Well it looks like Infiniti missed addressing (at least for North America) a safety flaw in the the refresh for the 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan. As a parent with 2 kids (4 1/2 and 1 yrs old.) I am quite disappointed that they did not change the rear seat headrests from molded/fixed to adjustable. Anyone who has tried to install a child car seat (especially a high-back booster) in the outboard postions will agree that the current design is flawed and dangerous. What's most frustrating is that the fix is quite simple. Have removeable adjustable head rests. The European G has this and looking at almost every other vehicle Nissan/Infiniti makes this is also the case. I feel so strongly about this issue that I have written the higher-ups at Nissan/Infiniti expressing my concern about the safety of child seats in vehicle. I am sure I am not the only parent who has an issue with the fixed rear seat headrests. Like to hear your feedback.

 

I am not sure of your exact issue with the headrest and car seat. I have seen others complain of needing to cinch the rear tether a bit tight which seems to deform the headrest a bit. But if you do that the child seat seems safely installed to me, and by the seat instructions which say they should not move an inch when not loaded or something. I have kids the same age as yours. THe 4yo's seat is always in my car so I put a fleece blanket under the entire seat to keep cracker crumbs and what nots out of the cars nether regions and try and reduce damage to the leather, but the car seat is in there solid so I have no concern there. The 1.5 yo's goes in and out of my car alot, so no blanky helping out for that one. The headrest deforms a bit as well, and when I take the car seat out stays "mushed" down a bit, but always returns back to undamagedness in a day or two I guess, cause it looks fine the next time I put it in.

 

Installing a child seat securely requires the rear headrests to be deformed quite alot by the tether strap and the child seat pushing against the top of the head rests. What really is troublesome is installing a high back booster seat. Some have LATCH attachments for the bottom and some don't. Because the high back booster seats are tall (as tall as the headrests) the headrest pushes out against the upper part of the booster seat causing the upper part to be pushed forward and leaving a large gap between booster seat and the seat back.. This is unsafe. In fact some of the recommended booster seats from Infinite websites are ones that exhibit this issue. Reading through the Infinite G manual it states that when installing booster seats, it recommends that the head restraint be adjusted or removed, which of course is not possible. The solution is very simple, adjustable headrests. What I find quite curious is why do the European models have adjustable headrest (3 one for the middle seat.) I think from a safety perspective adjustable headrests are much safer than the useless fixed ones in our sedans.

 

^ I'm sure it boils down to a cost cutting issue
& what it takes to meet the minimum N.Amer standards.

I'm way past car seat concerns,
but I liked the removable rears in my 1st gen so that I could leave them out for better visibility.

 

I also like the removable rear head rests.

I had to remove one to install the car seat for my grandaughter in my 09 FX. Canadian Driver, I understand what you are talking about with the car seat install.

As Ian said the increased rear visibility is so much better that I now have both rear headrests removed and in storage. (LOL , and Ian I thought I was past the baby seat concerns, now I'm lovin it )

 

I agree that adjustable/removable rear head restraints would be nice, but I am also curious...
a) do the Euro seat backs hook and bolt in, the same as the N. Amer. seat back
b) can the Euro seat back be ordered for N. Amer?
c) how expensive would it be?

Not that you should ever have to do this though. It should already be this way. They probably got rid of them when they decided to get rid of the fold down seat option. 2 cost cutting measures at once.

 

lol, I'm still a lap behind you guys wrt baby seats.
& I hope it's still a good while longer

 

Thanks for clarifying Why is that unsafe, I think one of my seats may be like that so I'd like to know in case I need to change something. TIA!

 

It's unsafe because the booster seat still needs to rest securely in the rear seat position. In the event of a sudden movement or collision, seeing the upper part of the booster seat is not resting against the back of the seat cushion but being pushed forward it could slip to either side. This would not be safe as the force of the retracting seatbelt may then not be distributed properly against the child's torso. Unfortuntely, there really is no fix for this. If the booster seat has the LATCH system, attach using it as best as possible. It still does not solve the upper part of the high back booster being pushed off the seat back. You could also use it without the back if your child is big enough, but the high back boosters are much safer as they provide side impact protection and a good belt guide.

I understand the cost saving aspects of the business, but for Heaven's sake even the Versa has adjustable rear seat headrests. I am glad to hear that some of my fellow G member's are with me on this one. My dilemma is that my current lease expires in March of this year. I really do like the G sedan, but I am having a tough time with this issue and will not jeapordize my children's safety. I really think that this issue is a major safety concern which they should have addressed. Especially when Infiniti (Snug Kids on their website) recommend/promote the tested safety of certain child seats that clearly do not install or fit properly.

 

The top tether to the latch point on the rear deck forces the upper part of the booster against the back of the seat. Thats where you have to test it unloaded (after you tighten the straps when kneeling on the seat). These are how the seats are that use the LATCH system. Sounds like you may not have that type seat, or don't have that tether attached/tight enough.

 

I purchased two Recaros, shown as tested and approved on the "Snug Kids" list.
Although I agree and wish I could pull the rear headrests out, the fixed are not in the way of my seats fitting flat and secure.
One of the Recaros is a full size booster so it's not that they are short, just how the back side of the seats are designed. They fit well and when I take them out for cleaning, there are no indentations on my back seat headrests.

I wish they came out, but they're not an issue with me securing my seats correctly.

 

High back boosters do not have top tether attachments. Actually very few even have lower LATCH attachments.

 

Unfortunately the Recaros are not legally approved for sale in Canada.

 

Mine seems too . It looks like the one here, not sure if it is the same exact model:

 

I"m out of the car seat but still need a booster, and I know the concern.
I found that Canadian Tire had the only booster that actually fit the G's seats with the latch system.
the booster is called Klik (something like that) This was the only one that fit into the seat. Other booster seats were so wide that they covered the seatbelt connector, or it was a very tight fit.
Never had this problem with my Altima.