2014 Nissan Maxima: Car Seat Check
Editor’s note: This Car Seat Check is repurposed from our test of the 2013 Nissan Maxima, but our results apply to the 2014 model.
Nissan’s lineup is full of mainstream sedans, but don’t let the sportiest one fool you — the Maxima is very family-friendly. Accessible Latch anchors and a roomy backseat helped earn this five-passenger sedan plenty of A’s in our car seat check.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The outboard seat’s Latch anchors sit only about a quarter-inch into the seat bight. It was very easy to connect to the anchors.
- The three tether anchors are under large plastic boxes on the top rear shelf and are also very easy to use.
- There was plenty of room for our infant seat and convertible seat — no need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate them.
- After removing the head restraint, the forward-facing convertible went in easily and had plenty of space.
What We Don’t
- After we removed the head restraint, there was plenty of room for the booster but the buckles are on floppy bases. This can make it tough for kids to buckle up independently.
- Because of the buckle placement, the booster seat sits on top of the middle seat’s belt and it’s easy for the buckles to slide under the booster seat.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row.
C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row.
D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
