[RJBEL]

Picked up our Enclave last week:
CXL AWD
White Diamond
Loaded except for engine block heater
seven passenge seating
cocoa on cashmere interior

I think Buick has a potential big problem with this vehicle and marketing it to families. We bought it because my wife does not like minivans...however, 2nd and 3rd row headrests are not adjustable and seemingly not removable. This normally would not be a problem except they are tilted slightly forward and guess what...this does not allow our Britax Marathon car seat nor our graco turbo booster (with the back) to fit properly (even when the seats are reclined as manual says). In fact, the turbo booster hits the headrests and leans forward so much that a child would be slouching forward all the time. Lastly, the 3rd row center position has a belt that comes out of the ceiling and where it buckles to is a fixed position buckle that is connected to the seat with a stiff piece of angle iron instead of the flexible belt material. Because it does not move and the middle seat is narrow to begin with, a car seat will not fit there!

I assume these are fixable problems because I like the vehicle so much otherwise I do not want to give it back!

Anyone have input?

 

[fenwah]

Wow. That's not what I want to hear. I guess I will be bringing some car seats into the dealership sometime in the next few weeks just to be sure that our car seats won't have the same issue.

We don't have any issues with our minivan...but I can't remember if the heat rests move up or down or not...and if we needed to move them up. I'll have to look at the van tonight.

This is a huge concern and would definitely be a dealbreaker if the car seats don't fit properly.

 

[RJBEL]

We traded a ford expedition (12.7 MPG avg..YIKES!) and never had a problem with car seats. I have the Britax installed, as well as, an eddie bauer convertible car/booster seat and the eddie bauer fits better than the britax but I do have both of them in (in the 2nd row captains chairs). The britax has a bit of a tilt forward when installed and the eddie bauer lays flush but the top of it is going to make quite a dent in the foam of the headrest which is why I wish the head rest could be removed. The third row will be a big issue because right now I have 2 kids and if we have a third I would want my oldest in a booster in the 3rd row...which as of now will not be able to be done unless she uses the booster without a back to it.
On a brighter note, the enclave is unbelievably smooth and quiet and it is nice coming from a big suv...and our first trip on the highway netted a 21 mpg average...its been a long time since I've seen that on one of my vehicles!
Don't get nervous until you try your seats...all car seats are different but I have already alerted buick and am awaiting a response.

 

[fenwah]

I think the best thing to do for anyone who has kids is to put their car seats into the Enclave to see how they fit. And if you can, bring a friend's car seat as well to see if another brand fits better.

 

[coopermine]

We have an Eddie Bauer booster seat with back (i guess similar to yours) I think it was manufactured by Cosco and an Evenflo infant rear facing seat base. Both fit nice and firmly in the Acadia we tested.

I am sure those will also fit in the Enclave.