The best car safe for a Honda Odyssey is one that locks to the second-row LATCH anchors, because a minivan has no trunk and its windows show the whole cabin. The Odyssey has the anchors, so a Boosted Safe fits with no drilling. If yours has the anchors, it fits. Under its cover it looks like one more booster seat in a family van.
The problem with a minivan
There's nowhere to put things out of sight. The cargo area is open to the windows, and a box on the floor gets noticed. A thief looking in sees everything, and that's how most car break-ins start: something visible and a quick window.
Some owners also report that fitted console safes aren't an option for their Odyssey, so check any maker's list first. Our console safe guide covers that choice. A cable lock box can go under a seat, but the cable is the weak link.
Where it goes in an Odyssey
Use a second-row outer seat with lower anchors. Your manual's child-seat section shows which positions have them. Those anchors can hold the safe or a child seat, not both at once, so plan around your car seats. Do the one-minute fit check first.
For households with kids
Locked steel with a fingerprint reader keeps a child out of what's inside. A firearm goes in unloaded, and it stays locked whenever you're out of the car. The Mini is a certified booster seat in its own right, with a locked compartment for a wallet and passports.
How it locks to the Odyssey
Two steel latches grab the lower anchor bars in the seat crease, and the release sits inside the locked safe. To take it off the car, someone has to open it first. There is no cable to cut and no drilling. Our guide to LATCH and ISOFIX anchors shows what the bars look like, and the patented design page shows the latch.
We tried to rip the safes out on film. On our car safe pull test the cabled boxes came free fast. A screwdriver pried the Basic open at 2 minutes 20 seconds, and the Elite stayed shut. No safe is theft-proof. With enough time and tools, nothing is secure. The job is to raise the time and the tools it takes.
Which Boosted Safe to pick
- Boosted Safe Elite: the one most people buy. Fingerprint, keypad and key, and it fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
- Boosted Safe Basic: the same idea with a code and key, for a lower price.
- Mini: a certified booster seat with a locked compartment, and the smallest footprint.
- Golden Gate Elite: 12-gauge steel, 37 lb, and certified for firearms by the California DOJ.
You can see them side by side on the car safes page or the comparison chart. A firearm goes in unloaded, and the laws on leaving one in a car vary by state, so read our state guide first.
Questions
Can I use the third row?
Second-row seats are the usual choice because they are close and easy to reach. Check your manual for which third-row positions have lower anchors.
Do I have to give up a car seat position?
That position, yes, while the safe is in. It comes off in about a minute. You open the safe to release it.
Does it look out of place?
A booster seat in a minivan is about as ordinary as it gets. Our Smash and Grab show has a whole episode on it.
