Hi all,

I'm in the market for a '06 350z and have a question...has anyone out there successfully had the passenger airbag shutoff switch installed in their 350z? How much did it cost? And how well does a child seat fit in the front seat?

The 350z will be my daily commute car, and the wife has a branch new '06 Murano...so the car seat will be in it 99% of the time. But on the off chance I DO need to put the seat in my car...I have to be able to turn the airbag off.

Thanks in advance!
-Scott

 

i dont why you would want to use a z to carry kids( on a baby seat), i dont know maybe someone else can help you out with this one.

 

...99% of the time I would not have a child seat in the car. But I want the ABILITY to put one in there safely if need be. I've read that a passenger airbag switch can be installed.

 

Ditto, It would have to be a front facing seat or booster. How hold are we talking?

 

I've got the switch installed. You'll have to get the "permission" form from the NHTSA, and afterwards actually get someone to do the work. I ended up contacting every dealer in Northern VA and getting shot-down, calling Nissan USA to no avail and eventually I just went to one of the vendors the NHTSA gives reference too. I got the sensible solutions switch (http://www.airbagonoff.com/), it's ugly, but I had them hide it in my cubby. It'll suck if I ever want to put an LCD in, but for now the stereo money has gone to performance mods.

As far as car seat fit goes, I had no problems with a booster and rear facing combo. Now that the little guy has grown a bit I have a full size, front-facing and probably bought one of the biggest you can get. The hard plastic base is so wide that it would want to "bridge" the buckets, but I level it off with a folded towel under a protective mat I use and it works out well. lol, I can't fit the seat in the hatch since it is so big, but there are plenty of models that would. (Now that you know all of this, you won't get the big-**** Eddie Bauer seat, will you? ) FWIW, most seat would probably slide on their back from in front of the strut bar with the seat facing up, the one I got is just a hair too tall to do that.

 

Manual says children under 12 should not ride in front seat of a Z.

There is a long procedure you can go through if you insist, though, to get permission to install a cut-off switch. Ask the dealer to show you the driver's manual for how to go about it, and see if you're still interested.

Probably better to think about making it 100% of the time for that child seat to be in the Murano!

 

lol, same shoes, but I gotta say, driving around (safely) with the little one in the front with you is just a lot of fun. Shame on me.

 

+10000000000000000000000000000000

 

That was exactly the info I was looking for! Thanks! How much did the switch/install cost for you?

 

I see a redline Z in my gym's lot several times a week with a child seat up front. Manual even shows how to install one in a Z and which way the child should be facing, so I don't see where the discouragement is coming from on this thread. Don't let that dissuade you. Talk to your dealer about it.

 

And your pediatrician....

 

IMHO, if you want the 1% ability to have the kid in the car... don't buy the Z. Buy a 2+2 seater.

Plus, if you are planning on carrying a baby in the car... the car does drive very rough. Have you thought of that? It might not be a good idea to have the kid flying up and down on every bump...

my $0.02

 

No problem. I think it cost me somewhere around $400 I believe, maybe just a bit under. One nice thing about dealing with these guys instead of the dealership is they'll come out to the car to do it, and with that mounting location I don't even think it took them an hour.

 

COme on guys.
I think hes doing a good thing preparing his car for a potential 1% of the time situation.

Plus I doubt the kid will flying up and down for 2 reasons
1. The 06 model is much less of a bumpy ride, I know, Ive just bought an 06 model, and used a 2003 model for a week.
and number
2. the most important, the guy is not going to be driving fast and hopping all over the show with his kid in the car.

If I drive carefully, I dont hop or bounce at all, and have a real smooth ride.

Lets stop running the guy down and being prophets of doom, and preaching to him.

I say good for you, for trying to provide a safe ride for your kid in the unlikely 1% of the time.

He could be a much worse father.

Good luck with it.

Just MHO on the matter, no rock throwing please

 

If you must get the Z, take the precautions listed above, but why not just get the G35?

Then when your kid is 3 or so you can booster him in the back and have the wife ride up front... Then you have two vehicles capable of carrying the entire family.

 

AFAIK, you're not supposed to put a rear-facing seat in the front. A front-facing is just fine with the airbag switch. If you haven't gotten it yet I've got to concur with getting the G though, would be better for a 3-person family.

 

This site has a few helpful brochures regarding this:
http://www.iihs.org/brochures/default.html