2017 Chrysler Pacifica: Car Seat Check

CARS.COM — Chrysler has reinvigorated the minivan class with its all-new 2017 Pacifica. From standard Stow ‘n Go second-row seats that can collapse into the floor to an available vacuum, the Pacifica has lots of amenities to make kids and parents happy. However, caregivers who are installing child-safety seats into the Pacifica may not be as happy because of a few issues we found while conducting our Car Seat Check.

We tested a Pacifica Limited with captain’s chairs in the second row and a three-seat bench in the third row. The Pacifica can be had with a second-row bench, increasing the total seats to eight.

More Car Seat Checks

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

How many car seats fit in the third row? Two

What We Like

• The Pacifica has four sets of lower Latch anchors with two sets in each of the second and third rows. The third row’s Latch anchors are exposed and easy to connect to, and the second row’s tether anchors are well-marked and easy to use.
• Both the rear-facing infant and convertible seats fit well in the Stow ‘n Go seat; there was no need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate either car seat.
• The forward-facing convertible fit well in the second row, though we struggled to connect to the Latch anchors; in the third row, it installed easily.
• Our high-back booster fit well in both rows. The captain’s chairs have stable seat belt buckles, making buckling up independently easier for kids in boosters, but the third row has floppy buckles.
• Third-row access is excellent; there’s a large walkway between the seats to the third row and the Stow ‘n Go chairs can be stowed in the floor.

What We Don’t Like

• The lower Latch anchors in the captain’s chairs sit just inside the space between the back and bottom cushions. We had to work to connect to the anchors with both our infant seat and our convertible seat because of fabric that envelopes the anchors.
• Although the two tether anchors in the third row are marked with icons, they sit at the base of the seatbacks and are hard to see because they’re small and the same color as the plastic backing. Thankfully, there aren’t any cargo hooks right next to the tether anchors, but some parents might be confused and connect the car seat’s tether strap to the cargo hooks that are in the cargo area’s lip.

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 when available.

C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.

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, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter 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.