Hi FJ people! I'm new to the board and I've learned a lot already from all your experiences and opinions. This looks like a great place to hand out!
My wife and I are going to be adopting a baby soon and have come to the conclusion that we'll be upgrading from her MINI Cooper S to the FJ for obvious reasons. We drove the car for the first time last evening and, as we expected, thoroughly enjoyed it (and just as much as the first time we drove the MINI I might add).
Can those of you fitting kids in there on a daily basis give us some perspective on what that's like? I've read other places that it's can be a little dark in the back seat but do you find this to be an issue? As far as we can tell the FJ will be a great and fun car for this type of thing but I was hoping for some real world experience to confirm.
Thanks so much in advance for you thoughts!
Matt
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Re:Fj + Kids
Date: 2006/12/19 17:08
By: kytrux
Status: User
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F.J.C.O. Regular
Posts: 27
Hey, Matt! I don't have any babies to haul around, but I do have a 5 and 11 year old and don't have a problem. I would think since the rear doors open out fairly wide that putting an infant in would not be that cumbersome. I'm sure there are a few on this site that can give you some good info on babies, car seats, and FJ's!!
Marty
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Re:Fj + Kids
Date: 2006/12/19 20:59
By: wideman55
Status: User
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F.J.C.O. Rookie
Posts: 17
Hey Matt, I have a 14 month old daughter who is a forward facing car seat. It's a big chair too. My wife is 5'9" and has no problems at all. We have the seat behind the passenger side and she still has lots of room. I'm 6'1" so it's too tight with it behind the driver side since I ride with the seat all the way back.
Buckling her in is no problem. It's a a perfect height for my wife. In parking lots in tight spaces it can be a little difficult getting out the baby since you have to open the passenger door then the back access dorr and then weave your way through the two with your kid without knocking your door into another vehicle.
When putting the seat in pull the headrest to the highest position, strap the seat in, then lower the headrest back down on it. Makes a better fit.
Having said all this my best advice is not to even put the car seat in your fj because you likely will never see your truck again! Just say "Honey, I tried but the seat just won't fit." Then buy a dodge caravan like every mom should have and don't look back!
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Re:Fj + Kids
Date: 2006/12/19 21:42
By: Robotchef
Status: User
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F.J.C.O. Pro
Posts: 235
Wideman is right about the tightness in a parking lot. I refer to the rear suicide doors then as the suckie-side doors. You really have to do the suicide shuffle to get in.
My rugrat doesn't complain about the darkness in the back - just the fact that the rear windows don't come down and he has to wait until I open the front door before he can get out.
My complaint is that it is a bother to get someone out of the back seat if you don't have a front seat passenger who can let them out on that side.
My wife has the kid-friendly feature-filled Sienna minivan which is the main kid transporter - and it generally keeps the kids out of MY TRUCK.
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Re:Fj + Kids
Date: 2006/12/20 16:40
By: amnesiac
Status: User
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F.J.C.O. n00b
Posts: 3
Thanks everybody. That info really helps. We kind of foresaw that potential rear door issue but that didn't phase us too much. We'll just park far away and get our exercise
We were mostly concerned about space for the car seat as well as ease of getting in and out of it. My wife and I are both 5'9" so we should be good.
So I guess now all we need to do is decide what color and features we're going to opt for. Anything you all can't live without or can suggest as a feature we shouldn't skip? Call me crazy but I kind of like the black steel wheels on these trucks but the pkgs come with the upgraded wheels. Does anyone know whether Toyota would credit back some $$ if we ordered pkg 1 but kept the steel wheels? I'd love to get some other accessories in place of the fancy wheels.
Thanks again!
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