I wonder if others have experienced a problem with the middle rear seat belt: I put my daughter's booster seat in the rear middle. It is safet (farther from the doors, and side air bags in the event of an accident, and she likes the view better, as she can see forward and look at hte computer screen, or the map. However, the seat belt often gets stuck. At the top of the seat, there is a plastic guide, with a cut in the forward part. The belt fabric gets caught here, so it does not move readily. Thus, it may not offer adequate protection in an accident. I plan to tape over that opening, to the belt will not get caught. Any comments? (Also, if you do use a booster or child seat, you may want to be aware of this.)
Our 8 year old sits in a booster in the middle, for all the same reasons and we haven't had any problems with the belt, though we've only had the car for about 2 weeks.
This doesn't apply to booster seats, but for those of you using a Child Safety Seat (not a booster seat) use the LATCH/ ISOFIX anchors. Didn't get a LATCH/ ISOFIX compatible seat? No problem. This belt will work with all car seats: http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.a...ype=Accessories If you want to put a car seat in the middle, I believe the Prius owner's manual says not to use one LATCH/ ISOFIX anchor from each side. (I may be wrong, somebody look it up for me?) I personally would have no concerns doing this. The angle that the belt attaches to the LATCH/ISOFIX anchor is not significantly different than if it is attached to a car seat mounted on one side of the vehicle. Also, the anchor is designed to withstand force from all angles, not just frontal! I personally feel the known safety of the extra "crush space" by mounting the seat in the middle far outweighs the "risk" of the unknown outcome of a collision with a car seat using one anchor from each side. It's solid STEEL after all, not a grocery bag hook. Don't forget the top tether! Nate
