The Corolla was redesigned for 2014… and its a mixed bag. Good news is that the buckle for 2C got shorter and no longer overlaps into 2D. Whereas the earlier model had seat belt overlap between 2D/2C and 2C/2P, the 2014 now only has overlap between 2C/2P – but it remains significant. we aren’t pleased. To make matters worse, due to the lower anchor for the passenger seat & the seat belt for the center seat being anchored to the car directly one on top of the other, it is dangerous for someone to sit in the center seat when a car seat is installed using LATCH in 2P as the lap belt will be too high on the belly for the person sitting in 2C.
Bad news… the head restraints for 2D & 2P which used to be adjustable & removable are now fixed, protruding, and not removable in all of the 2014 and some of the 2015-2017 trims – which will interfere with many forward-facing car seats (in particular ones that have their own head rests that move up as the child gets taller) and high back boosters. Car seats with V-shaped tethers – like are found on Britax car seats and the IMMI Go – will work best with these fixed head restraints as the V-shaped tether will route around the fixed head restraint. This is in contrast to straight tether straps that will go over top these fixed head restraints, and in a crash can slide off to the side of the head restraint, which significantly compromises the effectiveness of the tether in keeping the child’s brain and spine safe.
Starting in 2015, some trims feature adjustable, removable head restraints for 2D & 2P – and these are the trims you want to get as the fixed, protruding head restraints in the other trims are a nightmare for forward-facing car seats & high back boosters.
Trims with adjustable, removable head restraints for 2D & 2P
– 2015-2016 LE Eco Premium
– 2017-2018 XSE & XLE
The seat belts are quite short and when installing an infant carrier without the base (one that has a European belt path) you will need to do the tipping trick.