custom makes the covers. So now both the baby and the X will be will protected.

Congrats! Here are a couple of good links:

http://www.nissanusa.com/owning/ChildSafetyLanding

http://www.nissanusa.com/m/pdf/child_safety_xterra.pdf

Brent

You will need one more thing rear floor mats - seriously big and capable of catching lots of different things that baby would throw around - i.e crumbles, cookies, milk bottles (yeah THOSE LEAKING BASTARDS!!!!) and other lovely bits.

If you havent got full interior XNet btw - i suggest to get one - it makes nice overhead shelf next to baby, so you culd tuck in lots of things, and then get them without moving around much (then again i think it would be your wife who sits next to baby.. but who knows 8)) It also makes nice place to hang different toys on 8)

We have a graco car seat for our 2 year old, and are getting another graco for the newborn (June). Get a set of Costco seat covers to prevent all that flying debris (food, milk, etc) from staining your seats. Put the seat in the middle for the newborn. Rear facing is a pain, but is for the safety of your little one. The car seats we got are rated for newborns to 40 LBS, so it has grown with my son.

BTW, we do see (locally) a lot of parents who don't use car seats, and I think thats very dangerous. I have witnessed a car rollover with a toddler in a car seat. The car was totaled, but the toddler was kept safe. No doubt she would have been seriously injured or killed otherwise.

Congrats! Nothing like being a father. Very cool, IMO.
ReecerX

Congrats to you, and welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood, I hope you all have lots of good health, happiness and smooth sailing I can't add any more than has already been said. 5 point harness and latch system

So is the following a good summary of this thread?

- congrats!
- look for a level indicator
- 5 point harness
- interior XNet is nice for storage
- rear seat covers a must
- rear floormats a must
- evenflo triumph 5 comfort touch w/Latch is a good choice

Below is some additiona info from NISSAN:

- Do place the safety seat in the back seat of the vehicle.
- Do attach the safety seat to the vehicle using safety belts and/or anchors.
- Do secure the child snugly in the safety seat using the safety seat harness.
- Do position the safety seat harness clip at the child's armpit level.
- Do choose the appropriate safety seat for your child's weight and age:
-.* Birth to 1 year; up to 20-22 pounds: Rear-facing seat.
-.* At least 1 year up to 4 years: Front-facing seat.
-.* At least 4 years up to 10 years: Booster seat
- Don't install the seat in the vehicle too loosely: you should not be able to move the seat an inch or more sideways or forward.
- Don't place infants in forward-facing seats too soon: rear-facing seats are the proper choice for children younger than 12 months and/or lighter than 20 pounds.
- Don't improperly route or adjust the safety seat harness.
- Don't improperly position the retaining clip.
- Don't stop using booster seats too soon - booster seats are appropriate for children up to 10 years old.

Even more info from NISSAN:
1. Using a non-skid mat under the CRS can help stabilize the CRS in the vehicle seat, especially on a slick seating surface, such as leather. Kitchen cabinet liner material works quite well.

2. For rear-facing restraints, ‘pool noodles’ or rolled towels can help stabilize and help provide a proper installation angle for the infant restraint. Pool noodles are long, rounded pieces of foam that are used as water toys, which can be cut to a length of 10–12 inches and placed under the rearward edge of the CRS.

3. To install the child restraint tightly, it is easier if a second person helps you. While one person pushes down and into the seatback to compress the seat cushions, the second person should pull the seat belt tightly around the CRS to remove all slack.

4. Confirm that the belt is not twisted and the buckle is positioned correctly. A twisted belt or improperly facing buckle may inhibit proper tightening.

5. Be careful not to pinch the seat belt webbing when pushing down on the CRS. If the person pushing down on the seat is also pushing down on the webbing, the webbing cannot tighten around the CRS.

6. Compressing the vehicle seatback cushion near the shoulder belt retractor and forcing additional webbing into the retractor can further tighten the CRS installation.

7. If the vehicle’s seatback is adjustable, as in some sport utility vehicles or vans, it can be advantageous to first install the CRS with the seatback somewhat reclined. Then, after securing the CRS, move the vehicle seatback upright. This will tighten the installation significantly.

8. Tighten the belt around the CRS in stages. First, tighten the lap belt by pulling on the webbing at the buckle location. Then, after excess webbing has been moved to the buckle area, pull this excess webbing into the shoulder belt and continue to tighten.

9. When the installation is complete, the installation should be checked by pushing side-to-side on the restraint at the belt routing location. If the movement is more than an inch, additional tightening is necessary. If after
several attempts at tightening, an inch or less movement cannot be attained, try a different seating location or call Nissan at 1-800-NISSAN-1 for assistance.

Best car seat hands down is the Britax Roundabout. You may be shocked by the price, but you will realize it is well worth it.

Stay far far away from the Alpha Omega. It's straps suck, is hard to tighten, and doesn'tseem to have good support, oh, the buckle will take you a week to figure out...

Trust me. The Britax is the most well thought out seat out there.

It'll last until they are at least 2 years old, and you use it every day, so it's well worth your child's safety to spend the extra $$$. A Britax is around $199.

You will never buy another carseat. Well, you will want one in BOTH of your vehicles.

Britax is definitely worth the money. Easy to use and quality materials. The straps on cheap seats go floppy straight away and tightening them can be a pain.

Here are resources we used when researching which car seat to buy. New 2003 ratings are at: Consumer Reports

Other good sites are: Seatcheck.org

National Transportation Safety Board

Hope it helps.
ReecerX

Rick and Matt, You've summed it up perfectly. One thing I will add. In Infant seats Graco seems the most user friendly for installing in vehicle and it does come with leveling gauge. Stay away from Peg Perrego Infant carrier, it will damage your seatbelts. With Graco adjustability will also possibly prevent you from having to use the foam pool noodles to get correct angle. As said earlier if you have a question or feel it may not be right, seek the aid of a proffesional. If your local Police department does not have certified installers check the NHTSA site (www.NHTSA.org), they list all certified installers in most areas.

And 1 last thing that was told to me by friend before my first child, sleep as much as you can, when the baby comes thats over

Anyone seen an Xterra car seat cover?

You get what you pay for. We're looking at a childseat for when we have a kid next year. Over here the best you can get is Safe-n-Sound, owned by Britax so they may be the same. If so I strongly recommend them.